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Law360 (April 1, 2020, 9:43 PM EDT) -- As the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections across the state continues to swell, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to extend an order shutting down the bulk of physical court operations in the state through the end of the month.
The justices, who first declared a statewide judicial emergency on March 16, said they agreed to extend the courthouse closure order at the urging of the state's top health official in order "to further restrict the amount of person-to-person contact and mitigate the spread of COVID-19."
While the previous order had allowed only certain essential court functions to continue, the justices said on Wednesday they believed that non-essential matters could begin moving forward using "advanced communication technology consistent with constitutional limitations."
But the justices stressed that courts should keep complying with orders and guidance from Gov. Tom Wolf's administration that, for the time being, have shuttered "non-life sustaining" businesses, with exceptions for attorneys.
An initial emergency order from the justices on March 16 left it up to county-level trial courts to suspend proceedings in response to the novel coronavirus.
Acting on the advice of Wolf and his top health official two days later, however, the justices agreed to close county-level courthouses and the three statewide appellate courts, with certain exceptions for essential functions, until at least April 3.
And with the virus continuing to spread, the justices on Wednesday said they will continue the statewide shutdown through the end of the month.
The high court had previously agreed to cancel an upcoming argument session scheduled to be held the week of April 20 in Pittsburgh.
While the order mandates the closure of courthouses through the end of the month, the high court gave individual county-level president judges latitude to continue curtailing proceedings through the end of May.
The court's efforts to help stop the virus' spread came as Justice David Wecht announced he was self-quarantining along with his family after one of his children tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from overseas.
But in an update posted to the court's website on Tuesday, Justice Wecht said that he and all members of his family were healthy and asymptomatic and were ending their self-quarantine.
--Editing by Adam LoBelia.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
