All jury trials scheduled on or before April 30 have been temporarily suspended throughout the 2nd Judicial District because of concerns over the potential for spreading the coronavirus.

The trials are to be rescheduled to a date after April 30, said the order, issued by 2nd District Administrative Judge Jay P. Gaskill. The 2nd District includes courts in Nez Perce, Clearwater, Idaho, Latah and Lewis counties.

“I don’t think this has ever happened before, but I was not working during the 1918 pandemic, so I’m not sure,” Gaskill said about trials being suspended in the judicial district.

The order only postpones coming jury trials until after April 30. The order affects nine felony criminal trials and two district civil trials in Nez Perce County.

The order forces the continuation of 52 criminal and 19 civil trials at the Magistrate Court level, Gaskill said.

“All other hearings that can be handled telephonically or by video will be done that way,” Gaskill said. “Only criminal hearings requiring the presence of the defendant will be handled in person.”

Where defendants have not waived their right to a speedy trial and the defendant elects to file a motion to dismiss based on a failure to provide a speedy trial, the presiding judge will issue a separate order applying factors set forth by the Idaho Supreme Court on Wednesday, the order said.

The factors judges are to consider include: the length of the delay beyond the statutory time frame; whether there were prior continuances and the reasons for those continuances; the reasons for the current delay, which includes safeguarding public health; if and when the defendant requested compliance with the statutory trial time requirements; the prejudice to the accused of permitting the prosecution to proceed beyond the statutory trial time requirements; and any other relevant factor determined by the court.

Judges throughout the 2nd District were ordered Friday to notify the attorneys on record for the affected trials about the order and the need to reset trial dates.

Judges are to independently review the cases assigned to them and set hearing dates so that new trial dates can be established as soon as is “reasonably practicable,” the order said.

Jury commissioners in each county in the district were ordered to notify jurors who have already been summoned that they now don’t have to appear during the period the order is in effect.

The order is based on the national and state emergencies declared, President Donald Trump’s coronavirus guidelines for America, the Idaho Supreme Court’s response to the emergency and the Centers for Disease Control’s advice on social distancing.

“It’s the responsible thing to do,” Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman said. “There are still avenues for defense attorneys and defendants to file objections.”

The prosecutor’s office is working with defense attorneys and the courts to avoid bringing people into the courthouse unnecessarily, Coleman said.

“We have a lot of good people in positions locally tracking what is happening nationally and in the state,” Coleman said, noting that a lot of coordination between public health and other county offices is happening every day. “Our office is making sure everybody is on the same page legally. We are making sure everyone understands what kind of steps we can and can’t take.”

Wells may be contacted at mwells@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2275.