Court-appearance guidelines issued

No date set for proceedings to restart

BENTONVILLE — The Arkansas Supreme Court issued guidelines once in-person appearances resume in the courts.

Chief Justice Dan Kemp sent letters to judges about protecting people from contracting covid-19. The state Supreme Court suspended the majority of court proceedings in March to prevent the spread of the virus.

Kemp’s letter requests personnel to take the temperature of people entering the courthouse and have them complete a brief questionnaire on symptoms and potential exposure. He’s requiring medical-grade thermometers be purchased and staff members trained to use them.

Courts should protect against exposure from asymptomatic people by continuing to practice social distancing of a minimum of 6 feet between people and by requiring people to wear masks, the letter said.

Now is the time to begin acquiring supplies and equipment to implement the guidelines, according to the letter. Kemp wants the courts to buy masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for use by the staff and individuals entering the courthouse.

Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay,

who hears criminal cases, said he’s going to start gathering supplies and making other preparations.

“I don’t think we can predict yet when we’re going to be allowed to have in-person proceedings, except for these necessary things,” Lindsay said. “For instance, one of the other orders they entered prohibits empanelling a jury until the first part of July.

“We’re going to make preparations that we can, but, first of all, we need to know when the county judge is going to reopen the courthouse. I’m going to certainly want to consult with the prosecutor and public defenders and get their input, particularly the public defenders. Right now they have a hard time visiting with their clients. And, I’m going to definitely want to visit with the sheriff to see how he feels about beginning transport to the courthouse again,” he said.

Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards said District Judge Jeff Conner had the courtroom set up in March to practice social distancing.

Edwards said there’s no court scheduled for May. He has instructed a court clerk to call individuals scheduled to appear in court in June to bring and wear masks. A paramedic will be at the court checking temperatures, he said.

Jason Kelley, the city attorney for Bella Vista, said the guidelines are being discussed. The social distancing concept is tough to have in Bella Vista, he said.

“We don’t have a holding pen of space for people to spread out,” Kelley said. He said the court may try to conduct some proceedings with Zoom, a videoconferencing system.

Rogers District Judge Chris Griffin signed an order Tuesday resetting all in-person cases for after May 31.

Griffin said city and county prosecutors are still working and available for defense attorneys to resolve cases with plea agreements. He encouraged attorneys to resolve as many cases as possible through a written plea agreement without requiring a court appearance.

People still will be given the standard 14 days to appear to arrange payments and public service, according to Griffin’s order. Fines will not be set for first payment until 90 days after their initial appearance.