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The Right Honourable Dame Helen Winkelmann
Chief Justice of New Zealand
Te Tumu Whakawā o Aotearoa

12 August 2020

MEDIA STATEMENT – update on jury trials

At Alert Level 3 jury trials at the Auckland High Court and the District Court at Manukau and Auckland remain suspended until Monday 17 August.

At Alert Level 3 jury trials at the Auckland High Court and the District Court at Manukau and Auckland remain suspended until Monday 17 August.

The rest of the country is at Alert Level 2. Jury trials in courts outside of Auckland will resume on Thursday 13 August. Court staff will contact jurors to let them know when they must attend.

Jury trials outside Auckland were suspended on Wednesday 12 August to enable checks to be undertaken. This was to ensure jury trials only proceed where they can do so in accordance with physical distancing and best practice hygiene measures. Those checks have been completed and we are satisfied that jury trials in the rest of New Zealand can resume on Thursday.

Arrangements for the safety of everyone at court include:

• Alert Level 2 distancing of 1 metre
• Measures to reduce the number of people coming to court. Members of the public (including a whānau support person or person for a defendant) whose presence is not required at court may only attend if granted permission from the presiding judge.
• Ready availability of soap, towels, sanitiser and PPE
• Thermal scanning upon entry
• Contact tracing arrangements
• The continuation of enhanced cleaning regimes.

Court counters remain open in most sites and screens are in place.

The Ministry of Justice has information on its site about the measures it is taking to ensure health and safety in courthouses at Alert Level 2 and 3.

Here is the COVID 19 page on Courts of NZ website

https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/publications/announcements/covid-19/(external link)

A further statement will be provided after the government reviews Alert Levels on Friday.

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