COURTS LIMIT in-person proceedings.
All courtrooms around the state today begin limiting in-person proceedings to critical matters such as certain criminal hearings, requests for restraining orders, emergency child custody disputes and other time-sensitive matters as judges and attorneys scramble to adapt to coronavirus-related recommendations against public gatherings.
On Tuesday evening, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the suspension of most in-person proceedings from today through April 3. The order did not apply to civil and criminal jury trials that were already underway Tuesday.
The order came after more than 60 jurisdictions had already pared services. Some of those were in the state’s largest judicial circuits covering Little Rock, northeast Arkansas and Washington and Benton counties.
The restrictions will likely have an impact on hundreds of nonessential cases, forcing continuances into the summer months, attorneys and judges said.
The state’s top court administrator, Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp, said administrators in the state’s 95 judicial districts and circuits will be allowed to take action above and beyond what the Supreme Court ordered. The Administrative Office of the Courts also said this week it was partnering with Zoom, an online video conferencing service, to offer all courts a 60-day free trial of its software.
“It’s going to delay a certain number of cases for a certain period of time,” Kemp said, adding, “It’s not closing the courts; it’s keeping the courts open to address important business.”
The number of confirmed cases of the disease in Arkansas held steady at 22 on Tuesday, distributed over eight counties. The federal
government advised everyone to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.
Even in areas where no one has tested positive, judges and courthouse administrators over the past week have taken measures by closing courtrooms and postponing hearings and trials in cases not deemed urgent.
The per curiam order handed down by Kemp on Tuesday directed administrative judges to notify the high court immediately of decisions to close a courthouse. It also directed those judges to keep the courts accessible through email and telephone, and encouraged the use of video technology.
The Pulaski County Courthouse — home of the 6th Judicial Circuit, the state’s busiest — was among those closed to the public.
At the appellate court level, the seven justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court, as well as their administrative assistants and law clerks, were told to work from home for the next two weeks, according to Kemp. The Court of Appeals has taken similar work-at-home measures, and both courts canceled oral arguments until further notice.
All jury summonses, meanwhile, were postponed by the Supreme Court until May 1.
The order does not constrain judges from ruling on matters that do not require an in-person hearing. Decisions about whether to continue with eviction cases, Kemp said, were left up to individual courts.
Arkansas Renters United sent a letter to Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday asking for a statewide moratorium on all evictions executed by law enforcement as well as court evictions and foreclosures.
The group is a grassroots effort to advocate for affordable, quality and fair housing throughout the state.
“Without your immediate action to protect our residents facing eviction, we risk an avoidable increase in homelessness and housing insecurity at a time when it will have the most catastrophic damage, putting these members of our communities and all Arkansans at risk of contracting [covid-19],” the letter reads in part.
Several states such as Kentucky, Massachusetts and New York have put freezes on some or all evictions because of the covid-19 pandemic. So have a few cities, including Boston, San Francisco and Seattle.
The governor’s office did not respond to request for comment by press time Tuesday.
Criminal cases, probable cause hearings, first appearances, juvenile detention hearings and issues affecting speedy trial rights were exempted from the Supreme Court’s suspension of in-person proceedings. Some courts in the state already are capable of video arraignment of defendants in the county jail.
“In criminal matters, the judge shall continue to protect the defendant’s right to public trial,” Tuesday’s order read in part. “The judge presiding over the in-person proceeding shall exercise his or her discretion in excusing jurors or other individuals who shall not appear as a result of [covid-19].”
Attorneys and judges are also addressing potential issues regarding defendants in custody.
“My main concern is the people is jail,” said Gregg Parrish, the director of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission.
On Monday, Parrish wrote to Kemp expressing concern about judges continuing “business as normal” and requiring defendants out on bail — who might be infected with the virus — appearing in court along with defendants in custody. Parrish added in the letter that he had advised public defenders to keep in touch with incarcerated defendants and to work with judges and prosecutors to seek bond reductions.
Kemp said decisions about bond amounts would continue to be made by individual judges in accordance with the rules of criminal procedure.
Bob McMahon, the state’s prosecutor coordinator, said that during a conference call Monday with his board of directors, the issue of bond amounts was not raised.
“It doesn’t mean it won’t be an issue,” McMahon added.
He said the main concern of the state Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator was in continuing to provide “essential services” in jurisdictions with limited court capacity.
In Pulaski County, which saw nearly 5,000 criminal cases filed in 2018, Circuit Judge Herb Wright said he was encouraging defense attorneys and prosecutors to help clear space at the Pulaski County Jail by seeking plea deals and resolutions in cases already on the docket.
Wright said space at the jail could be limited in the event that the sheriff’s office needs to quarantine some inmates.
Judge Vann Smith, the administrative judge for the circuit, said most judges on the court have their dockets booked through April, so present cases postponed until then will likely create a glut of hearings that will need to be worked out by administrators once the courthouse reopens.
“We’re looking at accommodating that as soon as we can,” Smith said. “There will be a delay, no question.”
A full listing of court closings and scheduling changes is available at arcourts.gov/news/judiciaryclosings-cancellations-changes