COVID19/ coronavirus: Delays and Effects on Trial Dates.

The coronavirus/COVID19 pandemic has required closures of various parts of Maryland’s economy, government and infrastructure. The court system is no exception. The Governor ordered greatly restricted court activity between March 16 and June 5. After June 5 the court’s began to gradually reopen. Phase III of the reopening process is to commence on July 20, 2020, with the courts beginning to hear contested matters, and presumably, conduct trials after that date. Jury trials, however, are currently expected to resume on October 5th, 2020. By  extrapolation, it is not unreasonable to assume their will be, in 2020, a four month elongation of the time for the typical trial date in district court, and greater delays for trials in circuit court matters. The results will likely not be uniform, and could potentially vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. As Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you.