An Update on Emergency Directives and Court Operations

Last week, Chief Justice Paul Newby entered an order extending and modifying some of the emergency directives previously imposed by former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Chief Justice Newby’s order (issued January 13, 2021 and effective January 14, 2021) allowed other emergency directives to expire. This post reviews the latest emergency directives as well as recent leadership changes affecting the courts. The preamble. At the outset of the order, Chief Justice Newby noted his commitment to the constitutional requirement for open courts while acknowledging that the mandate must be fulfilled in ways that protect the health and safety of judicial officials, employees, and the public. He stated that though he was allowing Emergency Directive 1 to expire (the directive halting non-emergency, nonessential court proceedings), he asked that local judicial officials conduct trials and other proceedings “with caution and with due regard for the COVID-19 situation in their respective judicial districts.” The Chief Justice expressed his view that local judicial officials are best positioned to determine when and how to conduct jury trials and other in-person proceedings. He designated the senior resident superior court judge as the arbiter of disagreements by local judicial officials over safety precautions, including courthouse closures. The directives. Last week’s order extends Emergency Directives 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 21 for thirty days.  Emergency Directives 1, 4, 9, 10, 13, 18, and 20 expired on Wednesday, January 13. This post summarizes the contents of those expired directives. The extended directives are summarized below. Emergency Directive [...]