COVID-19 NJ SUPREME COURT ISSUES SWEEPING ORDER 3/27/20

 

Family & Criminal Law Alliance
Dear Friends:
The NJ Supreme Court issued another sweeping order on 3/27/20 to address the continuing Convid-19/Coronavirus effects upon the NJ courts.  Below are the highlighted passages that affect criminal, family, and municipal court practitioners. Note, we carved out the last section of the order that deals with relaxing of the rules regarding electronic signatures.
If our law firm can be of assistance to you or any of your clients, please do not hesitate to reach out.  We hope you find this information informative and we will continue to post data relevant to our practices on our legal blog. 
SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY In response to the growing public health crisis worldwide and in this state involving the COVID-19 coronavirus, the New Jersey Judiciary has implemented various modifications to court operations, including an ongoing transition to video and phone proceedings instead of in-person appearances and related measures intended to minimize in-person contact and adhere to crucial social distancing measures recommended by the New Jersey Department of Health (“NJ DOH”) and the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”).
(2) CRIMINAL a. Based on the continued suspension of jury trials and grand jury sessions, the provisions of the March 19, 2020 Order regarding excludable time are extended as follows: 2 1. In the computation of the time limits for the commencement of a prosecution for an indictable offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:1-6(b), the additional period starting March 30 through April 26, 2020, shall be tolled; 11. In the calculation of the time period for the return of an indictment for an eligible defendant detained in the county jail, the additional period from March 30 through April 26, 2020, shall be excluded due to exceptional circumstances, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(b)(l)(f), and on account of good cause for the delay, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:162- 22(b)(l)(l), namely, grand jury unavailability, which period shall be attributable to the court; 111. In the calculation of the time period for the commencement of trial for an eligible defendant detained in the county jail, the additional period from March 30 through April 26, 2020, shall be excluded due to exceptional circumstances, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(b)(l)(f), and on account of good cause for the delay, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(b)(l)(l), namely, the statewide postponement of jury trials, which period shall be attributable to the court; 3 (3) CIVIL iv. Those excludable time provisions are not intended to prevent the parties from making every effort to continue to resolve cases prior to indictment and trial, and courts will conduct proceedings by video or phone, as appropriate; and
(4) FAMILY proceedings to be conducted in a location other than the courthouse; and a. The provisions of the March 17, 2020 Order are affirmed, and Rule 5:5-l(e) is relaxed and supplemented to permit the additional extension of discovery deadlines through April 26, 2020; b. The time periods for dismissal of family cases for lack of prosecution will be tolled for the period from March 16 through April 26, 2020; and in addition, automated lack of prosecution dismissal processes for family matters will be suspended through April 26, 2020; c. The provisions of the March 19, 2020 Order regarding Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel (ESP) sessions are extended as follows: 1. Matrimonial ESP sessions scheduled from March 16 to April 10, 2020 have been postponed, and Matrimonial ESP sessions scheduled from April 11 to April 26, 2020 will also be rescheduled; 11. Effective April 27, 2020, Matrimonial ESP sessions will resume, with participation in any session to be via video and/or telephone conference and initiated by an arbitrator or 9 (5) TAX panelist. Designated court staff will resolve any scheduling issues and will provide assistance as necessary to facilitate the process. Any participant may apply to the court for extension of deadlines or rescheduling of sessions as may be required based on the circumstances of an individual case, including but not limited to barriers to participation by video or phone conferencing; and iii. The provisions of Rules 5:5-5 and 5:5-6 are relaxed and supplemented: (i) to permit the extension of ESP time frames, (ii) to allow submissions to be sent directly to the panelists, (iii) to authorize these proceedings to be conducted in a location other than the courthouse, and (iv) to allow post-ESP events to proceed without the simultaneous entry of an court order; and
6) MUNICIPAL a. Municipal Court sessions are suspended through April 26, 2020, during which period Municipal Court functions will continue as described in the March 14, 2020 notice;
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES a. The provisions of Rule 1 :32-2A(c) and all other Court Rules requiring original signatures on filings are relaxed and supplemented so as to permit electronic signatures to be used in all filing processes temporarily authorized to be used during the COVID-19 crisis, including but not limited to emergent applications submitted by email and hardcopy submissions in dockets without an approved electronic filing system, as well as in disciplinary and fee arbitration matters, and applications for admission to the bar.
Full Order Here
We hope that everyone is safe and healthy!
Bob Bianchi
Dave Bruno