Jury service resumption in Bexar County gets closer look

SAN ANTONIO – In view of recent reports that droplets of the coronavirus can travel through the air well beyond six feet, Local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel is re-examining the resumption of jury trials in Bexar County.

“There’s more information that has come out to the CDC as it relates to air filtration and particles in the air,” Rangel said Wednesday. “We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure the air is flowing appropriately within the courthouse.”

Rangel said that maintaining social distancing and wearing masks will continue to be courthouse protocol.

“Everything we do is with caution,” Rangel said. “We want to make sure that there’s a new normal that we apply within the courthouse.”

The “new normal” Rangel is referring to has created a huge backlog of cases that will now have to wait until after the first of the year before it can be addressed.

Related Stories:

• Texas Supreme Court order OKs virtual jury trials
• State agency OKs resuming in-person jury trials on Oct. 1