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Law360 (November 2, 2020, 7:00 PM EST) -- Delaware's chief justice on Monday ordered pandemic-related courthouse and court activity restrictions kept in place until Dec. 4 as the First State continues to extend measures put in place to protect the public.
Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr.'s order marks the latest emergency extension since court buildings were closed for routine public access in March under an emergency declaration driven by the local and global spread of the novel coronavirus. The emergency has been extended each month since.
In the latest order, which is effective Nov. 5 and extends the emergency for 30 more days, the chief justice said the First State's courts will continue to operate under Phase 3 of the judiciary's four-stage reopening plan.
The courts adopted a phased reopening plan in June, with a heavy emphasis on fever and health screening, cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing. Teleconferences and other remote, audiovisual alternatives have been used extensively, with speedy trial guidelines modified and relaxation of requirements for oaths, affidavits or similar court filing obligations.
A final reopening phase calls for a return to full operations, although the court's plan cautions that a "new normal" will apply, potentially including some safety practices from earlier phases and increased use of technologies adopted during earlier stages of the emergency. Full court staffing and use of court buildings will resume under the final phase.
According to the latest order, COVID-19 "continues to pose a serious risk to public health and safety of Delawareans, requiring the courts to continue a careful, phased reopening of judicial facilities to reduce the risk that COVID-19 poses to jurors, parties, witnesses, lawyers, judges, and court staff and the public who enter judicial facilities."
Chief Justice Seitz said courthouses will "continue to provide a method, such as a dropbox or mailing address, for attorneys and the public to fill out and file paper documents if electronic filing is not available to them."
--Additional reporting by Jeff Montgomery. Editing by Stephen Berg.
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