COVID-19 outbreak strikes Mecklenburg courts, delays trials and most other hearings
COVID-19 has again closed the Mecklenburg County courts.
In a Sunday statement, courthouse officials announced a two-day shutdown of the Superior and District courts through Tuesday to stop or slow the spread of the disease among court personnel and the public.
Senior Resident Judge Bob Bell and Chief District Judge Elizabeth Trosch put the temporary closure in place Sunday after five courthouse employees tested positive for the illness. Other courthouse workers have reported symptoms and are awaiting test results, while another 29 workers have been told to quarantine.
The new outbreak appears to have largely occurred in the clerk’s office, which has been impacted multiple times during the pandemic. The office is not only the largest in the courthouse, its employees also have the most dealings with the public while also staffing trials and other hearings.
The pandemic closed courthouses around the state for almost nine months when the virus first swept through North Carolina in March 2020. Courthouses in Gaston, Union, Lincoln, Iredell and Cabarrus counties remain open, representatives confirmed Monday.
The Mecklenburg courthouse’s latest announcement tracks the gradual resurgence of the virus throughout the community and into its public buildings.
Last week, a lawsuit trial ended in a mistrial after three Mecklenburg jurors came down with the disease. The county jail also announced late last month that a small number of inmates had been isolated.
The courthouse already has returned to a mandatory mask requirement as COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly infectious delta variant continue to climb statewide.
Courthouse officials will meet Tuesday to assess the outbreak, consider Health Department guidance and decide whether the courthouse will return to normal activities on Wednesday or continue on a limited schedule.
For the next two days, all Mecklenburg court sessions have been canceled with limited exceptions:
▪ All first appearance hearings in Courtroom 4150 will be heard remotely.
▪ Felony probation probable cause hearings will be go on as scheduled in Superior Court.
▪ Secured custody hearings scheduled for Courtroom 8390 will be heard remotely.
▪ Requests for temporary domestic violence protection orders, motions for both temporary injunctive relief and non-secure custody of juveniles should be made to the district judge assigned to the public window at the jail.
▪ All those wanting to file legal documents should mail them or use the courthouse receptacle designated by the clerk’s office.
▪ Jurors scheduled to report today and Tuesday are excused. Those now serving on trials should not return to the courthouse before Wednesday unless notified of other plans.
Staff writer Daniel Egitto contributed.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
