Haggerty Law Office, COVID-19 UPDATES - Haggerty Law Office

Haggerty Law Office

Governor Declares Quarantine, Other Additional Requirements

3/30/2020

On Sunday, March 29, Governor Stitt issued his "Sixth Amended Executive Order" which added several new provisions to his prior orders.
1) According to ¶ 22, package delivery companies are now required to have a screening, including a "daily temperature check" and administration of "a short questionnaire about potential exposure" at the beginning of each shift for any employee "handling packages." Similar checks are required for any person delivering packages, flowers or food to "a hospital, clinic, long-term care facility or childcare facility."
2) Paragraph 23 prohibits discriminating against "front-line healthcare workers and their children" who are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 infection and have yet to test positive for it "in housing or childcare services."
3) Paragraph 26 imposes a quarantine on anyone who has traveled to Oklahoma "by air" from "an area with substantial community spread", which includes the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington, California and Louisiana for 14 days, retroactive to when that person entered the State. Such persons are apparently free to leave Oklahoma (the period of quarantine is actually 14 days from entry in the state "or the duration of the person's presence" in Oklahoma, "whichever is shorter." This quarantine apparently does not include people who drive from those places, only those that fly. Paragraph 27 requires that these individuals "inform any individual in Oklahoma with whom they have had direct physical contact in the past 21 days that they traveled from an area with substantial community spread."
These new provisions are effective until April 28, 2020 ("thirty (30) days after the filing of this Order." Likewise, as did prior Orders, this new Order extends the stay-home order for "vulnerable individuals" (¶ 17), the prohibition on social gatherings of more than 10 people (¶ 18), and ban on visitors at nursing homes, retirement homes and long-term care facilities (¶ 21) to the same date. Those provisions are addressed in the post on the "Fourth Amended" version of the Order.

All Oklahoma Courthouses Closed

3/28/2020

On March 27, the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued their Second Emergency Joint Order regarding the COVID-19 emergency. That order required that "[a]ll courthouses in all 77 counties shall be closed to the public with exceptions for emergencies as permitted by local order." That does not mean all court business stops - criminal cases involving defendants in custody, protective orders and other emergency matters are still being heard to some degree (this will vary according to local practice), but most day-in-day-out activities HAVE stopped. Filings can still be accomplished by mail or electronic means - contact your local court clerk for information on how to file documents in your county. Note that THERE IS NO END DATE FOR THIS PROVISION - it remains in effect until the Courts order otherwise.
Another important provision includes the extension of all deadlines (subject to constitutional limitations) through May 15, 2020. No statute of limitations or rule-imposed deadline will run on any case through that date.
Attorneys can remain open, as they have been identified as a "critical infrastructure sector" by Governor Stitt. However, you should check with your attorney to see what practices they are following during the emergency. Our office will remain closed to the public, although we will remain available by phone at (580) 920-9060 or through our "Contact Us" page on our website.

Governor's Order Extended

3/28/2020

On March 27, Governor Stitt issued his "Fifth Amended Executive Order" to address the COVID-19 emergency. That Order did not materially change the provisions we've addressed previously, but does extend the effective date to April 26, 2020 ("thirty (30) days after the filing of this Order") of most of the restrictive provisions.
To review, the important restrictions are:
1) A Stay-Home order for most "vulnerable adults" - effective until April 26 (¶ 17)
2) Postponement of elective surgeries, minor medical procedures, and non-emergency dental procedures until April 7 (¶ 18)
3) Prohibitions on "social gatherings" of more than 10 people - effective until April 26 (¶ 19)
4) Prohibition on visitors in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and retirement homes - effective until April 26 (¶ 21)
5) Mandatory closure of all businesses not identified as being part of a "critical infrastructure sector" within one of the counties listed on the Health Department's website (now 38 counties as of 11 AM March 28) - effective until April 16 (¶ 20).
For a more thorough explanation of the restrictions, see my initial post here.

Identification of "Critical Infrastructure Sectors" Updated

3/25/2020

Yesterday, when Governor Stitt issued his Fourth Amended Executive Order, that Order required, in ¶ 20, the closing of "all businesses not identified as being within a critical infrastructure sector as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security" and in a county identified by the Department of Health as having positive COVID-19 tests (19 counties as of the issuance of his Order, now 27 as of 4:30 PM today) . Yesterday and today, the Governor's office has issued memoranda which basically add businesses and professions to that "critical infrastructure list." If you want to see if your business is on the list, you need to check the Homeland Security list here; if you're not listed there, then check the Governor's supplemental list in the latest memorandum here. If you're in one of the affected counties, and not on either list, then you are required to close.

This portion of the Order goes into effect in the affected counties at 11:59 PM March 25, and lasts until April 16.

Marshall County Courthouse Closing

3/25/2020

Per a Facebook post from Marshall County Commissioner Josh Cantrell, the Marshall County Courthouse is closing tomorrow to the public due to COVID-19. Here is a helpful list of phone numbers he posted if you need to do business with the County.

