UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
IN RE: GENERAL ORDER
COURT OPERATIONS UNDER THE EXIGENT
CIRCUMSTANCES CREATED BY COVID-19
March 24, 2020
WHEREAS, the President of the United States has declared a national emergency, and
the Governor of the State of Connecticut has declared a public health emergency throughout the
State;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised people to
take precautions in light of the COVID-19 virus (coronavirus) outbreak, and has noted that the
best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus, through, among other means,
social distancing;
AND
WHEREAS, the Court continues to review its operations to identify measures that will
help slow the spread of the virus by minimizing contact between persons, while at the same time
preserving its core mission of serving the public through the fair and impartial administration of
justice;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, effective immediately and until further order of the
Court, that the District Court Clerk’s Office will not be open to the public but will continue to
provide efficient service to the public and to litigants in the following manner:
1. Manual filings. All manual filings with the Court shall be made at a box designated
for that purpose in the entrance lobby of each courthouse. Each box will have a time-
stamp machine to show the city, date and time of filing. This order does not affect
filing through the Court’s electronic filing system, which remains available.
2. Payments. Any person required to make payments to the Court shall make such
payment by check or money order and shall either mail (or send by FedEx or UPS)
such payment to the Clerk’s Office in the relevant seat of court (the addresses and
phone numbers of which are provided below) or deposit the payment in the box
mentioned in paragraph 1. Each check or money order shall indicate the docket
number of the case and the purpose of the payment (e.g., “restitution”). Should any
person subject to a payment order be unable to obtain a check or money order, that
person may file a motion to request temporary relief from the payment obligation
from the judge assigned to the case. Individual judges may decide, in their discretion,
to require some showing that the litigant has made reasonable efforts to obtain a
check or money order. Payments may also be made online using Pay.gov.
Instructions for using Pay.gov can be found online at
http://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/payment-information.
3. Public computer terminal. The public computer terminal in the Clerk’s office will
no longer be accessible. Litigants may telephone the Clerk’s Office in each seat of
Court to obtain information and to request necessary copies of documents from each
litigant’s case file. Litigants and members of the public may also continue to access
court orders on the Court’s website at the following link:
https://ecf.ctd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opinions.pl. Electronic dockets may continue to
be accessed through PACER.
SO ORDERED:
3/24/2020 s/Stefan R. Underhill
Dated: ________________ ______________________________
Bridgeport, CT Stefan R. Underhill
Chief United States District Judge
Telephone numbers and addresses of Clerk’s Offices for the U.S. District Court:
New Haven
Richard C. Lee U. S. Courthouse
United States District Court
141 Church Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203-773-2140 | Clerk's Office
203-773-2334 | Fax
Hartford
Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building
United States District Court
450 Main Street
Suite A012
Hartford, CT 06103
860-240-3200 | Clerk's Office
860-240-3211 | Fax
Bridgeport
Brien McMahon Federal Building
United States District Court
915 Lafayette Boulevard
Bridgeport, CT 06604
203-579-5861 | Clerk's Office
203-579-5867 | Fax
