Lee County suspends jury trials amid virus surge

DIXON – All jury trials that are scheduled to take place in Lee County after Dec. 1 have been paused indefinitely because of a surge in the coronavirus, according to an administrative order issued Thursday.

The order, signed by Lee County Presiding Judge Jacquelyn D. Ackert, was released one day before every region in the state is set to move to Illinois Department of Public Health Tier 3 Coronavirus Resurgence Mitigations.

While the mitigations do not outline specific protocols for the court system, they do uphold a prohibition on indoor gatherings of 10 people or more, meaning that petit juries, which typically consist of 12 to 14 people, and grand juries, which typically consist of 16 people, cannot be safely assembled.

Ackert in the order wrote that suspending both petit jury and grand jury proceedings, and continuing scheduled jury trials was in the "interests of the health and safety of all court users" and would "protect potential jurors from possible exposure to the spread of the novel coronavirus."

The move comes as Lee County recorded an additional 35 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1 more death from COVID-19 on Thursday. Since the start of the pandemic, the county has logged 1,464 cases and 6 deaths, with 857 cases being reported in the last month alone.

Lee County also logged a 17.2 percent coronavirus test positivity 7-day rolling average on Nov. 16, according to the IDPH.

As of Thursday, KSB Hospital is hosting 17 patients with COVID-19 symptoms.

"The Lee County Courts, by its Presiding Judge, recognize the importance of taking necessary action to protect its judges, staff, potential jurors, case parties, other judicial partners and the general public from the spread of Covid-19," Ackert wrote. "[T]he Presiding Judge finds there has been a resurgence of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) infections and hospitalizations in Lee County and the Sauk Valley area since the entry of prior orders."

Face coverings, temperature screenings, sanitizing stations and social distancing marks on courtroom seating have been staples in the courthouse since June, when 15th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Robert T. Hanson ordered that court matters in Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle and Stephenson counties could resume in-person after they had been continued since March.

Even still, a jury trial has not taken place in Lee County since March, and other proceedings in criminal cases, like sentencing hearings and pretrial conferences, have largely been delayed because of concerns related to COVID-19.

Those features of administering justice amid an infectious disease pandemic hit hardest in October when Ogle County Judge John C. Redington struck the Oct. 28 trial date in the case of 21-year-old Matthew A. Milby Jr., who investigators say walked into Dixon High School in 2018 with a rifle and opened fire near students and teachers.

Redington at the time cited a provision of IDPH Tier 1 Coronavirus Resurgence Mitigations that prohibited indoor gatherings of more than 25 people, and concerns from prospective jurors over serving during the pandemic.

Since then, Milby's case has progressed in-person to another fitness hearing, which is scheduled to take place on Nov. 24. It wasn't immediately clear Thursday whether the order would have any effect on it.

Thursday's order did have an instant effect in the case of 49-year-old Kelli Riggen, of Dixon, who was indicted last month on two felony and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the life or health of a child, as well as counts of felony and misdemeanor reckless conduct.

Riggen's case was scheduled for an afternoon pretrial conference, but prosecutors and her attorney entered an agreed order continuing her case until Jan. 28, 2021, "as a result of the Covid-19 Health Crisis."