COVID-19 Update

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, from March 17 through April 15, 2020 most court appearances will be postponed and most criminal defendants do not need to appear in court. Any defendant whose case will automatically be postponed does not need to appear in court. Below are guidelines for which cases will be postponed.  Please read this information carefully.  You can also click here to view Chief Judge Evans’ Administrative order.

  1. During this time period, no criminal trials will be conducted. All cases set for trial will be postponed.
  2. All Bail Hearings, Arraignments and Preliminary Hearings will be conducted as scheduled. All defendants set for either a Bail Hearing, Preliminary Hearing, or an Arraignment must appear in court.
  3. All Traffic and Misdemeanor cases will be postponed.
  4. Defendants in custody who have their case set to enter a plea agreement may have their cases heard. If you are in custody and represented by the Public Defender and you would like to enter a plea agreement, please contact your attorney. Click here to see a list of the Public Defender Office Divisions and their phone numbers.
  5. Delinquency cases where there is a demand for trial and cases set for detention hearing will be heard. If you are a respondent on a delinquency case and you have demanded trial, you must appear in court. Other delinquency cases will be postponed. If you are a respondent in a delinquency case and you have NOT demanded trial or are not set for a detention hearing, you do not need to appear in court.
  6. Abuse and neglect cases in which the state seeks protective custody of a child, and cases in which there is an emergency motion concerning children are that allegedly abused in foster care will be heard. All other matters will be postponed.
  7. Most divisions of the Circuit Court have entered an order that sets specific date to which cases will be continued. You can see those scheduling orders by clicking here [hyperlink to where the court orders are stored on our website]. 

All Public Defender clients will be getting notified of their next court date. If you do not receive notice, you may call the Public Defender’s Office and ask for an update. Click here to see a list of the Public Defender Office Divisions and their phone numbers. No one should go to a Public Defender’s Office in person to get general information for a case update.