Courts

Omicron Is Closing -- SOME -- Federal Courtrooms

Which federal courts are going virtual?

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virtual court New normal concept and physical distancing, Hands holding tablet and wayching the judge adjudges case online for prevention from disease outbreak. Vector illustration of new behavior after Covid-19 pandemic conceptYes, I know you were hoping that season 3 of COVID would never happen. ME TOO! But, alas, here we are. Society’s inability to get it together and get vaccinated without pitching a fit like a naughty toddler means we are heading toward the endemic stage of coronavirus. Joy. And now we’re dealing with the super contagious omicron variant.

Yes we are only 5 days into 2022, but things don’t look good y’all.

Anyway, omicron is the new awfulness and the federal courts are responding. Well, some of them. So, let’s run down what’s going down in the courts, shall we?

  • Fourth Circuit will be remote for it’s January 25-28th session.
    Starting next week, the Fifth Circuit will be closed to the public. Arguments will be in person or via video as directed by individual panels.
  • Oral arguments in the Second Circuit have gone remote, and will be back in person “as soon as circumstances permit.” So, who knows when. The public counter at the courthouse will also be closed until further notice.
  • The Seventh Circuit has made all oral arguments through January 31 remote. Supervisors are also recommended to use discretion to minimize on-site traffic.
  • The First Circuit is going virtual throughout January.
  • The Federal Circuit is going telephonic in the face of omicron.
  • The Ninth Circuit said attorneys that appear in-person fully vaccinated the definition of which was updated to include a booster shot as soon as eligible.
  • UPDATE: The Eighth Circuit decided oral arguments scheduled for  January 10-14 will be held remotely.

On the district court level, there’s been even less of a uniform response. As reported by Bloomberg Law:

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, canceled jury trials until Jan. 24, citing “an alarming explosion of cases” in Washington due to the omicron variant. That followed a decision by the District of Maryland to reduce in-person operations, including postponing jury and grand jury selection, as a precaution.

While some courts are canceling in-person case events, others are changing entrance guidance. The Eastern District of Virginia, for example, pointed to omicron recently when it issued new masking guidance requiring all people entering for court business regardless of vaccination status to wear N95 or KN95 masks.

So mask up, get vaxxed, get boosted and let’s get through this latest surge.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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