FILED IN THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF HAWAII
Nov 12, 2020, 3:33 pm
CLERK OF COURT
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII
IN RE: DISTRICT OF HAWAII
RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 TEMPORARY GENERAL ORDER REGARDING
DISTRICT OF HAWAII RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
This Temporary General Order supersedes the Court’s “October 9, 2020
Temporary General Order Regarding District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19
Pandemic” and is effective as of November 16, 2020.
The Court continues to monitor the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the
State of Hawaii and the rest of the United States, and has carefully considered the
need to protect the public, court employees, jurors, litigants, and counsel from
being exposed to the COVID-19 virus. On October 13, 2020, Hawaii Governor
David Ige issued a “Fourteenth Proclamation Related to the COVID-19
Emergency.” The Fourteenth Proclamation states, in part, that “COVID-19
continues to endanger the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Hawaii and a
response requires the serious attention, effort, and sacrifice of all people in the
State of Hawaii to avert unmanageable strains on our healthcare system and other
catastrophic impacts to the State.” Further, the City and County of Honolulu has
developed a 4-tier system for reopening various sectors of the economy, with Tier
1 being the most restrictive and Tier 4 being the most relaxed. At the time of this
Order, the City and County of Honolulu is in Tier 2.
Understanding the continuing threat that COVID-19 poses in the State of
Hawaii, and in order to protect the public, court employees, jurors, litigants, and
counsel, with the agreement of all of the judges of the United States District Court
for the District of Hawaii, the Court orders a partial closure of the courthouse as
follows:
Beginning November 16, 2020, the courthouse will be open Monday
through Friday (other than holidays), but solely for in-person court hearings or
trials. The public will be permitted to enter the courthouse to attend in-person
court hearings or trials and for no other purpose.
Mitigation Measures for the Courthouse:
• All persons entering the courthouse, including but not limited to litigants,
attorneys, members of the public, media, vendors, and contractors, shall be
required to wear a face mask (without valves) that fully covers the nose and
mouth while in all public areas of the courthouse. The three exceptions to
this rule are:
1) children too young to wear a face mask;
2) those who cannot wear a face mask due to medical necessity may
wear a face shield in lieu of a face mask; and
3) individual judges may permit anyone speaking in a courtroom while
court is in session to wear a face shield in lieu of a face mask, or
permit a witness to testify behind plexiglass without a face mask or
face shield.
• Anyone seeking entry to the courthouse without a face mask will be
provided a free face mask at the courthouse entry. Anyone refusing to wear
a face mask (or face shield, if permitted) as required by this Order shall be
denied entry, or removed from the courthouse, by the United States Marshals
Service.
• Hand sanitizer stations will be made available throughout the courthouse,
including immediately upon entry and by all elevators.
• Everyone in the courthouse will be required to maintain social distancing of
at least six feet, unless exempted by the Court. For instance, while at the
entry pavilion or waiting for an elevator, all visitors are required to maintain
at least a six-foot distance from the nearest person. The courtrooms will
have chairs clearly designated for use that meet the six-foot distancing
requirement.
2
• Entry to the courthouse will be denied to anyone:
1) who has tested positive for COVID-19, unless asymptomatic for 10
days after receiving the positive test result;
2) in close proximity for more than 15 minutes to a person who has
tested positive for COVID-19, unless 14 days has passed since the last
contact with the positive individual;
3) living in the same household with a person who has tested positive for
COVID-19, unless 24 days has passed since the person tested
positive; or
4) having symptoms of a COVID-19 infection, including fever, chills,
shortness of breath, unexplained coughing, and new loss of taste or
smell.
• Entry to the courthouse will be denied to anyone required by the State of
Hawaii to be in self-quarantine.
• Courthouse employees will be required to telework or be on approved leave
for a 14-day period after entering the State of Hawaii from anywhere outside
the State of Hawaii before returning to the courthouse, unless exempted by
the Court.
