The Chief U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona signed a general order Friday imposing several changes to operations at the four federal courthouses in Arizona in an effort to avoid contributing to the spread of COVID-19.
Per Chief Judge G. Murray Snow’s Jan. 7 order, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to commence on or before Jan. 31 are continued unless the assigned trial judge issues a specific order to move ahead with the trial.
Meanwhile, Snow’s order allows in-person hearings for civil and criminal cases to proceed as scheduled, although he encourages parties to consider a continuance or holding such proceedings using audio and video conference technology.
“This General Order will address a temporary change in Court policies given the arrival of the Omicron variant and a significant increase in the number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases,” Snow wrote. “This surge was predicted by local public health officials and attributed to the arrival of the Omicron variant.”
Under Snow’s order, any criminal proceedings held with a federal magistrate judge through at least Jan. 31 “shall be conducted using audio and video conference technology” unless a magistrate judge determines a proceeding must be conducted in person at the courthouse. Such proceedings involve initial appearances, detention hearings, and arraignments.
Snow also put all grand jury proceedings and naturalization ceremonies on hold until further notice.
“The Court will revisit these procedures prior to February 1, 2022,” Snow wrote.