Atlanta, July 10, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today signed an order extending the Statewide Judicial Emergency that he first announced March 14, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the fourth time he has extended the emergency – this time until Aug. 11 in keeping with state law that authorizes him to extend an emergency for 30 days. The new order will take effect Sunday, July 12, at 11:59 p.m.
Today’s order authorizes courts to move forward with all judicial proceedings except criminal and civil jury trials and most grand jury proceedings, as long as the courts can legally, safely and practicably do so. The order continues the prohibition on jury trial proceedings and most grand jury proceedings and states “it is unlikely that any jury proceedings will begin until September or later.”
The emergency is being extended “recognizing again that most in-court proceedings compel the attendance of various individuals rather than allowing them to decide how best to protect their own health, and further recognizing that the novel coronavirus continues to spread in Georgia,” the order says.
The order states that the reinstatement of most deadlines and filing requirements imposed on litigants, effective July 14, “will allow more pending and newly filed cases to move forward in the judicial process in an effort to return to more robust court operations.” As with previous orders extending the emergency, the order urges judges to work diligently to address the building backlog of pending cases. “All courts should continue to use and increase the use of technology to conduct remote judicial proceedings as a safer alternative to in-person proceedings, unless required by law to be in person or unless it is not practicable for technical or other reasons,” the order says.
Today’s 10-page order includes stronger and more mandatory language than in past orders to make clear that as Georgia’s courts move to conduct more proceedings, judges have an increased obligation to look after the safety of all involved. The order states that “courts have discretion to conduct in-person judicial proceedings, but only in compliance with public health guidance and with the requirements of the United States and Georgia constitutions and applicable statutes and court rules, including the public’s right of access to judicial proceedings and a criminal defendant’s rights to confrontation and an open courtroom. No court may compel the attendance of any person for a court proceeding if the court proceeding or the court facility in which it is to be held is not in compliance with this order, including in particular large calendar calls.”
“Throughout this process, our goal has been two-fold: to keep people safe and to keep the business of the courts moving forward,” Chief Justice Melton said. “Today’s comprehensive order helps us do both, by reimposing deadlines on litigants to get cases moving, by emphasizing the use of remote proceedings, and by focusing on operating guidelines for in-person proceedings.”