• Any other person (that is, any non-courthouse employee) entering the
courthouse who has been outside of the State of Hawaii during a previous
14-day period is required to provide the Court with written notification that
the person intends to enter the courthouse. Notification must be provided as
early as possible. This notification requirement includes attorneys
(appearing for any purpose) and witnesses, and applies regardless of any
State of Hawaii quarantine exemption. Attorneys are responsible to provide
notification on behalf of witnesses the attorney intends to bring into the
courthouse. Notice must be provided as soon as feasible and sent to the
orders email address for the presiding judge. See https://www.hid.uscourts.
gov/contactJudges. If grand jury is being held, notice regarding any grand
jury appearances by an attorney or witness must be sent to Seabright
[email protected]. Each presiding judge retains the discretion to
prohibit entry to any person based on COVID-19 concerns.
3
Non-Jury Proceedings:
• In order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the Court will
make every effort to minimize traffic in the courthouse. Each presiding
district or magistrate judge will determine whether civil matters, including
case management matters, settlement conferences, and hearings, will be
taken off calendar pursuant to Local Rule 7.1, or conducted by telephone,
Zoom, or in court.
• Each presiding judge will determine how to proceed with civil non-jury
trials.
• At the discretion of the presiding judge, the Court will continue to conduct
certain criminal proceedings by telephone or video as permitted by the
Court’s most current CARES Act Order.
• Certain criminal proceedings that fall outside the Court’s most recent
CARES Act Order will be conducted in court, if possible.
• If a presiding judge elects to proceed with a hearing by telephone or Zoom,
all hearings will be available to members of the public and the media, to the
extent permitted and practicable. Specific information will be available on
each case’s individual docket on PACER, and further instructions can be
found on the Court’s website. Members of the public and media are strictly
prohibited from recording or broadcasting any hearing (whether telephonic
or Zoom), in whole or in part, in any fashion. Failure to abide by this
restriction may result in sanctions. Further information may be set forth on
the Court’s website, www.hid.uscourts.gov, and may change from time to
time.
• Filings will continue to be processed in civil and criminal cases via the CM-
ECF electronic system and by mail. Rather than coming to the Clerk’s
Office, paper filings must be deposited in the drop box located outside the
courthouse.
• Although the Clerk’s Office will remain closed to the public pro se litigants
may file by United States mail, by using the drop box located outside the
courthouse, or by email (
[email protected]). File-stamped
copies will be returned by United States mail. Anyone seeking assistance
4
from the Clerk’s Office should call (808) 541-1890. Additional procedures
for filing court documents can be found on the Court’s website at the
COVID-19 information page (www.hid.uscourts.gov/covid).
• Until further notice, in both civil and criminal matters, no courtesy copies of
filings are to be provided to chambers unless specifically ordered by a
presiding judge.
Jury Proceedings as of November 16, 2020:
• No jury trial shall commence prior to November 16, 2020.
• Given the size of the courthouse and the District Court’s fourth floor
courtrooms, and the need for parties, counsel, paralegals, interpreters, court
staff, and jurors to maintain the required six-foot social distancing
throughout any trial, certain multi-plaintiff or multi-defendant cases cannot
be conducted safely. Until further notice and in the interest of safety, the
Court will thus limit the number of counsel and parties that can be in a
courtroom during a trial. Each case will be considered on a case-by-case
basis, taking into account the number of participants involved, the
anticipated length of the trial, and any other relevant considerations.
• The Court further finds that multiple jury trials cannot safely be conducted
simultaneously; once the courthouse reopens to trials, only one jury trial can
be safely held at a time.
• The Court understands that the continuance of jury trials has and will
continue to cause hardship for all parties. For criminal cases, individual
presiding judges will hold trial setting status conferences as required. But
before any status conference is held, parties are required to confer to
determine if a stipulation can be entered to continue the trial date and toll
time under the Speedy Trial Act, which may eliminate the need for a status
conference. Each presiding judge will make appropriate findings and enter
an order (whether as part of a stipulation or as a standalone order) tolling
time under the Speedy Trial Act; that is, each presiding judge will make the
individual findings required by the Speedy Trial Act.
5
ORDERED ON BEHALF OF THE COURT:
DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, November 12, 2020.
/s/ J. Michael Seabright
J. Michael Seabright
Chief United States District Judge
In Re District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19 Pandemic; November 16, 2020 Temporary
General Order Regarding District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
6
