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Law360 (April 3, 2020, 2:45 PM EDT ) The Supreme Court is strongly discouraging parties from hand-delivering paper filings during the coronavirus outbreak, warning that it could take up to two days before the filings reach the clerk's office in light of new offsite screening procedures.
The court said parties should send paper filings by mail or commercial mail, rather than delivering them in person. No longer will it guarantee that filings delivered at the court's North Drive entrance before 2:00 p.m. be sent to the clerk's office the same day.
"It may take up to two days for documents arriving at the North Drive to be physically delivered to the clerk's office," the court said. "In unusual circumstances where especially fast docketing of a particular document is needed, contact the clerk's office."
The court said that those insisting on delivering the filings in person should still direct them to the North Drive entrance but warned that "all such filings are being directed first offsite for screening before being delivered."
The Supreme Court went digital in 2017 with a free-to-the-public online docket but still requires parties to submit paper versions of documents as the "official" filing. "[T]he requirement to submit electronically does not alter the core requirement of filing in paper form," the court says on its website.
Several congressional committees have also adapted their proceedings to an era of physical distancing. The Senate Committee on Commerce announced Thursday that it would hold a "paper hearing" in which witnesses submit opening statements and then have four business days to respond to committee members' written questions.
The Supreme Court's new paper filing procedure is the latest high court practice to change in light of the ongoing public health crisis. In mid-March, the court extended deadlines to file petitions for review from 90 days to 150 days after a lower court judgment, in addition to other accommodations
The court originally retained its filing deadlines while it shuttered the courthouse to the public in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Litigants now, however, have 150 days from the time of the lower court judgment, order denying discretionary review or a denial of rehearing to file a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court.
The court also ordered that motions for extensions of time be granted "as a matter of course" if the request is reasonable and has to do with "difficulties relating to COVID-19." The court specified that none of the accommodations would apply to cases in which the court has already granted certiorari, or review, or is otherwise set for argument.
The spread of COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the term. The court canceled its March argument session, and uncertainty surrounds the one slated to begin April 20.
--Additional reporting by Andrew Kragie. Editing by Gemma Horowitz.
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