MT. VERNON (WSIL) -- As COVID-19 restrictions relax, some local government buildings are following suit.
That means Jefferson County will soon be holding court in an actual courtroom.
"We hardly have any kind of in court proceedings take place."
Jefferson County Circuit Clerk, Randy Pollard, says their courtrooms have been largely vacant since the start of the pandemic.
"Everything is pretty well done remotely. Court rooms are practically empty, so absolutely the volume in the courthouse is drastically reduced."
Deputy Sheriff, Marty Keoughan, says that is set to change.
"Starting on February 9th, things will change. We're going to start back with jury trials."
"With that being said, we are still selecting a jury off site within a larger room, once the jury is selected, we'll come back to the courthouse, and conduct the jury trial in the courtroom," adds Pollard.
"Only the people that have to be present will be there, such as people who work for the court, defendants, witnesses, such as that, there will be no open viewing of the trials," says Keoughan.
Thanks to some I.T. work, the public will still be able to watch the trials.
"The public will not be allowed in the courtroom. We've set up a YouTube Live channel to broadcast the jury trial live through YouTube, that way if anybody wants to watch the jury trial that's a member of the public, they're able to do so," says Pollard.
Otherwise, if you have business at the Jefferson County courthouse, expect most things to follow the ongoing COVID protocols.
"We're going to continue to to practice thus far, anyway, in Jefferson County, as we was before, with the exception of we are going to go ahead and start jury trials back up," says Pollard.
Officials say if you have any questions about the current COVID policy, call the office before you arrive.
Here is a link to the county's
