The Kent County 63rd District Court is adjourning all but essential matters and making other changes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The court will begin using remote appearances to the greatest extent possible. And there will not be person at the front desk to take payments or help in other ways.
For criminal matters, all felony arraignments, probable cause conference conferences and preliminary examinations will continue as scheduled. The court is encouraging all felony hearings to be conducted remotely.
With misdemeanors, all trials are adjourned until after May 1 and arraignments, pleas and sentencing hearings are also adjourned unless a defendant requests an earlier day to appear by video.
The court will also hold probation meetings by phone only.
For civil matters, civil jury trials and bench trials, civil motions, mediations and other proceedings, small claims hearings, post-judgment collection discovery exams are adjourned until after May 1. All pretrial conferences are mandatory and will remain as scheduled but conducted remotely.
All landlord-tenant hearings, traffic, civil infractions and ordinance violations are adjourned until after May 1.
The court is not scheduling any weddings until further notice.
The court also said people should not come to court if:
- You are sick or experiencing flu-like symptoms.
- You have been exposed to someone who is sick.
- You have a compromised immune system or are otherwise vulnerable.
- You have traveled internationally or domestically by air within the last 14 days.
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