Central Georgia circuit suspends jury trials due to COVID surge

MACON, Ga. – The top judge in Georgia’s Macon Judicial Circuit is suspending some jury trials due to a spike in COVID cases.

Chief Judge Howard Simms has put trials in Bibb County on hold through August and will reevaluate the suspension in September, local prosecutors said Tuesday. The judicial circuit also includes Peach County, and jury trials will continue there.

The district attorney’s office for the Macon circuit said it will be prepared to move forward with trials once they are deemed safe. In the meantime, it will work with defense attorneys to resolve cases involving nonviolent offenders to present them to judges for approval.

Bibb County, like other places in Georgia, is in the midst of a surge in COVID infections fueled by the delta variant of the virus among people who are not vaccinated.