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Law360 (June 16, 2020, 4:28 PM EDT ) State courthouses in central New York, including in Binghamton, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, are set to reopen Wednesday for in-person business including arraignments and sentencings, officials said Tuesday, as the Empire State continues a gradual reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks announced that courtrooms in the state's Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Judicial Districts — essentially the entire central portion of the state — will reopen their doors beginning Wednesday for essential family court matters, presentments, plea hearings and a limited number of bench trials.
Western New York courthouses, to include those in Buffalo, and those in the North Country, including Schenectady and Plattsburgh – the Eighth and Fourth Judicial Districts respectively – are set to follow suit beginning June 19th, the announcement said.
"In order to keep up our progress as we reestablish in-person courthouse operations across the state, we must proceed cautiously, remaining vigilant in following the new safety measures and operational protocols designed to protect the health of our judges, staff and court visitors," Judge DiFiore said in a statement.
The goal of the move, which state officials refer to as Phase Three of their four-step reopening plan, is to "increase foot traffic in the courthouse in a measured manner," according to the release.
Nonessential matters including juvenile delinquency proceedings, mental health-related proceedings pertaining to a hospitalized adult, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution should continue to be held virtually, the statement said. The top judges added that courts are encouraged "to expand their use of virtual proceedings whenever legally permissible and logistically possible" in the state, which has had more than 380,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 24,000 deaths.
Downstate New York, which includes Long Island and New York City, have been hit harder by the virus and is reopening at a slower pace.
A June 10 announcement said that New York City judges would begin returning to their chambers. The number of remote hearings has ticked up, but no announcement has been made related to the possible resumption of in-person proceedings in the city.
Courts in the Lower Hudson Valley and Eastern Long Island have also begun what Judge DiFiore has called "a gradual return to in-person operations."
Tuesday's announcement comes three months after a March 16 move to shut down all court business save for emergency matters in 350 state courthouses.
--Additional reporting by Frank G. Runyeon. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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