Bethel suspends criminal jury trials due to rise in COVID-19 cases

Criminal jury trials in Bethel are suspended for two weeks in response to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the region. The Bethel court’s presiding judge, Terrence Haas, signed the order on Tuesday. 

The Bethel Census Area, along with nearly every region in Alaska, is at the high alert level for COVID-19 cases, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. 

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Prior to Tuesday, the Bethel courthouse was limited to one jury trial in the building at a time. Most other courts in Alaska had suspended jury trials for the month of August. Bethel’s presiding judge wrote in a previous order that the court has a constitutional obligation to try criminal cases in a timely fashion. 

However, he wrote on Tuesday, the court can currently find no way to permit criminal jury trials to proceed at an acceptable level of risk. Criminal jury trials in Bethel are suspended until Sept. 13. Civil jury trials in all of Alaska are suspended until Nov. 1.

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