ST. JOHN’S, N.L. —
Provincial court locations across the island have been closed to the public until further notice, in light of the Alert Level 5 lockdown announced Friday evening by the chief medical officer.
The court announced changes to operations in St John’s when Friday’s COVID-19 numbers were announced and was swift to expand those changes after news later in the evening that the current outbreak is associated with a particularly transmissible strain of the virus. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, chief medical officer of health, has announced the strictest level lockdown as a result, in an effort to slow the virus spread.
As of Feb. 15, public access to all provincial courthouses is unavailable. Anyone requiring assistance with an urgent matter is asked to call their local courthouse.
All adult and youth criminal appearances, trials, hearings and sentencings for accused who are not in custody scheduled for the period between Feb. 15 and March 12 will be rescheduled for four weeks from that date. Newly scheduled dates will be posted on the court website.
For those in custody, bail hearings, virtual appearances from prison, sentencings, preliminary inquiries, trials and youth criminal sentence reviews will take place by phone or video.
All civil matters and non-emergency family matters scheduled for the period between Feb. 15 and March 12 will also be rescheduled for four weeks’ time and participants will be contacted regarding a new date. Emergency matters like child/adult protection and family emergency proceedings will take place virtually.
Specialty courts will proceed virtually, where possible.
All Traffic Court matters scheduled within the same time period will be adjourned indefinitely. Fine payments can be made online, by phone or mail, according to information printed on the back of the ticket. Payment extensions, adjournment requests and not guilty pleas can be made by contacting the local courthouse. Failing to notify the court of an intention to contest a matter by mail, e-mail or fax will result in a conviction.
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has also issued an updated operations plan in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown. All criminal, family and civil matters scheduled for the week of Feb. 15-19 , both in-person and virtual, will be adjourned. Exceptions include matters the presiding judge directs will go ahead – in which case participants will be notified – as well as bail hearings, bail reviews where the accused is in custody, and detention reviews. Participants in postponed matters will be notified of the new court date.
Urgent and emergency matters, including child protection, applications related to medical decisions or wrongful removal of a child, applications to preserve property or assets, warrants until the Child, Youth and Family Services Act and new applications under the Adult Protection Act, will proceed. Those seeking an emergency hearing should contact the court.
“The Supreme Court will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation across the province to determine whether any further changes to operations are requires,” Chief Justice Raymond Whalen wrote in the announcement. “An update will be provided next week.”
The Supreme Court is suspending normal operations in all Judicial Centres (General and Family Division) across the Province for the week of Feb 15-19, 2021. Essential public service will be maintained. More details @ https://t.co/ggp2fo6LAA
— Supreme Court of Newfoundland & Labrador (@NLSupremeCourt) February 13, 2021
