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Armstead attempting to strike a balance with court reopening plans

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two timelines for court reopenings across the Mountain State are set out in protocols from the West Virginia Supreme Court with differences allowed for areas with low numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases versus areas with high numbers.

Tim Armstead

The protocols, setting minimum statewide standards, generally allow for returns to normal court operations in phases beginning as early as May 18 with sanitization, physical distancing and personal protection, where appropriate.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Tim Armstead said it will be up to local officials to determine specifics based on community conditions.

“There’s a lot of local discretion here for the judge to gauge his or her area and work with their local health department but we’re also putting in place very strict protocols that need to be followed,” Armstead told MetroNews. “We gradually do this in stages, every two weeks we add a different type of proceeding.”

MORE read administrative order here

Courts are not required to resume in-person proceedings at the scheduled time and have discretion to delay reopenings, mandate additional restrictions or to continue with the video or remote hearings that have been used during pandemic closures.

“When a localized outbreak occurs,” the protocols said, “It may be appropriate for the Chief Circuit Judge or Chief Family Court Judge to issue temporary judicial emergency orders.”

“There may be situations where we need to pull back in this process and take a break and we want the local judges throughout our state, who have been doing a remarkable job dealing with this crisis, to be able to have some latitude,” Armstrong said.

The May 18 date applies to “green counties,” those not designated as “hotspots” for COVID-19 through the state Department of Health and Human Resources.

For “green counties,” grand jury proceedings may begin on June 15 with jury trials picking up on June 29, again if local officials determine it’s safe to do so.

As of Thursday morning, the five “hotspot” counties were Monongalia County, Marion County, Harrison County, Berkeley County and Jefferson County.

In those counties, hearing or other proceedings were to continue, when possible, via video or teleconference; employees where to continue to work remotely; staffing was to remain minimal and jurors or grand jurors were not to be called until after “hotspot” removals.

A judicial emergency was declared in West Virginia on March 22, a day after a court system employee at the Kanawha County Judicial Annex tested positive for COVID-19. Other cases would later be linked to the building.

All but essential hearings were delayed. Another order from the court late last month allowed for some civil case proceedings if each party agreed to online or hearings over the phone.

Armstead said they’ll be some backlog of cases to deal with but the courts have been working albeit remotely.

“There will certainly be some catching up to do in terms of trials and grand jury proceedings but in terms of the hearings and the matters that have been moving forward, I think they been really jumping in there and doing as much as they can, keeping these cases moving through technology,” Armstead said.





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