The county has canceled its second attempt this fall to summon people for jury duty amid a resurgent pandemic and between two holidays.

“If this doesn't work in December I don't know what will happen. Who knows where we'll be. It's terrible,” said District Attorney Richard Goldinger before the decision was made by Judge Timothy McCune to cancel jury selection for a Dec. 7 attempted homicide trial against Gary Ellenberger, 58.

“We want to move cases but it's hard to do that right now,” he said.

The county first sent out jury duty letters in October but Goldinger said the attempt was canceled after only 35 people were selected. He noted that virus-related issues and concerns led to many people being removed. And virus-related concerns are responsible for this second cancellation.

In McCune's order, he writes that so far 80 jurors were contacted for the selection process and so far 14 have been excused. Out of the 66 remaining, half are 55 or older, leading McCune to conclude that “Given the current status of the coronavirus, the Court feels it is prudent to (reschedule) this matter.”

The trial was scheduled Dec. 7. McCune would have presided over the case.

Goldinger said that for a case like Ellenberger's, the county would need to have at least 40 potential jurors for prosecutors and the defense to choose from during a culling process known as the voir dire. Additionally, the case would take at least four days, according to Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon, who is prosecuting the case.

“Things could change quite frankly as new information comes in about how this virus is spreading,” Simon said. “It's going to be up to court on moving ahead on this. I'll be prepared to pick the jury and try the case whenever the courts feel it's safe enough to do so.”

Ellenberger of Chicora is being held in Butler County Prison on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, recklessly endangering another person and illegal offensive weapons after police said he allegedly shot Heath Schrecengost unprovoked on Sept. 2, 2018, at Millerstown Inn on Main Street in Chicora.

Ellenberger's case was originally scheduled to go to trial in April, according to court documents, but the matter was rescheduled after the virus outbreak.

Before the outbreak, the jury selection process would usually start by summoning 100 to 120 people, according to Goldinger, and out of that, 40 people would be selected for further questioning to determine their suitability to be a juror.

Public defender Charles Nedz originally represented Ellenberger but the case was transferred to fellow public defenders Joseph Smith and Kimberly Hudak.

“COVID has really thrown a wrench in everything — in our traditional jury selection process. It's very hard to get a jury and a selection process with a lot of people under these very stringent health department/CDC guidelines. That's been the conundrum for people's responses,” Smith said.

Guidelines were also created June 25 by the state's governing arm for courts, the administrative office of Pennsylvania courts. In the document presented to counties, the state provides guidance on preparing the courthouse for jurors through cleaning, notifying the new jurors of the new protocols put in place to reduce the risk of contracting the virus and conducting jury trials in a safe way.

Some of the suggestions are general — like taking temperatures of people entering the building — but others are specific to holding jury trials.

One major task of jurors is to determine the credibility of witnesses who are called to testify. For that, the state suggests using clear protective masks instead of face coverings, “so facial expressions and demeanor may be evaluated.”

The guidelines also provide examples on how to word the jury summons.

“You have been summoned for jury service during a most extraordinary time. Jury duty is important because it safeguards one of the most crucial rights of the American legal system,” reads the example. “Operating a judicial system during a worldwide pandemic requires sacrifice, collaboration, and creativity.”

The sampled slip also tells people that they can be excused if they have a “high-risk condition.”

The state also provides a list of sample questions specifically tailored to the virus with questions like determining if the person is a health care worker or has been exposed to the virus.

In an attempt to ease the process, the Butler County Commissioners on Wednesday approved $51,433 in additional grant funds for the courts. The grant can be used to rent larger quarters for jury selection, Plexiglas for certain areas of the county courtrooms, UV disinfecting lights and improved technology for online court-related meetings.

McCune's order did not indicate when they would try to summon a jury again.