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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
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In Re:
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10 REMOTE COURT PROCEEDINGS FOR GENERAL ORDER NO. 12-20
PETTY OFFENSE AND
11 MISDEMEANOR HEARINGS UNDER
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THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES
CREATED BY COVID-19 AND
13 RELATED CORONAVIRUS
14 This General Order is being issued in response to the ongoing spread of Coronavirus
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Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and in conjunction with the Court’s other General Orders relating to
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the pandemic: e.g., General Order 02-20, 03-20, 08-20, 11-20. The Court hereby incorporates
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18 into this General Order, its previously issued General Orders’ findings regarding COVID-19 and
19 the current state of emergency declarations and guidelines as set forth in its COVID-19 General
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Orders.
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This General Order provides guidance on how the Court will conduct petty offense and
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misdemeanor criminal proceedings via video conferencing or telephone conferencing in a
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24 manner that protects the safety and health of all those involved in the proceedings while
25 preserving the legal rights of the accused pro se defendants and defendants who are represented
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by counsel; and facilitating public access to the remote hearings.
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The Court recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic situation is still evolving.
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Effective immediately, the Court ORDERS, that necessary petty offense and
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2 misdemeanor criminal proceedings, including, but not limited to, initial appearances,
3 arraignments, new arrest hearings, guilty plea hearings, pretrial motion hearings, and sentencing
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hearings, will be conducted in the following manner, as deemed appropriate by the presiding
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District Court Judge or Magistrate Judge, or as further directed by the undersigned; except that a
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jury trial will be conducted by video conference and not by telephone conference:
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9 (1) To limit exposure to COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of everyone
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involved in the proceeding, the Court hereby orders that physically applied signatures
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on documents in petty offense or misdemeanor criminal proceedings conducted
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13 remotely will not be required. Instead, the Court will make a record that the document
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documents include, but are not limited to the following: Consent to proceed in
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abstentia, consent to proceed before a Magistrate Judge in a misdemeanor case,
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consent to proceed by telephone or video conference, financial affidavits, Pretrial and
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19 Probation reports, appearance bonds/orders for release, plea agreements, and
20 judgments.
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(2) As a substitute for physically-applied hand written signatures, confirmation that the
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defendant is understanding, agreeing to be bound, acknowledging, etc., shall be
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performed electronically -- with an electronic signature, or the [s/name] format, or
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25 by consent given verbally on the electronic record during the video or telephone
26 hearing. For a defendant who is represented by counsel, the defense counsel may sign
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the attorney’s signature, or the [s/name] format, or give verbal consent on behalf of
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the defendant on the record, after receiving the defendant’s consent and authorization
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2 from the defendant that the attorney may act on the defendant’s behalf. Upon such
3 authorization, the defense attorney shall communicate the defendant’s decision to
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consent, and the attorney must file the document by electronic means or give the
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verbal consent on the record by phone or video conference.
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(3) The Court will conduct all proceedings, including any new arrest hearing, for petty
8 offense and misdemeanor criminal cases in an entirely remote proceeding, with the
9 defendant’s consent, wherein the participants will appear remotely. The participants
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will be given the option to appear via videoconferencing using the Court’s connection
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or via telephone using the Court’s connection. At the presiding Judge’s discretion, a
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13 participant may join the video conference by telephone instead of by video. If the
14 defendant does not consent, the case may be rescheduled, as determined at the
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discretion of the presiding Judge. If the defendant is appearing pro se, or the defendant
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has not consented or authorized their attorney to represent them in abstentia, and the
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defendant is unable to connect to the Court’s video or phone conference, the Court
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19 may reschedule the hearing or take other appropriate action in the discretion of the
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(4) If video teleconferencing is not available, the Court will conduct a telephonic
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proceeding remotely. All participants will appear by telephone on the Court’s
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connection; except that in jury trials the proceeding will be rescheduled until video
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25 conference is available. Jury trials will not be conducted by telephone.
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(5) The Court will assist the participants, when necessary, in maintaining a separate
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2 phone connection, or a separate virtual meeting space, for confidential
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(6) The public will be provided remote access to attend the hearing using the Court’s
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video or phone connection, as available. An announcement regarding the public’s
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right of access and instructions for connecting to the hearing will be posted on the
8 Court’s website. Members of the public and media who attend a hearing remotely are
9 required to mute their phones.
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(7) All participants, or public or press attendees, are strictly prohibited from recording or
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broadcasting any of the Court’s remote hearings, in whole or in part, in any fashion.
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13 (8) All hearings conducted pursuant this Order will be recorded by reliable means by the
14 Court. This recording will constitute the official record of the Court’s remote
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proceedings.
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(9) Statutes and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allow the Court to conduct remote
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video and phone hearings, and conduct proceedings in abstentia, in petty offense and
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19 misdemeanor cases with the defendant’s consent. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 19, 3571,
20 3581(b)(6)-(9); 28 U.S.C. § 636 (a), (b); Fed. R. Crim. P. 5(e),(f), 5.1(a), 43(b)(2),(3),
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58(a)(1),(2), 58.
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2 The Court may extend, vacate, or amend this General Order as the public health crisis, resulting
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Dated this 1st day of September, 2020.
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RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
10 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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