Effective March 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Virginia has issued an Order and declared a judicial emergency for all district and circuit courts of the Commonwealth “to protect the health and safety of court employees, litigants, judges, and the general public.”  The Order shall be in effect from March 16, 2020 to April 6, 2020.

If you have pending litigation matters, statute of limitations to file litigation matters, or other litigation-related matters, contact an attorney to consider how this Judicial Emergency impacts you or your business.

The Order provides, in relevant part, that Non-Essential, Non-Emergency court proceedings in all circuit and district courts are suspended and all deadlines are tolled and extended for a period of twenty-one (21) days and that all circuit and district courts shall implement the following measures, including continuing all civil, traffic and criminal matters, including jury trials, subject to a defendant’s right to a speedy trial, with the exception of emergency matters, including but not limited to, quarantine or isolation matters, arraignments, bail reviews, protective order cases, emergency child custody or protection cases, and civil commitment hearings. Judges may exercise their discretion with regard to proceeding with ongoing jury trials, and in cases where the defendant is incarcerated.”

The full Order can be found here:  http://www.courts.state.va.us/2020_0316_scv_order_declaration_of_judicial_emergency.pdf

If you have questions, you can contact Andy Baxter, at 703-556-0411 or abaxter@gcpc.com.