Message from Chief Judge Sjostrom

By administrative order 2020-03 I closed all court operations and facilities to all but essential court proceedings and critical proceedings related to the public health emergency. In the coming days the courts of the Second Judicial Circuit will reschedule, postpone or cancel all other hearings or establish means to conduct other hearings by telephone or video.

"Essential Court Proceedings" includes:

• First appearance in criminal cases;
• Criminal arraignments as deemed necessary;
• Hearings on motions to set or modify bail for individuals in custody;
• Juvenile dependency shelter hearings;
• Juvenile delinquency detention hearings;
• Hearings on petitions for injunctions relating to safety of an individual;
• Hearings on petitions for risk protection orders;
• Hearings for the appointment of an emergency temporary guardian; and
• Hearings on involuntary commitment under the Baker or Marchman Acts.

"Critical Court Proceedings Related to the Public Health Emergency" includes:

• Violation of quarantine or isolation;
• Violation of orders to limit travel;
• Violation of orders to close public or private buildings: and
• Enforcement of curfew orders.

If you think your matter is an emergency but is not one of the categories set out above, you may file a document explaining why your matter needs to be handled by a judge immediately. A judge will review your document and decide if it requires immediate action. Litigants in Civil Court cases must complete a Designation of Current Mailing and Email Address form with any filing.

The court may also set non-emergency matters for hearing by telephone or video during the time we are closed. Otherwise, your matter will be reset after the public health emergency concludes.

We regret this inconvenience. But we hope that our efforts will help make the public health emergency shorter and less severe.

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