Palmer Courthouse resuming jury trials in April

PALMER — The Alaska Court System recently announced that the Palmer Courthouse will start holding the first criminal jury trials in courtroom 7 since early January due to the extensive damage caused by the extreme weather conditions, effective during the first week of April.

Courtrooms 6 and 8 will also resume operations for jury trials in May, according to a recent press release. All courtrooms are slated to be reopened and fully functional by the summer.

All telephonic hearings in criminal and civil case types continue to occur in courtrooms 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10. This includes felony, misdemeanor, and delinquency cases, and civil matters, domestic relations, domestic violence, probate, small claims, minor offense, and general civil cases.

According to the press release, the Palmer Courthouse will join the rest of the courts across Alaska which began hearing jury trials again Jan. 10 once COVID-19 related suspensions were lifted. 79 jury trials have been held statewide since that time.

The Alaska Court System is implementing several mitigating measures to ensure the safety of everyone such as bringing in smaller groups of jurors, holding fewer trials at once, general social distancing, and larger spaces for deliberations.

For updates, visit the Alaska Court System Facebook page or Twitter account.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com