For Leighton to go without a jury trial for a full year would once have been unthinkable, but the COVID-19 pandemic led officials to pause nearly all court proceedings. Since then, many hearings have shifted to Zoom, but buildings have slowly reopened and some judges have begun conducting bench trials and other in-person hearings. But jury trials posed the biggest logistical challenges.
After a year of empty courtrooms, Cook County begins first criminal jury trial
