Masks and physical distancing will no longer be required in New Mexico courtrooms for the first time since the state Supreme Court ordered the measures in May 2020 to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Nor will jurors be required to answer health screening questions to enter a courthouse, the high court announced Thursday. The new measures take effect Friday.
“As we move forward and resume normal operations, courts can fully use all available space in courtrooms and jury assembly areas to conduct more trials and hearings,” Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon said in a written statement.
For the past three years, physical distancing measures often required courts to disperse jurors throughout the courtroom into areas normally used by spectators. The measures also limited the number of prospective jurors allowed into a courtroom at one time, lengthening the time required to select jurors for trials.
Starting May 2020, the Supreme Court required anyone entering a court building to wear a mask and maintain six feet of physical distance. In March 2022, the physical distancing requirement was cut to three feet.
But the widespread use of virtual tools such as Zoom are likely to remain in place going forward.
During the pandemic, the courts upgraded audio and video technology to lessen the need for the public to visit the courtroom, Bacon said.
“Our courts adapted, innovated and remained open to serve the public despite many hardships during the past three years of the pandemic,” she said.
Justice David K. Thomson, who leads the court’s emergency response team for pandemic matters, said the courts learned to use digital tools and operate more efficiently.
“That remains one of the helpful lessons for courts brought on by the pandemic,” Thomson said.
