08/26/2020- A good portion of the CARES Act money given to Marinette County will be put to use to help to County’s court system meet new COVID needs. County staff have been working to transform the third floor county board room at the courthouse into an additional, much larger circuit courtroom. This will allow the courts to resume jury trials while maintaining social distancing between jurors, defendants, and all other individuals involved in the court proceedings. County Administrator John Lefebvre says, for the time being, the public will only be allowed to attend these trials online, which means the audio/ visual technology in the new courtroom will require some major upgrades, totaling around $109000.

Court proceedings locally and across the state have undergone major changes since the pandemic hit this spring, namely moving hearings to a digital platform whenever possible. Now that they’re gearing up to resume jury trials, Marinette County Judge Jim Morrison is commending the county on this latest effort to ensure that can happen swiftly and safely.

The County Board and Committees will continue to utilize the third floor space when possible, but will ultimately be moved to a new meeting location on the first floor of the courthouse. Jury trials in Marinette County Circuit Court are expected to resume September 14th.