Mass Courts To Remain Closed Through June 1 Except for Emergency Matters

On April 27, 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a new order limiting access to all state courts until June 1, 2020 to address continued concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court had previously limited access to the courts through May 4.

Under the new Order only emergency matters, as defined by the respective courts, may be heard in court. All non-emergency matters will continue to be addressed by telephone, videoconference, email, electronic filing or other comparable means. The Order postpones all jury trials in criminal and civil cases until after July 1, 2020. The Court also continued all bench or judge-tried cases until after June 1, 2020 unless they can be conducted virtually by agreement of the parties. The dates of various events or deadlines established by court rules, statutes, or established for a particular case are also extended by the Order through June 1, 2020. All statutes of limitation are tolled from March 17, 2020 to May 31, 2020. A copy of the Order can be found here.

Posted on Apr | 2020
Experienced Advocates | Effective Solutions