Massachusetts State Courts To Lift Most COVID-19 Restrictions

BOSTON (CBS) -- Several pandemic restrictions are set to be lifted in Massachusetts on Monday, many at public buildings like city halls and libraries. It's also the first day that Massachusetts State Courts will resume most normal operations.

There will no longer be any capacity restrictions in courtrooms.

There will still be some jury restrictions though: six-member juries are sticking around for some trials along with limitations on juror challenges that attornies can launch.

The goal is to help clear a backlog of court cases.

"Face-to-face relationships, things going on in court is so important that we really do have to get back to the way things were before. Clearly, the backlog of trials has just been chattering to the court system and yet the court administrators and judges have been doing herculean efforts to try and do the best that they can," attorney Peter Elikann told WBZ-TV.

Masks will still be required in courts and some proceedings will continue taking place remotely.