Tents, Smoke Machine: Judges Get Creative on Jury Trial Restart
A federal court in Dallas is considering holding an outdoor trial this fall in a law school courtyard, assuming it can figure out what to do about things like pollen.
It ought to be cool enough in Texas by then, but a tent would be needed to protect attendees from the elements, Chief Judge Barbara Lynn of the Northern District of Texas told Bloomberg Law. Lynn is talking to her alma mater, Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, about whether an outdoor trial there is feasible.
Seattle judges are preparing for what is perhaps the first virtual federal jury trial—a civil case. Western District of Washington Chief Judge Ricardo S. Martinez isn’t restarting in-person trials until he tests the jury room air flow with a smoke machine.