Houston County judges have been forced to halt the first two in-person criminal jury trials to convene in the south Georgia circuit since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One trial was called off after two out-of-state witnesses tested positive for the virus before they arrived in Georgia, said Chief Judge Edward Lukemire. The second trial, a murder case, ended abruptly after the defense lawyer became ill, although apparently not with COVID-19, Lukemire added.