Ulster, Dutchess courts to open
Dutchess opens on Wednesday; Ulster on Thursday
In-person operations will gradually resume staring Wednesday, May 27 at Mid-Hudson Valley region courthouses, officials announced Tuesday.
Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks of the state United Court System announced the phasedin return of judges and staff to courthouses in nine counties that have met Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s established safety benchmarks.
On Wednesday, the gradual in-person operations will take place in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, followed by Ulster and Sullivan
counties on Thursday, May 28. Additionally, Nassau and Suffolk counties courthouses will reopen on Friday, May 29.
During the past two weeks, courts in 48 counties encompassing the state’s Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, North Country, Central New York, Western New York and Capital District regions “have been carefully and steadily returning to in-person courthouse operations,” a press release issued Tuesday said.
“Beginning (Wednesday) New York State court system judges and chambers staff, along with designated clerks and support staff, in the nine previously named counties will return to their courthouses,” the release said.
The court officials say as of Monday, May 25, courts in these counties have been accepting new cases that are filed electronically.
“While remaining open for business throughout the pandemic, courts in these nine counties had limited their operations, consolidating court facilities, implementing and expanding virtual court models, and taking a wide range of other measures to restrict courthouse traffic and contain the spread of COVID-19,” the release said. “With guidance from public health officials, plans to safely resume more normalized court operations have been ongoing.”
Courthouse areas that will be used in this first phase include judges’ chambers, clerks’ offices and back offices, court officials said. Physical distancing and other steps restricting courthouse traffic will be enforced to protect the health and safety of judges and staff, attorneys, litigants and members of the public, including:
• Non-employee court visitors will be required to undergo COVID-19 screening before entering the courthouse.
• Anyone entering the courthouse will be required to wear a mask.
• All staff who interact with court visitors must wear a mask.
• Courtroom and other areas will be carefully marked to ensure proper physical distancing.
• Court facilities will be regularly sanitized.
• Acrylic barriers, hand sanitizer dispensers and other safety features will be installed in courthouse areas as needed.
These measures will be closely monitored, with protocols and facilities to be adapted as needed, the release said.