Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced Monday that he will extend for another month the Statewide Judicial Emergency enacted on March 14 for the coronavirus pandemic. The order had been set to expire on May 13, but it will now be extended until Friday, June 12, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.
According to information released by the Georgia Supreme Court, the new extension order means all criminal and civil jury trials will be suspended for another month. Additionally, courts will be barred from summoning and impaneling any new trial or grand juries.
"The courts are different from most private establishments and public places in that we compel people to attend court proceedings, and that requires us to be extra cautious," Melton said in a printed statement.
Since the first emergency order on March 14, the Chief Justice has required Georgia’s courts to remain open to handle critical and essential court services. Under the new extension order, courts will be urged to develop plans for building back non-critical operations that can be conducted remotely by videoconferencing or by maintaining adherence to public health guidelines. The order will urge courts to increase the use of technology to conduct remote judicial proceedings where legally permitted as a preferred alternative to in-person proceedings. All this is necessary to help limit the backlog once the emergency is terminated.
The extension order allowed chief judges of judicial circuits to impose more restrictive emergency orders if local conditions warrant such action.
Kathlene F. Gosselin, the Chief Judge of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, which encompasses courts in Hall and Dawson counties, issued a separate order.
You can find the link to Gosselin's order here.
This story will be updated.
