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Law360 (December 14, 2020, 9:19 PM EST) -- The chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court has ordered the court system to freeze many in-person proceedings for the first time since May, imposing a 30-day pause starting Monday as the state sees a growing number of coronavirus cases.
Chief Justice Cheri Beasley's Monday order placed the court system back under restrictions that had previously been imposed under an emergency order that expired May 30. The renewed rule pauses most in-person court proceedings, excluding marriage ceremonies and jury trials where the jury has already been selected.
"I am gravely concerned with the recent surge in positive cases, but with this new directive, I am confident that potential exposures will be significantly reduced if we work together to adhere to health and safety guidelines," Chief Justice Beasley said in a statement.
Because most state court proceedings were already scheduled to be handled remotely and there are few jury trials scheduled, the order's impact on court dockets should be minimal, according to an announcement about the order.
The order also extends about a dozen other safety measures, including requiring face masks and barring people who may have been exposed to the virus or are experiencing symptoms from courthouses. All of the emergency orders are set to expire Jan. 13.
The move comes during a time when more than 80 counties in the state are seeing substantial or critical community spread of the virus, Chief Justice Beasley said. North Carolina has 100 counties, according to the state government's website.
More than half of the state's county courthouses have had to close partially or fully due to the virus, including 11 courthouse closings in the past week, according to an announcement about the order.
In addition, employees in the court system have not been immune to the virus' impact — they have reported 291 confirmed coronavirus cases, Chief Justice Beasley said. A spokesperson for the court system said the state's judicial branch employs more than 6,400 people.
Chief Justice Beasley said in a statement her decision seeks to protect court personnel and the public.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have moved an unprecedented amount of court work online, including hearings," Chief Justice Beasley said. "Those efforts will allow us to limit in-person proceedings for the next few weeks while making sure our courts stay available to serve the public."
In her order, Chief Justice Beasley also maintained a requirement that a senior resident superior court judge serves as a COVID-19 coordinator to ensure social distancing and other standards are upheld.
The COVID-19 coordinator is tasked with gathering input from several others, including the chief district court judge, the clerk of superior court, the district attorney, the public health director and others, to come up with a Jury Trial Resumption Plan that outlines how prospective trials will implement social distancing and other safety guidelines.
The order also maintains a request that lawyers and others submit documents by mail and offers leeway for when those documents are due — as long as filings are received within five business days of its deadline, they will be accepted as timely.
Magistrate judges are still tasked with completing marriage ceremonies, according to the order. The Chief District Court Judge can require appointments and restrict the number of attendees to ensure social distancing.
Chief Justice Beasley also called a meeting of the Judicial Branch COVID-19 Task Force to virtually discuss this move from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 15.
The virus has impacted court systems in North Carolina and other states since March. For example, in the Middle District of North Carolina, all civil trials scheduled to begin before Jan. 4, 2021, are postponed until further notice while criminal jury trials are postponed until Jan. 4, 2021, unless ordered otherwise by a presiding judge.
The court system is not the only entity to make recent changes due to the number of virus cases.
On Nov. 23, the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners announced its plans to hold the February 2021 bar exam remotely after refusing to adopt such an option for the July 2020 exam, citing the availability of new options from the National Council of Bar Examiners and the state's rising COVID-19 cases.
--Additional reporting by Sarah Jarvis and Emma Cueto. Editing by Emily Kokoll.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