UPDATE ON BRYAN COUNTY CLOSINGS

3/25/2020

UPDATE ON CLOSINGS: Reports came out last night in the media that a positive test had been reported in Bryan County. Contrary to what you may see - even on official sources such as the City of Durant's Facebook page - Bryan County is NOT under the Governor's non-essential business closure order AT THIS TIME as it has not YET been added to the list of counties on the Health Department's website (as of 11 AM, still true). That being said, it is clear that Durant City Hall IS closed to the public, as is the Bryan County Courthouse. Our office is also voluntarily closing at this time - if you need help you are welcome to call us at 580-920-9060, or send us a message through the "Contact" page here on the website. UPDATE (1:15 PM): Bryan and Carter Counties, among others, HAVE been listed among the counties subject to closure at 11:59 PM tonight.
Thank you for your continued patience as we all work through this and the ever-changing developments
UPDATE (5:15 PM): Judge Campbell issued AO-2020-14, which closes the Bryan County Courthouse to all but the following persons:
1) Judges or their staff.
2) Elected officials of Bryan County or their staff, by appointment
3) Attorneys who are involved in a crirninal case where the defendant is in the custody
of the Bryan County Jail, and have that case scheduled for hearing.
4) Law enforcement officers, by appointment.
All other persons needing to file things with the Court Clerk should call them at (580) 924-1446 and make arrangements.

Governor Stitt's 1st Stay-Home Order

3/24/2020

The afternoon of March 24, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt issued a new version of his prior Executive Order (the "Fourth Amended" version) addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in Oklahoma. In this version, which you can find here, Governor Stitt imposes the first real restrictions on Oklahomans in ¶¶ 17-21.
Paragraph 17 directs "vulnerable individuals" - defined as people "with serious underlying medical conditions" and any adult over 65 - to stay in their homes UNLESS:
a) They are working in a "critical infrastructure sector" as defined by the US Department of Homeland Security in this document, or
b) They are on an "essential errand" - "those errands which are critical to everyday life and includes obtaining medication, groceries, gasoline, and visiting medical providers."
This prohibition applies statewide, and lasts through April 24, 2020 (thirty days from issuance of the Order).
Paragraph 18 directs that all "elective surgeries, minor medical procedures, and non-emergency dental procedures" be postponed beyond April 7, 2020. This provision also applies statewide.
Paragraph 19 prohibits "social gatherings" of more than 10 people. "Social gatherings" are not defined, and businesses within the "critical infrastructure sector" are directed to "take all reasonable steps to comply with this Order and protect their employees, workers, and patrons." From that language, it would appear that the Governor intends "social gatherings" to include work. Also of note is that it does not require non-"critical" businesses to do anything; at a guess, this appears to be a case of poor draftsmanship. In any event, whatever this prohibits applies statewide, and lasts through April 24, 2020.
Paragraph 21 prohibits visitors at "nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and retirement homes." This provision applies statewide thru April 24, 2020.
Finally, Paragraph 20 requires the closing of "all businesses not identified as being within a critical infrastructure sector" within a county identified by the Oklahoma State Department of Health on its website as having COVID-19 cases (currently 19 counties, listed here, but this list will undoubtedly grow) until April 16, 2020. The list of "critical" businesses is too lengthy to reproduce here; refer to the document linked above if you need to know. The way this provision is written, its reach will expand automatically upon confirmation of COVID-19 infections in each county.
So that's what happened today. Tune in tomorrow for (no doubt) further developments.

Application Docket March 26

3/24/2020

In our latest rescheduling, the Bryan County Application Docket set March 26 has been moved to May 14, 2020, per the provisions of AO-2020-13. This applies ONLY to defendants who are NOT in custody; defendants in custody will still be heard March 26 by video. The text of the order is here.

Clarification of Visitation Schedules

3/24/2020

Yesterday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued SCAD-2020-26, which is intended to clarify procedures to follow for couples who have split up and who have a visitation order out of their divorce or paternity case. Most visitation schedules involve an extended summer visitation whenever the child's school recesses for summer. Probably in anticipation that the Oklahoma State Board of Education will close all schools for the rest of the school year in their special meeting tomorrow, as the State Superintendent is recommending, the Court decided to clarify that this does NOT mean that summer visitation starts now. Instead, any such visitation will be controlled by the "original published school schedule." The Court also noted, however, that the parties could agree to modify their existing schedule (parties are ALWAYS free to make modifications), but to enforce them there must be something filed with the court issuing the visitation order. The text of the order can be found here.

Bryan County, Week of March 23-27

3/20/2020

We have more administrative orders in Bryan County that came in late Friday, March 20, which affect cases set the week of March 23-27.
First, AO-2020-9 resets all protective order hearings set March 23 to May 4, 2020. The text of the order is here.
Second, AO-2020-10 resets the misdemeanor plea docket set March 23 to April 30, 2020. The text of the order is here.
Third, AO-2020-11 resets the preliminary hearing conference (PHC) docket set March 25, 2020, to May 13, 2020 - this applies ONLY to defendants who are NOT IN CUSTODY. Defendants in custody WILL STILL HAVE COURT on March 25. Please note that this past week, while they had court, Defendants were NOT being brought up from jail, but were talking to the judge through a partially-working videoconferencing link on a tablet; additionally, families of defendants should not expect to be able to attend those hearings. The text of the order is here.
Finally, AO-2020-12 resets the misdemeanor plea docket set March 27 to May 7, 2020. As with -11, this order also ONLY applies to defendants who are NOT IN CUSTODY. The text of the order is here.
So that's what we know about next week. We will continue to update as we get more information. Again, if you have specific questions and you have a lawyer, THEN CALL YOUR LAWYER. Otherwise, call the Judge's chambers or the court clerk.