By Ray King
After more than a year without jury trials, courts across the state, including those in Jefferson County were given the green light to resume trials May 1.
In-person court activity had been suspended by an order of the Arkansas Supreme Court in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and remained suspended until an order by the court issued on April 8 of this year. That order made the resumption of jury trials possible. It also meant that prosecutors had to get ready for those trials.
Will Jones, the Chief Deputy Prosecutor for the 11-West Judicial District, which includes Jefferson and Lincoln Counties was asked how they prepared.
Because of the number of murder cases that have not been resolved, Jones was asked if those types of cases were given priority over other types of cases.
With jury trials on hold, many defendants were reluctant to take pleas, hoping that witnesses would change their stories or prosecutors would not be able to contact those witnesses. With trials starting again, Jones was asked if there was a new interest in plea agreements.
