Following the announcement from Mayor Lenny Curry that many city offices will begin reopening to the public June 1, the 4th Judicial Circuit and the Duval County Clerk’s Office provided an update May 29 on the timeline for reopening the Duval County Courthouse.
Several weeks ago, Chief Judge Mark Mahon established a committee comprising the 4th Judicial Circuit, the clerk’s office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the city of Jacksonville and representatives of the legal community to work through the issues necessary to reopen the courthouse to the public.
On May 21, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady issued Administrative Order 20-32, which requires all Florida courts to meet specified benchmarks before being authorized to reopen.
The benchmarks include having adequate testing programs in place, improving COVID-19 conditions in the local community for a 14-day period and the rescission of local and state stay-at-home orders.
In addition to those general conditions, the administrative order also requires courts to develop a detailed operational plan.
The local reopening committee is working toward meeting all necessary benchmarks and developing the operational plan.
Benchmarks include temperature checks and a COVID-19 exposure questionnaire for all people entering the courthouse, requiring face masks while in the building, as well as social distancing and hygiene procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Due to the nature of the business conducted in this building, as well as the volume of citizens that visit each day, the Courthouse faces a unique challenge in the decision to reopen,” said Mahon in a news release.
When the Courthouse reopens there will be new procedures in place to ensure the health and safety of citizens and employees. The procedures will be announced when they are fully developed.
“When we are able to serve citizens in person again, we will make sure we can do so in a safe manner. The transactions may look a little different, but we are committed to providing the same great customer service to each and every person that comes to see us,” said Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell in the release.
The opening date for the courthouse will be announced later, according to the release.