The Fifty-first Pennsylvania Judicial District, which includes Adams County, is operating under emergency court orders, at least until May 1, 2020.
The guidelines have created many procedural changes and are leading to fewer cases being heard in the county.
Most hearings originally scheduled for April have been moved until May or June.
District Court Administrator Donald Fennimore said although a normal court day might have over forty cases scheduled at Central Court, there were only six scheduled cases on April 1, all for defendants in custody and all appearing via video conferencing.
“For those in custody, their rights and court dates are proceeding as normal within the time limits required by the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure and protections afforded by the Constitution,” said Fennimore. “Those not in custody are only having criminal and civil proceedings delayed without any great restriction on freedoms other than bail conditions established in criminal matters.”
“In order to keep the events going, such as emergency hearings for protection from abuse and matters involving those in custody, the Court is relying on technology, such as video conferencing, to allow us to safely interact with parties to a case,” said Fennimore.
“A priority for the Court during this time is to ensure that the rule of law is being applied in essential matters while respecting the advice of health and governmental officials, who are ultimately trying to keep people safe,” said Fennimore.
“The Court realizes that once we are in a safer place to return to normal practices, there will be a backlog created due to continuance of certain cases. However, the Court will determine how to ensure every case brought to it is addressed, including those that have been delayed due to the pandemic event,” said Fennimore.
Fennimore said the focus of criminal proceedings has been on those in custody, with other events being continued to later dates in order to follow the advice of federal and state health authorities regarding social distancing during this time of pandemic.
The complete emergency court order, which includes many scheduling and other changes in the various county courts, is available here.
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