Courts begin transition to ‘new normal’

New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore released a 10-minute video message Monday to mark the re-opening of some parts of the state court system that has been operating on a limited basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today is a milestone day for us. As you are aware, New York has continued to make steady progress in the battle against COVID-19,” she said in the video.

Five upstate regions have met the criteria to begin the phased reopening of economic activity. On Monday, limited in-person court operations resumed in 23 counties, including the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, and the Southern Tier regions. Today (Wednesday), 12 counties in the North Country and Central New York will start to reopen.

On Monday, 18 judges and their personal staff, along with limited court personnel returned to work at their courthouses and new case filings were being accepted electronically in those regions.

“The reopening of these five regions is a very significant turn in the state’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic and our court system is pleased to be able to begin our return to fuller service. But make no mistake, this is most decidedly not a return to business as usual,” DiFiore said.

DiFiore noted that the coronavirus continues to pose a serious health threat that will require ongoing safety measures.

“So we will continue using virtual technology to conduct as much court business as possible. And we will extend the ongoing suspension of jury operations,” she said.

To protect judges, staff and court visitors, new protocols and safety measures have been adopted and they will be posted on signs at courthouse entrances. Those measures will include the mandatory use of facemasks by everyone who enters our buildings.

Additional measures will include the deep cleaning of court facilities and upgraded regular cleaning. Face masks and gloves will be made available for court personnel and sanitizing agents will be available to court visitors.

Plexiglas barriers will be installed around metal detectors and X-ray machines at facility entrances and other places in courthouses, as needed. Blue tape will be used on floors to indicate where to stand to insure proper physical distancing.

“As we go forward we’ll be closely monitoring and learning from this phased-in resumption of in-person court operations and we’ll be standing by and prepared to make any needed adjustments,” DiFiore said.

“While we understand and appreciate that everyone is eager to see the resumption of in-person court operations throughout the state, that moment will come, but it will come at different times in different regions based on the progress made to meet the various criteria involving new infections and hospitalizations, healthcare capacity, and availability of testing and contact tracing,” she said.

In order to keep the court system operating this spring, a series of adjustments were adopted to continue to provide service safely.

“So let’s be patient and remind ourselves of the careful incremental way in which we’ve responded effectively to the pandemic so that we don’t forget, and we’re not tempted to jump ahead of where we need to be right now,” DiFiore said.

In early March, after the first confirmed cases emerged in the state, the courts at first restricted courthouse access by high-risk individuals.

“Within days of that first order we suspended jury operations and high-traffic civil parts, and we directed that court business be handled by video conference to reduce the number of people in our courthouses,” DiFiore recalled.

On March 15, all non-essential court functions were temporarily postponed and essential and emergency matters were handled in a limited number of courthouses. By April 6, all essential and emergency matters across the state were being heard virtually. By April 13, non-essential matters were added, which allowed thousands of cases to be settle every week.

Since then, virtual operations have continuously expanded to now include accepting motions in pending cases, alternative dispute resolution, and even holding virtual preliminary hearings in criminal cases where the defendants are being held in jail on felony charges.

This week, housing court judges in New York City will start hearing virtual conferences in pending eviction cases where both sides are represented by attorneys in an effort to mediate settlements and reduce caseload in anticipation of a large influx of new eviction cases, DiFiore said.

Appellate courts also have transitioned to holding oral arguments virtually. The four departments of the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court are even conducting the new attorney admission process using virtual technology.

Vito C. Caruso, deputy chief administrative judge for the courts outside New York City, has been working with the administrative judges in the courts of the five upstate regions, along with their union representatives and county managers to put together a blueprint for safely transitioning back to “our new normal,” DiFiore said.

“As we gradually transition back on this region-by-region basis you can be assured that our number one priority will always be the health and safety of our court family and the public we serve,” she said.

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