Sheriff’s Office The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for the service and execution of process, the enforcement of civil judgments, the provision of juries and Court attendants, and security within the Supreme Court precinct. Sheriff’s officers strive to meet the demands of the Courts in an efficient and professional manner. This has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic placed challenges on the Sheriff’s Office and its operation. The Sheriff’s Office made changes to internal processes to comply with COVID-19 restrictions and to support the continuation of the Courts’ operations. These changes included: • undertaking the empanelment process via video link instead of within the courtroom due to spacing requirements • reducing in the number of members of the public attending for jury empanelment to allow for social distancing • enforcing a redesigned courtroom layout that affecting legal counsel (bar table), jurors (seating in the public gallery to allow for social distancing) and members of the public (limits placed on how many people were allowed in the courtroom) • supervising an adjacent courtroom for the purpose of jury deliberation • temperature testing of jurors • movement of jurors to allow for social distancing (no use of lifts) • provision of individual hand sanitiser sprays, gloves and face masks • lunches for jurors individually packaged to reduce handling of food • water bottles provided within the courtroom (instead of communal jugs) • ongoing contact with potential jurors via text messaging to reduce the risk of someone attending the Court premises when unwell • supervising the Court public areas to ensure social distancing With the support of the Sheriff’s Office, the ACT was the leading jurisdiction in Australia in relation to the continuation of jury trials. In fact, at one point, we were the only jurisdiction undertaking jury trials. Other jurisdictions within Australia have now implemented the same or similar processes to meet the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
