LUMBERTON — The state Supreme Court chief justice’s decision to push most court proceedings to June is “unprecedented” and will cause a hit to the already backlogged court docket, Robeson County’s district attorney says.
“That’s a quarter of the year,” Matt Scott said. “We’re talking thousands of cases being continued. As far as the backlog, it’s not helpful.”
North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley issued an order on Thursday mandating state superior and district court proceedings be rescheduled until June 1 or later unless they meet certain exceptions. The order was made to limit courthouse visits amid other statewide recommendations to practice social distancing to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the second time court proceedings have been postponed. Beasley previously ordered the postponement of most court proceedings until mid-April.
Scott said this is different from court proceedings being placed on hold during hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
“That was only shut down for a limited time,” Scott said. “We’re talking months. There’s no playbook for this.”
Scott said his office has been forced to be “creative” in order to move some cases along.
“It is our hope that we can be creative and limit as many cases as we can,” Scott said.
One creative method is hearing pleas on Mondays and Wednesdays in 30-minute intervals in Superior Court to limit the number of people that go into the courtroom.
“We’re devising specific times,” Scott said.
The District Attorney Office’s main goal is to limit cases while still ensuring the safety of the public.
“That’s what’s paramount, the safety,” Scott said. “We’re just trying to figure out how to deal with this.”
Chief District Court Judge Judith Daniels said she is confident that courts will get back on track.
“This is going to create a much greater caseload that we’re going to have to deal with once this passes, but I’m confident we will be able to continue to operate in an acceptable manner,” Daniels said.
District courts will not be completely overwhelmed if planning is smart, she said.
“It’s going to cause us to use all of our court time more efficiently than ever before,” Daniels said. “We’re going to go into a period where things will be more difficult. If we use our resources as efficiently as possible we will come out of this.”
Chief Justice Beasley’s latest order allows exceptions for proceedings that can be conducted remotely, certain urgent criminal proceedings or emergency relief, such as restraining orders and domestic violence protective orders. Local chief judges also can make exceptions if they determine that a hearing can be held in their territory without endangering people’s health.
Other provisions of the order include pushing back deadlines for most fines and fees. It suspends the reporting of failures to pay debts to the state Division of Motor Vehicles.
In response Beasley’s directives and Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order, the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court for Robeson County also implemented modifications to its regular hours of operation and staff availability.
The Robeson County Courthouse, located on 500 N. Elm St. in Lumberton, is now open Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
All criminal, civil and cashier matters shall be handled at the cashier window. All pressing estate and special proceeding matters shall be handled by appointment only in the Estate Office between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. All small claims matters shall be handled at the Small Claims office on the first floor. Juvenile matters will be handled in the Juvenile Department of the Clerk’s Office, located at 120 Glen Cowan Road in Lumberton.
Emergency and essential filings shall continue to be accepted by clerk staff between the hours of 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
This schedule change will be in effect until April 16 but may be extended or modified if deemed necessary by the office.
Unless someone is required to appear in person to conduct business, the Clerk’s Office is advising the public to use email and telephone to communicate with the staff of their office.
