Calif. Supreme Court Refuses to Address Whether Potential Jurors Must Wear Masks

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –– The California Supreme Court has rejected a petition for review filed by an asbestos defendant who has been fighting a lower court order requiring prospective jurors to wear masks during voir dire.

The issue presented in the July 8 petition was whether the California Supreme Court should “lead all courts within the state to implement uniform jury selection and trial procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic that preserve fundamental constitutional due process protections for all litigants while simultaneously retaining necessary access to the courts, or allow every superior court judge within the 58 courts to decide whether her/his …