The state Judicial Branch has postponed jury trials that were scheduled to resume Monday due to the recent increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Connecticut.

The branch will be assessing the situation on a weekly basis, according to Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, the judicial department's manager of communications.

Trials have been on hold since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, and the time limits for speedy trials have been suspended by an executive order of Gov. Ned Lamont.

Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson in September announced a plan to resume jury trials as of Nov. 2. The branch has been consulting with the state Department of Public Health, making physical alterations to courthouses to allow for the installation of physical protective measures and acquiring supplies of personal protective equipment.

"Throughout this comprehensive planning process, the cooperation and creativity of Judicial Branch staff, members of the bar, and judges has been noteworthy," Stearley-Hebert said, in part, in an email. "The willingness of so many residents of the State of Connecticut to perform the important civic duty of jury services has been most encouraging."

Chief Court Administrator Patrick J. Carroll III, at the direction of the chief justice, has assured the public that efforts to resume jury trials would be guided first by the desire to protect the health and safety of all participants. While the goal was to resume jury trials Monday, the recent increase in positive test results statewide has caused the branch to pause the process and continue to reassess what the branch can do safely under the circumstances, Stearley-Hebert said.  

From Friday to Monday, Connecticut reported 2,651 new cases of COVID-19.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Judicial Branch and Department of Correction have worked to identify prisoners who could safely be released to the community while awaiting trial. By July 1, the DOC's inmate population numbered 9,945, the lowest since 1990.

For defendants in murder cases, who are generally held in lieu of on high bonds, freedom while awaiting trial is usually not an option. Sergio Correa's trial for the murders of three members of the Lindquist family in Griswold during a crime spree in December 2017 was scheduled to begin in New London Superior Court in March.

Charged with crimes that could result in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Correa is being held in lieu of $3.35 million at the New Haven Correctional Center. He has filed several speedy trial motions that have been denied due to the executive order and the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.

In September, Francis Giannelli, who is accused of killing Robert Thompson in a drive-by shooting in Preston on Oct. 26, 2019, sought a dismissal of his murder charge in New London Superior Court, since the state had not commenced his trial within 30 days of his motion for speedy trial.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein denied the motion, saying "good cause" existed to not hold the trial right away and that there are numerous defendants in the same situation.

Giannelli remains incarcerated on a $1 million bond.

k.florin@theday.com