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Law360 (May 26, 2020, 10:19 PM EDT ) The top judge for the U.S. District Court in D.C. said in an order Tuesday that she "anticipates the possibility" of resuming grand jury sessions in mid-June and opened the door to restarting in-court nontrial proceedings in mid-July.
Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell's 10-page order came a day before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is slated to provide an update on the first phase of reopening the district set to begin on May 29 and lift some public gathering restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the city's health department, the District of Columbia has documented 8,334 positive COVID-19 cases and 440 deaths as of May 25.
Judge Howell noted that her order extends current restrictions first announced in March that put off all onsite hearings and other judicial proceedings and directed that certain proceedings be held through teleconference and videoconference.
The judge said Tuesday that jury selection and trials set to begin before Aug. 1 are postponed pending further notice.
Nontrial hearings, court appearances and other proceedings scheduled to begin before July 15 have also been postponed unless the presiding judge in an individual case directs parties following Tuesday's order that proceedings will be held by phone or videoconference on or before July 15, Judge Howell said. U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan has scheduled to hear oral arguments on July 16 in the U.S Department of Justice's extraordinary request to drop a criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pled guilty twice to lying to the FBI and later backtracked.
Grand jury sessions at the district court have been suspended from mid-March through mid-June. Tuesday's order said these sessions appear likely to restart the week of June 15, but with "special conditions and accommodations to ensure compliance with all pertinent health and safety guidance from local and federal health authorities."
The order added that all D.C. bankruptcy courts, which share the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse with the district court, will remain open with limited operations "to support essential functions," and criminal duty magistrate judges will continue conducting remote proceedings utilizing videoconference capabilities for detained defendants.
As COVID-19 cases were rising across the country in March, numerous federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, enacted measures such as restricting public access and altering their procedures.
Last month, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which oversees the operation of the federal court system, advised federal courts to rely on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local officials to gauge the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in their jurisdictions in determining whether to gradually restore operations. The agency said that courts should follow a four-phase process for returning operations to how they were before the coronavirus outbreak.
--Additional reporting by Kevin Penton. Editing by Peter Rozovsky.
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