The Chief Justice of North Carolina’s state courts has announced a 30-day postponement of all non-essential, in-person court proceedings starting today, as a result of a “surge” in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Already, more than half of the state’s county courthouses have been partially or completely closed because of COVID-19 exposure, according to the release announcing the postponement. Eleven of those closures occurred last week alone. The state courts will continue to manage cases online, where possible, according to the announcement.
“In light of the recent surge of new COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and in our courts, this pause is necessary to protect the health and safety of our court personnel and the public,” said Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, in a statement. “Throughout the pandemic, we have moved an unprecedented amount of court work online, including hearings. Those efforts will allow us to limit in-person proceedings for the next few weeks while making sure our courts stay available to serve the public.”
The Chief Justice also mentioned a traditional slowdown that occurs during the last couple weeks of the year as a reason why the postponement will hopefully not have a significant impact on the court’s activities.
It will be interesting to see if other states react in a similar manner, given the significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States. While the first COVID-19 vaccines are set to arrive in all 50 states today, it will be “well into next year” before the majority of Americans are able to receive the vaccine. A calculator has been released
