Courthouses slated for tentative reopen in June

TORRINGTON — The Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse in Torrington and Middlesex Judicial District Courthouse in Middletown are tentatively expected to resume operations June 8, according to a release from the Connecticut Judicial Branch.

The “partial resumption” — which is also expected to include the reopening of the Rockville courthouse — is being “guided first and foremost by the overarching goal of protecting the health and safety of the public, bar, staff and judges,” according to a statement from Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III.

Carroll said that the courts would operate differently than they did before the pandemic, as the judicial branch has instituted steps to do more court business remotely in recent months.

“The Judicial Branch we left behind as this crisis emerged will not be the same Judicial Branch we return to,” said Carroll. “Masks, social distancing, hand sanitizers, limitations on the number of people allowed in courtrooms and courthouses, and enhanced sanitization protocols are all going to be with us for the foreseeable future. The remote processing and handling of court matters via video conference will all now be routine components of the court system. The Judicial Branch, in a short time, has significantly increased its virtual capacity and, with the required funding to do so, our hope is to expand virtual capabilities across all divisions, criminal, family, civil and juvenile matters.”

The judicial branch is focusing on handling “Priority 1 business” in the physical courthouses, officials said.

This includes “arraignments of defendants held on bond; arraignments of defendants in any domestic violence cases, emergency child custody matters and juvenile detention hearings,” as well as “significantly, all other emergency matters,” officials said.

The hours for the three courthouses, as well as the others that have remained open, will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, officials said.

The “Supreme and Appellate Courts, the Judicial District courthouses in Bridgeport, New Britain, New Haven, New London and the Geographical Area Courthouses in Hartford (No. 14) and Waterbury (No. 4); and the juvenile courts in Hartford and Bridgeport” have remained open during the pandemic, officials noted.