COVID-19 prompts more court restrictions

Saskatchewan’s Provincial Court is further reducing court operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic:

Access is restricted to those considered necessary to proceedings. Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or who has been asked to self-isolate should not attend the courthouses. Crown and defence counsel have “blanket permission” to appear by phone on all matters except trials and preliminary hearings

. All circuit court locations are closed until after May 31. Docket court proceedings are adjourned to dates past May 31, 2020. Adjournment dates will be posted on sasklawcourts.ca and outside of the court facility. For those without a lawyer, the matter will be placed on the docket for the adjourned date, when the accused must appear.

Trials and preliminary hearings at circuit courts will be adjourned to after May 31, 2020. If counsel believes an in-custody matter should proceed, arrangements must be made in advance.

Those without a lawyer for a trial or preliminary hearing need to to contact the court office responsible for the circuit court before the originally scheduled date.

Bail hearings and sentencings for in-custody accused will proceed by telephone and video conferencing at the local permanent court point unless a judge orders otherwise.

Counsel who have reached a resolution on matters that have been adjourned may ask to bring the matter forward to dealt with by phone at the judge’s discretion.

All 13 permanent provincial court locations will remain open. Applications for urgent child protection matters can proceed at provincial court permanent locations. Local judges will determine whether and how hearings will take place.

Provincial tickets and trials requiring court appearances at all court locations (including Traffic Safety Court) between March 23 and May 31 will be adjourned. Ticket recipients need to exercise one of the following options: Make a voluntary payment online, by mail to the Fine Collection Branch, Box 5030, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3T9, or by telephone at (306) 787-7821 or toll-free at 1-888-9355555; contact the local court office by phone for time to pay extensions, time to pay requests and to enter not guilty pleas.

Tickets will be adjourned to dates 10 weeks or more from your original court date and you will need to appear at that time.

You will be able to refer to sasklawcourts.ca for your adjourned-to date. All small claims trials and case management conferences between now and May 31 are adjourned. Parties will be contacted.

Small claims documents can be filed by mail or by placing them in a drop box provided in the lobby of the courthouse for this purpose. All stand-alone bylaw courts will be closed until May 31. Contact the local municipal office to discuss the rescheduling.

All court users are required to follow handwashing and social distancing protocols, keeping two metres of space between individuals.

The number of people permitted in any courtroom or court area will accord with the current Public Health Order, currently set at 25 people.

For more information, go to www.sasklawcourts.ca.