The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order and operational guidelines to help courts statewide resume in-person operations, effective June 1, and establish procedures for remote hearings.
Since mid-March, the state’s courts have been operating under precautionary measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19, while continuing to conduct emergency and essential matters.
The new order modifies the Illinois Supreme Court’s March 17 order so that each circuit may return to hearing all matters either in-person or remotely according to a schedule adopted for each county by the chief circuit judge.
Madison County Chief Judge Bill Mudge said he has been meeting with the county’s health and facilities departments over the past several weeks to assess courtrooms, to implement safety measures suggested, and to ensure the health and safety of the public, judges and court personnel.
He said he was grateful that the new order recognizes that each jurisdiction is different and provides discretion for chief judges to implement localized plans to increase their operations.
"Generally speaking, access to the courthouses will be limited to lawyers and named parties," Mudge said in a statement.
"Social distancing and spacing requirements will be implemented, along with a face covering requirement. Plexiglas germ shields are being installed, and hand sanitizer is provided throughout the buildings. Routine protocols for disinfecting have also been implemented. We are staggering court appearance times and limiting the number of notices that are sent by the clerk in an effort to reduce the flow of traffic in and out of the buildings and within the courtrooms."
The Illinois Supreme Court's announcement also noted that remote hearings "which have proven to be successful nationwide," will play a large role in reducing the numbers of people appearing at courthouses and ensuring the safety of court users, staff and judicial officers.
Mudge said the Third Judicial Circuit has been conducting remote hearings for some time and will be encouraging their use going forward, where appropriate.
In St. Clair County, Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson said the court's re-opening plan also includes virtual conferencing and remote access hearings.
"We are gearing up to re-open the courts to hearings using virtual technology and remote access," Gleeson said. "We have tested various platforms for both meetings and hearings and believe we are now ready to open our justice system back up, albeit mostly remotely.
"So far, the response from attorneys has been positive."
Gleeson noted that since Gov. JB Pritzker's initial stay at home order, the Illinois Supreme Court has suspended deadlines for criminal jury trials due to the inability to gather. He said that most of the mandatory felony criminal proceedings that are being held are already being held remotely with defendants appearing via closed circuit video from the jail.
"In the coming weeks, some civil judges are going to start testing the use of Zoom for their entire docket," he said. "So far we have only done limited test runs of single cases."
He added that family court cases, which involve divorce, custody and child support, will begin their remote access re-opening on May 26, and that major civil cases will reopen remotely the following week. An announcement about traffic and criminal cases will follow.
In the Supreme Court's press release, Chief Justice Anne Burke acknowledged that courts around the state "have risen to this enormous challenge to continue the judicial branch mission to protect the rights and liberties of all by providing equal access to justice, resolving disputes, and upholding the rule of law.. The Court realizes that the health crisis is not over, but we must advance justice in a safe and organized manner.”