May 9th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

After months of coronavirus closures, courts across Maryland are tentatively set to begin reopening June 8. WTOP reports however  that date is not set in stone, and even if courts do start to reopen then, it will be well into the summer before jury trials resume, judicial leaders told lawmakers during a Maryland Senate hearing Thursday morning of the pandemic’s impact on the state’s courts and criminal justice system.

Even when more regular court activity starts back up, courts are facing a potential surge of backlogged cases to clear.

Since Maryland courts were closed to the public and a pause on jury trials was ordered in mid-March, courts have moved to remote technology to continue holding hearings for plea agreements, sentencings, bail reviews and other types of hearings.