We've been a little behind, because as the courthouses begin opening up, it ramps up our business as we work to get caught up on two months of backlog in court appearances, etc.
The Bryan County Courthouse reopened to the public on Monday, May 18, with significant restrictions, summarized in Judge Campbell's May 15 Administrative Order, AO-2020-42. Per the Order, entry is limited to county employees, judges and their staffs, those "having business" with the Court Clerk or the Election Board, attorneys and their staffs, abstractors and their staffs, bondsmen, law enforcement officers, employees of the Crisis Control Center, parties or witnesses to a case, and "those covered by Marsy's Law" (Okla.Const. art. 2, § 34, which grants a right to be present at criminal proceedings to crime victims, their attorneys or "other lawful representative[s]"). This means that family members, significant others, and friends who want to appear with someone for moral support may not attend court at this time.
Anyone entering the courthouse will have their temperature taken at the entry, and refused entry if their temperature is above 100.3 degrees. No more than 5 litigants (non-attorneys/court staff) are permitted at one time in the second floor courtroom, and no more than 10 in the third floor courtroom.
Much of the rest of the order deals with what is "encouraged" but not required (facemasks, gloves, hand washing, etc), but one matter that needs to be noted is illness. Simply claiming illness will not get anyone excused from a court appearance. Any party claiming to be too ill to appear must submit written proof from a medical provider that they should be excused - failure to appear without that proof can result in an adverse ruling in a civil case, or a bench warrant in a criminal case.
As we have repeatedly noted, if you have an attorney we strongly encourage you to reach out to that attorney well in advance of your hearing date to find out if you are required to attend court, and to find out how you may be excused from appearing if you are uncomfortable doing so. If you do not have an attorney, you should probably get one - failing that, you can call the judge's office or the court clerk, but be aware that they are not attorneys and will not be advocating on your behalf with the judge.
The Bryan County Courthouse reopened to the public on Monday, May 18, with significant restrictions, summarized in Judge Campbell's May 15 Administrative Order, AO-2020-42. Per the Order, entry is limited to county employees, judges and their staffs, those "having business" with the Court Clerk or the Election Board, attorneys and their staffs, abstractors and their staffs, bondsmen, law enforcement officers, employees of the Crisis Control Center, parties or witnesses to a case, and "those covered by Marsy's Law" (Okla.Const. art. 2, § 34, which grants a right to be present at criminal proceedings to crime victims, their attorneys or "other lawful representative[s]"). This means that family members, significant others, and friends who want to appear with someone for moral support may not attend court at this time.
Anyone entering the courthouse will have their temperature taken at the entry, and refused entry if their temperature is above 100.3 degrees. No more than 5 litigants (non-attorneys/court staff) are permitted at one time in the second floor courtroom, and no more than 10 in the third floor courtroom.
Much of the rest of the order deals with what is "encouraged" but not required (facemasks, gloves, hand washing, etc), but one matter that needs to be noted is illness. Simply claiming illness will not get anyone excused from a court appearance. Any party claiming to be too ill to appear must submit written proof from a medical provider that they should be excused - failure to appear without that proof can result in an adverse ruling in a civil case, or a bench warrant in a criminal case.
As we have repeatedly noted, if you have an attorney we strongly encourage you to reach out to that attorney well in advance of your hearing date to find out if you are required to attend court, and to find out how you may be excused from appearing if you are uncomfortable doing so. If you do not have an attorney, you should probably get one - failing that, you can call the judge's office or the court clerk, but be aware that they are not attorneys and will not be advocating on your behalf with the judge.
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