Judge Backtracks On Juror Vaccine Mandate In Opioid MDL

Law360 (June 23, 2021, 3:34 PM EDT) -- An Ohio federal judge said on Wednesday he wouldn't automatically throw out potential jurors in the national multidistrict opioid litigation because they are unvaccinated against COVID-19, undoing an earlier order requiring juror vaccinations.

U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster granted a bid from various pharmacy defendants, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid, to reconsider his order that had required that all prospective jurors in the upcoming trial be vaccinated.

The pharmacies argued that "the fact that vaccination rates vary by race, gender and political views could make the jury 'less likely to reflect a fair cross-section of the community.'"