Although the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise statewide, Missouri Supreme Court Government Relations Counsel said the state's highest court has not issued any orders related to vaccination requirements among jury pools.
“There is no statewide policy on vaccination for jury service,” said Gary Witt, a judge on the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals.
Some 606,552 coronavirus cases have been reported statewide as of Aug. 18 and 10,161 people have died throughout the state, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
While vaccine mandates have been issued for government workers in other states, the state of Missouri has not followed suit.
“I am not aware of any individual judge, county, or circuit that is attempting to impose such a mandate,” Witt told the St. Louis Record. “I just have not heard of any.”
In the Eastern District Court of Appeals, August was the first month that in-person hearings have resumed. For the past 18 months, oral arguments were by telephone, zoom, or video, according to Chief Judge Sherri Sullivan
“There has not yet been a requirement for vaccination," Sullivan told the St. Louis Record. “We have requested that all of our employees be vaccinated and I believe the majority of them have been. We are requesting everyone to be masked.”
Some 5.5 million vaccinations doses have been administered statewide, according to the state's vaccine dashboard.
Attorneys who are arguing before the Eastern District Appeals Court are only allowed to take off their masks at the podium if the panel of judges agrees, according to Sullivan.
“Then, the Marshall is wiping down everything in between each attorney arguing, and we're staggering the arguments further apart so that we can clear the courtroom before the next argument comes in,” she said.
GOP Senators have asked Gov. Mike Parson to stop private businesses from making COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for employment, according to media reports.
“I don't think the governor is going to require vaccination of jurors,” Sullivan said. “Each of the circuits is going to have to improvise on their own to decide what they're going to do about the jurors.”