Paris, Tenn.–Circuit Court Judge Donald Parish has announced he will suspend the March meeting of the Henry County Grand Jury and extend the term of service for the current jury pool.
The recent Tennessee Supreme Court order filed on January 15, 2021 suspends most in-person court proceedings and jury trials which will include the next normally scheduled meeting of the grand jury in March. The Supreme Court ordered suspension is currently set to expire on March 31, 2021.
In an attempt to avoid unnecessarily large numbers of people gathering, the current juror pool serving the November 2020 – February 28, 2021 term will be extended by Judge Parish to serve an additional four month period through the end of June 2021.
Should the courts be allowed to return to having jury trials this pool of jurors may have some trials to hear. Circuit Court Clerk Mike Wilson said, “At present we’ve not had any jury trials since they were initially selected.”
Wilson said, “Jurors will be mailed a new summons in the next few days informing them of their extension of jury service. Fortunately, our local jury duty process only requires an occasional call-in to our office for an update of service instructions. We appreciate their patience and service.”
Anyone with questions regarding the grand jury meeting or jury duty may call the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office at (731) 642-0461.