New Mexico courts will remain open despite school closures

New Mexico courts will remain open despite school closures

SANTA FE – New Mexico state courts will remain open for business although school closures have been ordered.

“Courts will take every precaution to protect the community and minimize public health risks from the coronavirus while remaining open for business,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Judith K. Nakamura said today. “Even during this health emergency our state court system must continue to provide essential justice services to the public guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States and New Mexico.”

People are strongly encouraged not to visit courthouses if they recently:
· Showed any signs of respiratory infection, fever or cough.
· Have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
· Traveled to high-risk countries with widespread transmission of COVID-19.
· Visited another state experiencing widespread community transmission of COVID-19.

Jurors should contact their local court before reporting for jury duty if they have traveled to areas with a concentration of confirmed coronavirus cases.

The Judiciary has implemented the following measures to minimize the spread of coronavirus and safeguard visitors to courthouses and people who work there:

· Limiting the number of people summoned to jury duty to no more than 25 people. If additional jurors are needed, courts will keep them in separate rooms.
· Conducting any court proceeding in a manner to minimize contact among people in the courtroom. Hearings can be conducted by telephone and video, when possible, to eliminate the need for attorneys and litigants to be physically present in a courtroom.
· Postponing civil jury trials that have not started, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Civil non-jury trials will proceed unless rescheduled by a judge.
· Continuing criminal proceedings to ensure protection of constitutional rights, but judges may restrict the number of people in courtrooms.
· Limiting the number of inmates transported from jails to courthouses for hearings.
· Suspending out-of-state work travel for judicial employees and judges.
· Working with local governments and private landlords to ensure enhanced cleaning of courthouses.
· Jurors who are ill will be immediately released and sent home.

A “find a court” directory with telephone phone numbers for district, magistrate, metropolitan and appellate courts is available on the Judiciary’s website.

Court updates related to coronavirus are available on the New Mexico Courts website, and information about the state courts also can be found on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/nmcourts