Tim Barrett
Clay County residents scheduled to appear in court received a temporary reprieve on Monday. For the second time this year, the rise in COVID-19 cases has forced most in-person court proceedings to be halted until mid-January.
Clay County Clerk of Court Tim Barrett explained that the order affects superior and district court proceedings for a 30-day period. The order went into effect Monday, Dec.14 and continues through Jan.14. Exceptions include emergency hearings.
“The order revives Emergency Directive 1, which expired back in May, “ Barrett said. “It states that all superior court and district court proceedings (including proceedings before clerks) must be scheduled or rescheduled for a date no sooner than Jan. 14, 2021 unless an exception applies. “On the district court dates a judge will be available for matters such as 48-hour hold hearings, 96-hour hearings and domestic violation matters,” he added.
As a result of the order, in Clay County the Dec. 16 session of Superior Court and grand jury hearing are among those postponed. Other proceedings to be rescheduled include the Dec. 31 session of district court and the Jan. 8 juvenile, child/support proceedings. Though operations will scale back, essential judicial functions continue, including emergency hearings to ensure protections for victims of domestic violence and certain hearings for in-jail defendants, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch’s said in a press release.
Welch and her 42 staff members work across the state’s seven westernmost counties including Clay and Cherokee. “A few employees in the 43rd Prosecutorial District have contracted COVID-19, though not necessarily through the court system,” Welch said. “Others have experienced firsthand exposure.” His best advice for those who have cases rescheduled is to communicate with the court.
“Once the assistant district attorney provides us with new court dates we will enter those in the system and a notification letter will be mailed to their address given at time of arrest/citation,” Barrett said. “Anyone may contact our office at 389-2300 to inquire about a court case.“
Residents can also go to: www.nccourts.gov to sign up for notifications regarding their court date. Some traffic tickets and other infractions or citations can be handled online. When asked how the pandemic has changed daily functions in the Clerk of Court’s office, Barrett, who has served in the position for a decade, said they have plenty to do.
“As far as what we see on a daily basis, that has actually not changed too much as we still receive the same type of filings on a daily/weekly basis,” Barrett said. “Even without courts in session we still see filings made with some degree of regularity. Throughout this pandemic we have tried to use the safety protocols as recommended by the CDC and orders of the court.”
Barrett said after jury trials resumed in November, they conducted a trial which was different from anything they had done. Jury selection was held at the rec center and the courtroom was reversed with the jury sitting in the spectator section. “The trial went rather smoothly despite all the significant changes.”
The decision to delay in-person proceedings statewide was made by Chief Justice Cheri Beasley “out of concern for the safety of court personnel and the public,” she said. “Throughout the pandemic, we have moved an unprecedented amount of court work online, including hearings. Those efforts will allow us to limit in-person proceedings for the next few weeks while making sure our courts stay available to serve the public.”
Beasley halted jury trials in March. It resumed on a limited basis in October, in five of the 43rd Prosecutorial District’s counties of Clay, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Cherokee.