UN ITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRI CT OF KENTUCKY
)
In Re: )
COURT OPERATIONS RELATED ) GENERAL ORDER
TO COVID-19 ) No. 20-03
)
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In further response to the COVID- 19 pandemic referenced in General Order No. 20-02
and consistent with acti ons taken by numero us federa l, state, and local entities, it is hereby
ORDERED as follows:
I. The continuatio n of all civ il and criminal tria ls set forth in Paragraph 1 of General
Order 20-02 shall be extended to all civ il and criminal trials schedu led to begin thro ugh May I,
2020.
2. All currently scheduled hearings in criminal cases through May I , 2020, including
all motion hearings, change of plea hearings, and sentencings are CONTINUED generally,
subject to further orders of the assigned judge who may exercise discretion to proceed with
affected hearings at the scheduled time or otherwise by telephone, video conference, or other
means that do not require personal appearance at the Courthouse.
3. Ini tial appearances on indictments and complaints, as we ll as a lleged violations of
pretrial or supervised release or probation, and detenti on hearings wi ll proceed as usual, with
utilization of remote attendance to the full extent practicable. However, appearances in any such
matters ordered by summ ons will be continued to a date after May I, 2020.
4. Subject to the exception below for temporary restraining orders and other
emergency matters, all in-person hearings in civil cases scheduled through May I, 2020, are
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VACATED. The assigned judge in each case may exercise discretion to proceed with the
hearing at the scheduled time or otherwise by telephone, video conference, or other means that
do not require personal appearance at the Courthouse.
5. Absent exceptional and unavoidable circumstances, all hearings in emergency
matters, including on applications for temporary restraining orders, shall be conducted by
telephone, video conference, or other means that do not require in-person attendance of parties,
counsel, and witnesses.
6. If a jail informs the United States Marshals Service (" USMS") that an inmate is
sick, that inmate should not be brought to court that day, and the USMS should inform the
magistrate judge on duty.
7. All naturalization ceremonies scheduled through May I, 2020, are POSTPONED
and will be rescheduled.
8. All settlement conferences scheduled through May I, 2020, are VACATED.
Questions concerning rescheduling settlement conferences should be directed to the judge
assigned to conduct the settlement conference.
9. All misdemeanor, traffi c and petty offense dockets schedu led in this Court
through May I , 2020, are hereby CONTINUED. ew dates for the cases scheduled on such
dockets shall be reset without the need to file any motions with the Court.
10. For all complaints filed pursuant to the Fa lse Claim s Act, 3 1 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.
which remain under seal, the Court finds that pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(3) good cause
exists to grant the Un ited States an extensio n of tim e in wh ich to intervene in said actions due to
the COVID-19 pandemic and the logistical constraints it has created. For all sealed qui tam
cases filed pursuant to 3 1 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. , the United States shall have an additional 60
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days from the current intervention deadline in which to intervene in said action or to notify the
Court if it declines to do so. Nothing in this General Order shall be construed to limit the United
States from seeking additional extension of time in said cases.
11. The Courthouses shall remain open for mission-critical functions of the judiciary,
but the public and members of the bar are directed to come to the Courthouses only as necessary
for official court-related activities, including case filings that cannot be submitted electronically,
attendance for in-person criminal hearings described above, and the like. Further, effective
through May 1, 2020, the Courthouses will be open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM
local time to 2:00 PM local time.
12. It is further ordered that the following persons shall not enter any United States
Courthouse in the Western District of Kentucky:
a. any person who has been in China, South Korea, Japan , Iran, or Europe
within 14 days prior to the date of entry of this General Order or the date
on which such person is seeking entry to the Courthouse;
b. any person who resides or has been in contact with someone who has been
in one of the countries listed above within the past 14 days;
c. any person who has been asked to self-quarantine by any doctor, hospital ,
health agency; or other healthcare provider;
d. any person who has been diagnosed with or has had contact with anyone
who has been diagnosed with COVID-19; or
e. any person experiencing fever, cough, or shortness of breath .
To ensure the implementation of this provision, the USMS and the Court Security Officers are
accordingly DIRECTED to appropriately screen any visitors entering the United States
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Courthouses in the Western District of Kentucky co nsistent with these visitor restrictions and
shall deny entry to anyone attempting to enter in v iol ation of this General Order.
13 . Except to the extent amended by this General Order, all other prov1s1ons of
General Order 20-02 remain in effect.
14. As dictated by the ever-changin g circumstances and the ant icipated increase in
comm unity spread of COVID-19, the Court may issue further responses as the situation evolves,
including possible extensions of the tim eframes set forth in this General Order.
Dated: March 20, 2020
Greg N. Stivers, Ch ief Judge
Uni ted Stites District Court
B!itL~
MAR 2-0 2020
U.S. OfSTRICT COURT
WEl'r J IST. KENlUCKY
/<(f l ) ~
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