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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 #3
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.
The Governor of West Virginia has declared a state of emergency and has issued
several Executive Orders closing public schools, businesses, and public offices in an
attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease. The President of the United
States has issued Coronavirus Guidelines for America1 urging everyone to work from
home wherever possible.
1The President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2020/03/03.16.20_coronavirus-guidance_8.5x11_315PM.pdf (last visited March 22,
2020).
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health
authorities have advised taking precautions to reduce the possibility of exposure to
the virus in order to slow the spread of the disease. Preventing the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic requires limiting public contact to essential matters.
Participants in court proceedings are necessarily often in close proximity to each
other. At the time the court issued its first General Order relating to exigent
circumstances in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no confirmed cases in
West Virginia. That is no longer the case, and in fact there has been a confirmed
diagnosis of an individual who has significant access to a judicial building of the
state court system, triggering that building to be closed2 on March 21, 2020. There is
understandable concern that inadequate testing available at this time to monitor the
transmission of the disease makes it likely that the disease is substantially more
widespread than it appears. Moreover, West Virginia has a relatively high elderly
population and greater incidence of other medical conditions that can make
individuals more vulnerable to the virus.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, that all civil and criminal petit jury
selections and trials scheduled to commence now through April 24, 2020 before any
district or magistrate judge in the Southern District of West Virginia are
CONTINUED until further order of the Court; and it is further
2Health Department Identifies a COVID-19 Case on an Individual Who is Now Being Treated at
CAMC Hospital— Kanawha County Commission to Shut Down Access to Judicial Building :
https://s3.amazonaws.com/wvmetro-uploads-prod/2020/03/Judicial_building_closure.pdf?x35760 (last
visited March 21, 2020).
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ORDERED that with regard to criminal trials, due to the Court’s reduced
ability to obtain an adequate spectrum of 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 all other in-person civil and criminal proceedings in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, including court
appearances, trials, hearings, settlement conferences, admission ceremonies, and
grand jury meetings now scheduled to occur from March 23, 2020, through April 24,
2020, are POSTPONED and will be rescheduled at a later date, unless the presiding
judge in an individual case issues an order after the date of this Order directing that
a particular proceeding will be held on or before April 24, 2020. Using rescheduling
information that will be provided by each presiding judge, the Clerk’s Office will
docket this General Order in each case, and further indicate on the docket sheet
what filing deadlines have been changed. This process will reduce individualized
workload for the court and litigants but will take approximately twenty-four to
forty-eight hours after the date of this order to complete. Parties are therefore
encouraged to monitor the docket sheet for a period of time in order to determine
what deadlines or schedule dates have been changed in each case; and it is further
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ORDERED that the naturalization ceremony scheduled for May 4, 2020 is
POSTPONED; and it is further
ORDERED that due to the unavailability of a grand jury in this District, the
30-day time period for filing an indictment or an information is TOLLED as to each
defendant during the time period March 13, 2020 through April 24, 2020, in
alignment with 18 U.S.C. § 3161(b); and it is further
ORDERED that the Court will remain open for emergency criminal, civil, and
bankruptcy matters related to public safety, public health and welfare, and
individual liberty; 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 are closed to the general public effective immediately. Only
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, and authorized persons who display
government or other identifying credentials to Court Security Officers may be
present in the courthouses. 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. Postal and common courier deliveries will continue to be
processed in the usual fashion; 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
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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.
SO ORDERED this 23rd day of March, 2020.
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