By Jennifer Nigro, Esq.
The status of Court operations for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) from April 13th through May 4th, 2020 is as follows: The SDNY has limited activity at its three courthouses. In Manhattan, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street/200 Worth Street is open but only for urgent criminal matters (e.g., arraignments/bail applications and reviews/pleas and sentences by special arrangement) and matters in which immediate relief is sought (e.g., injunctions and restraining orders). The Thurgood Marshall Courthouse located at 40 Foley Square is closed for all SDNY activities, with no staff on site and no SDNY matters being heard there, with the exception of grand jury matters.
Most, if not all, SDNY cases will be handled remotely; however, duty rosters will be posted on Fridays, listing judges (whom will rotate by day) and staff who will be on location in the Moynihan Courthouse. Duty rosters are subject to change and should be consulted daily.
Parties who have civil matters requiring the immediate attention of a judge must bring the matter to the attention of the clerk of court by calling 212-805-0140, between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, prior to either (i) filing the papers on ECF (preferred method), or (ii) bringing papers to the courthouse (limited to matters accompanied by a request to seal).
All jury calls have been suspended. Due to the lead time needed to call jurors, no jury trial, either civil or criminal, can be held until at least June 1, 2020, and possibly later.
The Brieant Courthouse in White Plains will remain open, subject to restrictions. There will be no presentments or arraignments in White Plains, and bail appeals for defendants in White Plains cases who are arraigned in Manhattan will be handled in Manhattan. Other criminal matters in White Plains, including applications from incarcerated defendants in their assigned cases for bail in light of COVID, will be handled as determined by the assigned judge. Emergency civil applications may be made in White Plains directly to the assigned judge. If the assigned judge is unavailable, the application may be made to Judge Briccetti, sitting as Part I judge in White Plains, or to the Part I judge in Manhattan. There will be one person staffing the clerk’s office. Please call 914-390- 4000 to alert that individual to emergency applications for sealing. Temporary restraining orders on publicly filed civil cases are to be filed electronically in ECF, including newly filed civil cases with associated emergency applications, and will be handled by the assigned district judge.
For active matters, parties and/or counsel are advised to check their assigned judge’s individual web pages for postings regarding extensions of time, adjourning conferences, and the like, as the SDNY is unable to docket individual judge’s orders in each individual open case.
The following persons are prohibited from entering any SDNY courthouse:
• Persons who have been advised to self-quarantine by any doctor, hospital or health agency within the last 14 days
• Persons who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within the past 14 days
• Persons have had contact in the past 14 days with anyone who has been diagnosed withCOVID-19, unless that person was diagnosed more than 14 days ago and the person has been symptom-free for the past 72 hours
• Persons who have had fever, cough, shortness of breath, or loss of sense of taste or smell within the past 14 days.
Link to most recent order: https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/courthouseoperations.asofapril13.pdf
Link to SDNY Response to COVID-19 page: https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/covid-19-coronavirus
