‘Too soon’ to know when courthouses will reopen, Chief Judge says

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said it was “too soon” to know when courthouses will reopen. Eagle photo by Todd Maisel

By David Brand

It is still “too soon to know” when state courthouses will reopen as New York continues to contend with the coronavirus outbreak, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said Monday in a weekly message to state court personnel and attorneys.

Though the number of new cases of COVID-19 in New York have decreased steadily from the peak of the crisis last month, the state has not picked a specific date for reopening, DiFiore said. Most court business has shifted to video conferences and online filings over the past few weeks.

“I can only imagine how anxious you all are to emerge from the shadow of this pandemic,” DiFiore told court staff in a video message, adding that many New Yorkers “have been wondering and asking when it might be safe to re‐open our courthouses and get back to work.”

“The short answer is that it’s too soon to know, and that we are not yet in a position to formulate any final or even long‐term plan,” she continued.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that New York will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before opening sectors of the economy and society, measures that will first depend on at least 14 days of declining COVID-19 cases in the state.

DiFiore said the state court system will follow Cuomo’s lead. 

“The honest answer is that we don’t know yet what those details will entail,” she said. “What we do know is that our services are absolutely essential, and that as the economy re‐starts and businesses re‐open, there will be a corresponding action by the courts.”