Courts receive guidance on reopening

The Missouri Supreme Court has issued guidance that gives Butler County Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett light at the end of the tunnel.

Butler County and Ripley County courts, which Pritchett presides over, have not reopened alongside area businesses.

“We are currently in phase zero, which means that all in-person hearings or proceedings are discouraged except for those which are allowed constitutionally or for juvenile matters or domestic violence, things like that,” Pritchett said. “The crisis has really impacted the way our dockets are handled.”

Pritchett spoke Wednesday during a briefing of local officials regarding current COVID-19 disruptions and status.

The new guidance takes effect May 16, meaning certain courts may enter into phase one as soon as May 17, so long as conditions with a court’s community allow for such action. To justify changing phases, Pritchett is cataloging things such as newspaper clippings, showing that conditions in the community are improving. He then will have to submit a form to the supreme court showing things are improving.

Butler County has not had a new case since the weekend of April 25-26. Missouri has had 9,102 cases and 396 deaths, with 19 deaths reported Wednesday. Missouri Governor Mike Parson said the majority of those deaths were from St. Louis County.

“One thing that I was really happy about was that the Supreme Court is letting us approach this from a local level instead of from the statewide level so that what we can do here is not going to be tied to St. Louis or Kansas City, but based upon local circumstances, which is really great news,” Pritchett said.

Phase one allows for an increase in some in-person activity and a court must spend at least 14 days in any phase before it can move forward. Should conditions decline, a court can also move down in phases.

Pritchett has canceled all jury trials since March 16. He said that will probably continue through June 15. In the meantime, a backlog of cases has developed and Pritchett said his docket for jury trials runs daily through May 2021.

“The biggest problem with the jury trials is that if we have big cases, for instance, murder cases, sometimes we’ll call in 100 people to select a jury,” Pritchett said. “Under the first two phases, we’re not allowed to bring that many people into a courtroom. Beyond that, even if we’re in phase three where we’re able to bring up to 50 people into a group, we still have to comply with social distancing and things like that.”

He added that even seating a jury presents challenges because the jury box doesn’t allow for 12 people to sit six feet apart.