Message from the Circuit Court

Jury trials in the Circuit Court resumed on Monday, April 26. Two were held during the first week. Both cases went to verdict and the selection and trial protocols were successfully employed without incident. Several issues, however, bear re-emphasis as we move forward.

• MOTIONS - Please be reminded that all motions pending in any jury trial case, other than brief motions in limine, must be resolved at least one week in advance of trial; they will not be heard on the day of the trial and no exceptions will be permitted. It is counsel’s responsibility to ensure that motions are filed and heard in advance of trial. These cases have been pending for many months. We cannot have jurors sitting around and waiting for a trial to begin while motions are being litigated.
• VOIR DIRE, JURY INSTRUCTIONS AND EXHIBITS - Proposed voir dire and jury instructions must also be filed at least one week before the trial, and any paper exhibits to be offered by a party must be photocopied and provided for the court, opposing counsel, and jurors on the first day of trial. Counsel should contact the scheduled trial judge in advance of trial if copies are too numerous, and the judge, in his or her discretion, may modify this requirement.
• PRIORITIZATION OF CASES - Because of logistical and scheduling considerations owing to the pandemic, the trial judge to whom you have originally been assigned may change. Please check with the Assignment Office (240-777-9000) if you wish to confirm the identity of your trial judge. The court prioritizes cases on any given jury trial day to account for the fact that some cases settle or plead on the day of trial. You will be notified as to your priority status by the jury selection judge during the week preceding your trial. If your case does not make the priority list, you will be notified after 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday of the week preceding your trial, and a new trial date will be set.

If you are on the priority list but not in the first position, you should report to the courtroom of your scheduled trial judge at 9:00 a.m. on the day of trial to await further instructions. If a case with higher priority than yours does not go, you will then be instructed to report to the jury selection site. If a case with higher priority than yours proceeds to trial, you will be notified when jury selection commences, and your case will be reset.

If you are first in priority, you should report to your designated jury selection site (Jury Assembly Room, Courtroom 3E (North Tower), or Courtroom 4F (South Tower)), no later than 8:45 a.m. on the day of trial.

Please be mindful of the fact that we have limited ability to select juries because of social distancing requirements. The court recognizes that it is inconvenient and time-consuming for counsel to be prepared for a trial that may not occur. Our experience, however, is that more than 90% of scheduled jury trials resolve before the trial date. The current system is not much different from the TBA system that was employed before the pandemic; sometimes cases do not get heard because of unavailability of a judge. We continue to ask for your patience and understanding and anticipate modifications may be made during the coming months as we refine this process.

Counsel are invited to review other helpful information previously provided regarding jury trials, posted on the court’s website at montgomerycountymd.gov/cct.

Robert A. Greenberg
Administrative Judge