Mass. Bar Split As Pre-Pandemic 12-Person Juries Return

What a judge called the "last vestige" of COVID-era restrictions in Massachusetts state courts came to an end in the new year with the return of 12-person juries — and not all litigants are welcoming the return to the pre-pandemic status quo.

From the start of the pandemic-era trials until the end of last year, Superior Court civil cases had been proceeding with fewer than 12 jurors, and in most cases, as few as six. The rule expired at the end of 2023, and during a Suffolk County Bench Bar Conference in November, Suffolk County Regional Administrative Justice Rosemary Connolly asked for a show of hands to indicate which attorneys present preferred the six-person juries.

Jennifer Furey is quoted in this Law360.com article.