For the second time this year, Cook County’s court proceedings will go remote, as the county’s chief judge has again closed nearly all in-person court proceedings, citing the state and region’s recent surge of COVID-19 cases.
The judge also banned all criminal bench trials and all jury trials, until further notice.
On Monday, Nov. 23, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans issued an order directing the judges and court employees to “work remotely and conduct business by telephone or videoconference.” The order does not apply to those working at the courthouses who perform “essential operations.”
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans
Judges also maintain the discretion to conduct their teleconferences or videconferences from the courthouse, if they choose.
Most proceedings had already been conducted via videoconferencing since March, when the judge, like other chief judges throughout the state, had ordered restrictions on activity in the county’s courthouses in the name of fighting the spread of COVID-19.
In the spring, the pandemic ground the court system to a near halt for several weeks.
While the new order will further push court activity onto video streaming and conferencing platforms, Evans’ order further slaps a pause on all bench trials in criminal cases and all jury trials. That prohibition will remain in place until he orders otherwise.
Jury trials have not moved forward amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the order now removes the ability of judges and parties to agree to conduct bench trials in criminal cases, as well.
Plea hearings may be conducted by videoconference, according to an order outlinining procedures for such proceedings.
The new order continues to forbid any eviction proceedings from moving forward, except under the terms laid out if Gov. JB Pritzker's executive orders, unless the tenant represents a safety threat to neighbors or to the property. Further, the judge forbade the Cook County Sheriff's Office from enforcing eviction orders, until further order of the court.
The county will also not hear any cases involving traffic tickets or misdemeanors in person, Evans said. Those will all be conducted by videconference, the judge said.
“Nobody should attend court in person if they have a traffic or misdemeanor matter,” the office of the chief judge said in a press release announcing the order. “These matters will be held via videoconference, and parties will be notified by mail of their next court date.”
Marriages will be performed by videoconference only, and only by appointment.
The judge further directed Cook County prosecutors and defense counsel to review cases to “determine whether a change in circumstances may support change in bail that would allow defendants to secure release from jail.”
All proceedings for civil cases will move forward under the guidance of the supervising judge for each division, Evans ordered.
“These actions are needed to protect public health, as we continue to monitor this pandemic,” Evans said in a prepared statement. “Our system of justice has continued to hear all necessary and urgent matters, and today’s order does not change that. I commend everybody in the justice system for their flexibility in this unprecedented period of history.”