All Tennessee courts to require face masks
Face coverings will be required at all Tennessee courthouses and court clerk’s offices starting Monday, after an order from the state Supreme Court.
The mandate expands a previous declaration of a state of emergency in the state’s court system as a response to the threat of COVID-19.
“Under the terms of this order, the courts of Tennessee remain open, consistent with the Judicial Branch’s obligation to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19,” the order, filed Friday, indicates.
Nearly anyone entering a courthouse or other building where court facilities are located will be required to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times while inside the building.
Children under 12 and persons with breathing issues due to an underlying health condition or other “bona fide” medical conditions are not required to wear the coverings.
The order encourages judges to work “with local law enforcement and other county officials to ensure that, to the extent possible, courthouses remain accessible to carry out essential constitutional functions and time sensitive proceedings.”
Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins on March 13 declared the initial state of emergency in the courts. That was extended May 26, at which time it was mandated jurors wear face coverings, while easing the suspension of in-person court proceedings.
The new mandate applies to all courts and court clerks’ offices, except administrative courts within the Executive Branch and federal courts and federal court clerks’ offices in the state. It’s ordered in addition to any applicable executive orders issued by the governor and local officials.
Most courtrooms in Tennessee are not located in stand-alone facilities but instead share space in courthouses with a variety of other governmental offices and agencies.
The high court’s emergency order put almost all in-person court business on hold but made exceptions for jail dockets, orders of protection and other emergency actions.
It also required local judges to submit a plan for reducing the jail population statewide.
In Nashville, jury trials have been suspended until at least September. Earlier this month, an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Davidson County Jail led General Sessions judges to suspend bond dockets as all courts cemented ways of holding virtual jail docket hearings.
Under the plan to relaunch in-person proceedings, which was approved by the state’s Supreme Court, people who are attending hearings in the historic courthouse, the Justice A.A. Birch Building and the Davidson County Juvenile Court Building are asked to wear masks. The judicial district anticipates having masks available for those who need them.
Gov. Bill Lee also granted authority to local governments to declare mask mandates, and some county mayors have moved to require them. Lee’s announcement came July 3 and granted local authority to counties as coronavirus cases spike across Tennessee.
Six counties with locally run health departments — Sullivan, Knox, Hamilton, Davidson, Madison and Shelby — already had authority to issue mask mandates as needed.
COVID-19 numbers rising
The Tennessee Department of Health announced there are 57,591 cases of the coronavirus in the state as of Thursday afternoon, including 438 “probable” cases. That’s an increase of 1,605 in 24 hours during which 21,736 tests were reported.
Twenty-five people died from coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours. The virus has now caused 710 deaths statewide, health officials said.
Sixty-five more people were hospitalized with the virus since Wednesday, bringing the total to 3,088. There have been 33,609 recoveries statewide.
Bivins cited the increases as cause for the mask mandate.
“The recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths required the Court to reconsider how to best keep the public, court staff, and judiciary safe while keeping courts as open and accessible as possible,” Bivins said.
The Supreme Court order exempts from the mask requirement children under the age of 12 and “individuals with a bona fide medical reason,” the high court’s release stated.
The release states that citizens can obtain face coverings “for free or low cost” via the website tnmasksupply.com — a program sponsored by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration in which businesses help fund the mask price in return for promotional advertising.
The website lists various “Tennessee Strong” masks for sale.
It’s not clear from the website how a citizen could obtain a free one.
“Courthouses are also coordinating with local Tennessee Emergency Management Agency offices to have masks available,” the Supreme Court release stated.
The Tennessee Supreme Court will not, however, lift its order allowing jury trials to resume in courtrooms across the state, the release stated.
The court has not drafted or sought to enforce a uniform policy on how those trials can safely and constitutionally be held in an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is worsening here.
The high court has also remained silent on public access to those trials. That access is either ignored or barred in most judicial reopening plans drafted by local judges and approved by the state Supreme Court, a Knox News review has shown.
The state Supreme Court in March issued a judicial state of emergency order suspending in-person hearings and authorizing virtual hearings.
The court also pushed local judges to come up with plans to help clear out jails of nonviolent offenders. In late May, the high court announced trials could resume in July.