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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
Miscellaneous Case No. 2:20-mc-00052
IN RE: COURT OPERATIONS IN LIGHT OF
THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES
PRESENTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
GENERAL ORDER #6
On March 13, 2020 a General Order was entered recognizing the exigent
circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing all jury matters in
the District for a period of two weeks. On March 18, 2020, General Order #2 was
entered that imposed certain restrictions upon entry to the courthouses in the
District, in light of guidance issued by local and national public health authorities.
On March 23, 2020, the Court entered General Order #3, which expanded and
extended the measures set forth in the first two orders and made further findings
regarding the serious circumstances presented by the pandemic. General Order #3,
among other things, postponed or canceled all in person court proceedings and other
gatherings in this court and its courthouses through April 24, 2020, and generally
closed to the public the courthouses of this district, subject to some exceptions to
allow for necessary court business. On March 30, 2020, the Court entered General
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Order #4, relating to the expanded ability to conduct certain criminal proceedings
using videoconferencing technology. Finally, on April 14, 2020, the Court entered
General Order #5, which extended the previous postponement of all in-person court
proceedings and other gatherings in this court and its courthouses through May 31,
2020, and generally closed to the public the courthouses of this district, subject to
some exceptions to allow for necessary court business.
The Court now adopts its previous findings on this matter contained in the
prior orders. The Court further finds that state and local officials, including the
state court system, have begun efforts to gradually re-open while maintaining social
distancing, hygiene precautions, and implementing protocols to resume activities
without requiring a large number of individuals to gather in an enclosed location.
This gradual approach appears to be having a beneficial effect on the spread of the
virus, and the Court is mindful of the need to use the same approach while gradually
resuming court activities. Petit jury trials, in particular, require large groups of
individuals from throughout the district to travel and assemble, often in close
proximity to each other. Other court proceedings that involve fewer individuals may
continue to be conducted remotely using videoconferencing and other technologies,
or, in the discretion of the presiding judicial officer, may be conducted in-person in
accordance with social distancing guidelines.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, that all civil and criminal petit jury
selections and trials scheduled to commence now through June 30, 2020 before any
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district or magistrate judge in the Southern District of West Virginia are
CONTINUED until further order of the Court; and it is further
ORDERED that with regard to criminal trials, due to the Court’s reduced
ability to obtain an adequate spectrum of petit jurors and the effect of the above
public health recommendations on the availability of counsel and Court staff to be
present in the courtroom, the time period of the continuances implemented by this
Order will be excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, as the Court specifically finds
that the ends of justice served by ordering the continuances outweigh the best
interests of the public and each defendant in a speedy trial, pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
§ 3161(h)(7)(A); and it is further
ORDERED that with respect to grand jury meetings currently scheduled in
the month of June, the Court will make a subsequent determination as to whether it
is possible to obtain a quorum of grand jurors and provide a location for grand jury
meetings that complies with social distancing guidelines; and it is further
ORDERED that beginning on June 1, 2020, all other civil and criminal
proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia,
may be conducted in-person in the discretion of the presiding judicial officer,
provided that the in-person proceeding is conducted in a manner that complies with
social distancing guidelines. The courtrooms of the district will all be marked with
social distancing locations, and the presiding judicial officer has authority and
discretion to require the participants and officials who are present at any in-person
court proceeding to comply with any additional precautions that are deemed
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necessary under the circumstances. Where practical, presiding judicial officers may
continue the use of existing videoconferencing and other technologies to conduct
court proceedings in accordance with prior directives of the Court; and it is further
ORDERED that in order to reduce the necessity of handling mail, the
requirements of Local Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1(a)(5) and Local Rule of Criminal
Procedure 49.1 are hereby suspended through June 30, 2020, and it is therefore
unnecessary during this period for counsel to provide a paper courtesy copy to the
assigned judicial officer of a document over fifty pages in length that is filed
electronically; and it is further
ORDERED, pursuant to 41 C.F.R. 102-74.375, in order to provide for the
orderly conduct of government business, the U.S. Courthouses in the Southern
District of West Virginia continue to be closed to the general public. Only litigants
with scheduled in-person proceedings, family members of litigants with scheduled
in-person proceedings, parties who must appear in the courthouse as a direct
consequence of a court ruling, counsel of record, investigators or employees of
counsel, credentialed press, persons specifically authorized by a presiding judicial
officer in connection with an in-person proceeding, and authorized persons who
display government or other identifying credentials to Court Security Officers may
be present in the courthouses. Masks or facial coverings are strongly encouraged to
be worn by all persons entering the courthouse, especially while in the common
areas of the courthouse. Persons seeking entry to the courthouse are required to
provide their own masks or appropriate facial coverings. Presiding judicial officers
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have the discretion to require masks or facial coverings to be worn while in their
courtrooms or chambers. Members of the public will retain access to drop boxes at
the entrance of each courthouse to deposit papers between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday. Members of the public will have access to in-person
proceedings by means of remote online video and/or audio means. Postal and
common courier deliveries will continue to be processed as they have been under
General Orders #3 and #5; and it is further
ORDERED that this Order does not toll any applicable statute of limitations.
Electronic filing through CM/ECF will remain available, and self-represented
litigants may deposit papers in drop boxes at each courthouse between 8:30 a.m. and
5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For emergency criminal matters, please contact
the assigned magistrate judge. For emergency civil matters, please contact the
Clerk’s Office at (304) 347-3000. For emergency bankruptcy matters, please contact
the Bankruptcy Court Clerk’s Office at (304) 347-3003; and it is finally
ORDERED that the courthouse entry restrictions set forth in General Order
#2 continue to remain in effect for any person authorized to enter a courthouse in
this District, and General Order #4 relating to use of videoconferencing in criminal
proceedings remains in effect unchanged.
SO ORDERED this 22nd day of May, 2020.
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________________________________________
THOMAS E. JOHNSTON, CHIEF JUDGE
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