Citing the “public health emergency” caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the chief judge of the federal courts in Chicago and Rockford has shut down all in person court proceedings in those courthouses.
According to an order issued Nov. 13, all federal criminal and civil jury trials have been indefinitely suspended.
Further, Northern District of Illinois Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ordered that all hearings and bench trials for civil cases must be conducted via remote live streaming or by telephone conference, unless in-person hearings are required by law.
Pallmeyer also suspended court rulings requiring attorneys and litigants to deliver paper copies of filings to judges, and which would require motions to include notices that the motions would be presented in person in court. Under the new rules, judges would “notify parties of the need, if any, for a hearing by electronic means or in-court proceeding.”
Pallmeyer further required all filings to be made electronically or at designated drop boxes at the district court clerk’s office.
The judge further banned all public gatherings at the district’s courthouses, unless they have been “specifically authorized by the Chief Judge.”
Pallmeyer said the new COVID-related restrictions would remain in effect at the Northern District’s courthouses until Jan. 25, 2021.