The Supreme Court overturned an appeals court order that required Michigan to retry a murder case by May 4 or release the defendant, after state officials cited trial delays related to the CCP virus that causes the disease COVID-19. The order in Brown v. Ervine came late in the day Feb. 1. The state had directed its application to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who referred it to the full court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the ruling but did not explain why. Michigan notified the Supreme Court that the jurisdiction in which the person concerned must be retried, Kalamazoo County, “currently prohibits jury trials.” The county courts have issued an administrative directive suspending jury trials until April 12, which would make it difficult to complete the new trial by the May 4 deadline. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit previously ruled that the rights of Ervine Lee Davenport, …