Philbrook and his wife, Heather Schmidt, of Camarillo, California, have been trying to convince court officials that he should be excused from jury duty because her father lives with them.

People across the country have similar concerns amid resurgences of the coronavirus, a fact that has derailed plans to resume jury trials in many courthouses for the first time since the pandemic started.

Within the past month, courts in Hartford, Connecticut, San Diego and Norfolk, Virginia, have had to delay jury selection for trials because too few people responded to jury duty summonses.

“What the real question boils down to are people willing to show up to that court and sit in a jury trial.

district courts across the county have suspended jury trials and grand jury proceedings because of virus outbreaks and too few people showing up for jury duty.

In October, 150 people were summoned for jury duty for the trial of Amber Foley, who is fighting child pornography charges and demanding her constitutional right to a speedy trial.

It would be the first criminal trial in Connecticut, in state or federal court, since the pandemic began.

Federal officials have designated one courtroom for jury trials in each of the three federal courthouses in Connecticut, with an entire second courtroom set aside for jurors to gather for breaks and deliberations.

Her lawyer, Todd Bussert, argued in court documents that the coronavirus does not trump Foley’s speedy trial rights and other courts around the country have held trials during the pandemic.

In San Diego, a criminal case had to be postponed last month because too few people showed up for jury duty.

In Norfolk, Virginia, efforts to resume jury trials during the pandemic stalled recently because roughly nine out of 10 possible jurors weren’t showing up in court, The Virginian-Pilot reported.