What courts are still open during the COVID-19 pandemic?
New York State Courts:
Courts in New York City have entered Phase Two of a return to in-person operations, marked by a gradual increase in courthouse activity. Judges will continue their use of virtual proceedings whenever legally permissible and logistically possible.
Court visitors will be required to undergo COVID-19 screening, including temperature checks, before entering the courthouse.Anyone entering the courthouse will be required to wear a mask.
Matters that will continue to be held virtually and heard by the assigned judge include non-essential matters; criminal proceedings; juvenile delinquency proceedings; adoptions; eviction matters in which all parties are represented by counsel; and mental hygiene law proceedings pertaining to a hospitalized adult. Mediation/alternative dispute resolution will be conducted virtually.
Questions about the status of a particular case should be made directly to the court, at the telephone numbers listed at the Court Locator resource provided below.
Housing Court is now open for filing of non-emergency cases, including nonpayments and holdovers.
New York City Criminal Court remains open for essential court operations, which includes arraignments and emergency applications. As of the date above, Manhattan Community Court, Red Hook Community Justice Center and Summons Courts are temporarily closed. Services are being provided remotely.
Grand Juries will resume on August 10, 2020.
Courts in the Third Judicial District (Capital District), Ninth Judicial District (White Plains and surrounding counties) and the Tenth Judicial District (Nassau and Suffolk counties) have begun Phase Four of a return to in-person operations.
For essential matters only, the Rensselaer County Courthouse reopened Wednesday May 6, 2020, and the Greene County Courthouse reopened on April 20, 2020. Please contact your local court for updates on reopening using the websites provided below.
Federal Courts
Southern District of New York: Essential functions continue.
While proceedings can happen at the courthouses, most will take place remotely. Please consult ECF or Pacer for the latest information on proceedings.
Counsel may apply to appear by telephone at arraignments or bail hearings, which applications may be granted at the discretion of the presiding judge.
Bail interviews will be performed telephonically.
Probation officers will also continue to conduct field work.
In-court appearances in civil matters are limited strictly to emergency matters and should be conducted by teleconference.
All jury calls have been suspended. Due to the lead time needed to call jurors, no jury trial, either civil or criminal, can be held until June 1, 2020.
Court reporting and interpreting services will be provided remotely. See below for contact information.
For detailed information on specific court location closings and types of matters being heard, please refer to the resources section below.
Eastern District of New York: Judges, in their discretion, may continue to hold hearings, conferences and bench trials, but are strongly encouraged to conduct court proceedings by telephone or video conference where practicable. Electronic filing of documents is also encouraged. Please check with your specific court location for modified hours and procedures.
Initial appearances and arraignments will continue to take place in the ordinary course or, where practicable or necessary, will be conducted remotely.
Detention and bail review proceedings will be scheduled with the approval of the assigned District Judge or Magistrate Judge.
All civil and criminal jury selections and jury trials scheduled to commence through June 15, 2020, including grand jury selections, are continued pending further Order of the Court.
Where can I find up-to-date information on court closings?
New York State Resources
The New York Court system has a Coronavirus Telephone Hotline available for specific questions about juror service, a case already in court, or if you need to start a court case. Please call: 833-503-0447
For up to date information and additional resources related to the New York City Civil Court, including small claims and housing courts, please visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/index.shtml for up to date information and additional resources.
For civil matters requiring the immediate attention of a judge please call the Clerk of Court at 212-805-0140, between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, prior to filing papers online or bringing papers to the courthouse.
For modified hours and procedures of the Clerk’s Office, the District Executive’s Office, Pre-Trial Services, the Probation Department, and all other District Court services for both the Brooklyn and Central Islip locations, please visit: https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-locations
Additional information about New York’s virtual court system
As indicated above, all New York State Court matters are being held virtually, via video or telephone. This system should not be used for filing emergency applications. For information on filing these applications please contact the court directly using the resources listed above.
Below are additional details about the New York State virtual court and electronic document system:
Beginning on April 13, 2020, the virtual court program was expanded to include certain non-essential matters, including pending tort, asbestos, commercial, matrimonial, trusts and estates, felony, family and other cases. The existing ban on the filing of new “non-essential” matters remains in effect.
The virtual court system was further expanded on April 30, 2020, effective Monday, May 4, 2020, to include expanded motion practice (new motions, responsive papers to previously filed motions, and other applications, including post-judgment applications), problem-solving courts, alternative dispute resolution (arbitrations) and appeals.
Beginning May 4, 2020, there is also a new system of secure electronic document transmission to judges, clerks of court, and other Unified Court System offices around New York State. This Electronic Document Delivery System (EDDS) may be used for filing of documents in pending cases in certain courts that do not have NYSCEF (e-filing), by attorneys, unrepresented persons and other court users. EDDS should not be used for the filing of emergency applications.
At the direction of the Chief Administrative Judge, during the COVID-19 public health crisis, EDDS can be used to deliver documents for filing with certain courts— including some Family Courts, Criminal Courts, Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, Surrogate’s Courts, District Courts and City Courts. EDDS is not available in the New York City Criminal Court.
To use the system for filing, the sender must go to the EDDS website listed below, send the document(s) to the appropriate court and pay any required filing fee by credit card. The clerk’s office will review the document(s) for sufficiency and, if the clerk determines that filing prerequisites have been met, accept them for filing purposes.
In the event that a clerk’s office has accepted and filed a document received through EDDS, the sender will be notified of that fact by email or publication on a public database.
If no email or published notification is issued indicating that the document has been accepted for filing, the sender should not assume that the filing has occurred. The sender may contact the clerk’s office to inquire about the status of a proposed filing.
Please note that, although EDDS may be used for filing in various courts, it does not replace and may not substitute for filing under the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System (NYSCEF). Therefore, it should not be used in matters where NYSCEF is available on either a mandatory or consensual basis. Counties and case types where NYSCEF is available are listed on NYSCEF’s Authorized for E-Filing page, provided below.
Unlike NYSCEF, delivery of a document through EDDS does not constitute service of the document on any other party. If service is required, the sender must serve by some other means.
Please read: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 crisis, readers are advised to check official government sources for the most up-to-date information on changes in policy and procedure since the information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader and the contents of any third-party sites are not an endorsement by AABANY or its members.
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