FLED INTHE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF HAWAII
Jun 16, 2021, 4:14 pm
M ichelle Rynne, Clerk of Court
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAll
IN RE: DISTRICT OF HAWAH
RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
JUNE 16, 2021 TEMPORARY GENERAL ORDER REGARDING
DISTRICT OF HAWAIi RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
This Temporary General Order supersedes the Court's "March 15, 2021
Temporary General Order Regarding District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19
Pandemic."
The Court continues to monitor the spread of COVID-19 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 COVID-19. On June 7, 2021 , Hawaii Governor David Ige issued a
"Twenty-First Proclamation Related to the COVID-19 Emergency." The Twenty-
First 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 to avert
unmanageable strains on our healthcare system and other catastrophic impacts to
the State."
Considering the ongoing threat that COVID-19 poses in the State of Hawaii,
but also taking into account that a significant portion of the State of Hawaii's
population has been fully vaccinated and the need for the court to continue its
operations, with the agreement of all the judges of the United States District Court
for the District of Hawaii, the Court orders as follows:
Mitigation Measures for the Courthouse:
The courthouse and the Clerk’s Office will be open to the public Monday
through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, other than on holidays recognized by
the Court.
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. 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) a presiding judge may permit specific individuals to forgo wearing a
face mask in that judge’s courtroom.
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 public areas of the courthouse will be required to maintain
social distancing of at least six feet, unless exempted by the Court or a
presiding judge in that judge’s courtroom. 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.
The Court is implementing a voluntary program permitting certain
individuals who have been fully vaccinated to forego wearing a face mask
once in the well of a courtroom. A person is fully vaccinated two weeks
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after the final dose of either a 2-dose or 1-dose vaccine regimen. Under this
program, fully vaccinated individuals, including counsel and court
personnel, must wear a face mask in all public areas of the courthouse, but
may remove the face mask once inside the well of a courtroom. This
program does not require anyone to forego wearing a mask, but instead
permits individuals to choose not to do so with proof of full vaccination.
Attorneys will be notified by email as to the information that must be
provided to the court to qualify for this program. Attorneys may then share
this email information with other individuals who will appear in the well of
the court with them, including their clients, paralegals, case agents, and
interpreters. Pro se parties may contact the Clerk’s Office (by emailing
hid
[email protected] or calling (808) 541-1890) as to the
information that must be submitted to the court.
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) who has not been fully vaccinated and has been in close proximity for
more than 15 minutes to a person who has tested positive for COVID-
19, unless 10 days has passed since the last contact with the positive
individual;
3) who, regardless of vaccination status, is living in the same household
with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, unless 20 days
have passed since the person tested positive;
4) who has symptoms of a COVID-19 infection, including fever, chills,
shortness of breath, unexplained coughing, and new loss of taste or
smell; or
5) who is required by the State of Hawaii to be in self-quarantine.
Regardless of vaccination status, any non-courthouse employee planning to
enter the courthouse who has been outside of the State of Hawaii during a
previous 10-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
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responsible to provide notification on behalf of witnesses the attorney
intends to bring into the courthouse. Notice must be 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
[email protected]. Each presiding judge retains
the discretion to prohibit entry to any person based on COVID-19 concerns.
Non-Jury Proceedings:
In order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the Court will
make efforts 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 non-jury trials.
At the discretion of the presiding judge, the Court will continue to conduct
certain criminal proceedings by telephone or Zoom 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.
For registered CM/ECF users, filings will be processed in civil and criminal
cases via the CM/ECF electronic system, by mail, in person at the Clerk’s
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Office, or through use of the Court’s drop box located outside the
courthouse. Further, sealed matters may be filed by email to the Clerk’s
Office at clerks
[email protected].
Pro se litigants may file by mail, in person at the Clerk’s Office, using the
Court’s drop box, or by email to the Clerk’s Office at
[email protected]. File-stamped copies will be returned by
United States mail or email. Anyone seeking assistance 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 at www.hid.uscourts.gov/covid.
Parties are required to provide mandatory chambers copies as required by
Local Rule 10.3. Mandatory Chambers Copies may be mailed as permitted
by Local Rule 10.3(c)(2).
Jury Proceedings:
Given the size of the courthouse and the District Court’s 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 an individualized 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 on the fourth floor of the courthouse; that is, only one jury
trial can be safely held at a time on the fourth floor.
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
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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.
Although the Court will continue to prioritize the resumption of criminal
trials, limited civil trials will be held. The Court has designated Courtroom
8, which is too small to conduct a criminal jury trial, as its primary civil jury
trial courtroom. Given the size of Courtroom 8, along with the need to
socially distance, only relatively short trials with a limited number of
courtroom participants (such as lawyers, paralegals, IT staff, or clients) will
be able to proceed. The presiding judge has the discretion to determine if a
particular civil case is appropriate for a jury trial in Courtroom 8.
ORDERED ON BEHALF OF THE COURT:
DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, June 16, 2021.
/s/ J. Michael Seabright
J. Michael Seabright
Chief United States District Judge
In Re District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19 Pandemic; June 18, 2021 Temporary General
Order Regarding District of Hawaii Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
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