SAN ANTONIO – Anxious to begin jury trials when the moratorium on jury service ends in June, State District Judge Velia Meza met with attorneys on Tuesday who have cases assigned to her court.
Meeting remotely with lawyers and their clients on the list of the first 10 cases she plans try, Meza told them, “If you’re on this list, you’re expected to go to trial when I call you for trial.”
Meza said her criteria for selecting the cases included two primary considerations.
”It’s definitely the cases that have insisted on a jury trial since the beginning,” Meza said. “Also, we have to look at the age of the case.”
Start-up plans have been developed, refined and ultimately delayed several times in past months. Meza said that’s led to skepticism from many of the jurors in Tuesday’s meeting.
”I think attorneys, they’re going to believe it when they see it,” she said.
Under the reopening orders issued last week by Local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel, jury selection will be conducted in the huge Central Jury Room.
The trial itself will be conducted in Meza’s courtroom.
Masks and social distancing will be included in both courtrooms.
”I’m excited to have jurors back,” Meza said. “It’s been a long time.”
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