Chief Justice Beasley Orders Extension of Court System Deadlines - March 19, 2020

The order is extending filing deadlines and further curtailing other court processes. Documents due to be filed from March 16 to April 17 will be deemed timely filed if received before the close of business on April 17, 2020, and that any actions required to be done during that time can also be postponed until April 17, 2020. This also applies to Business Court. The Supreme Court ordered appellate court deadlines extended March 27.

While courthouses and most courts remain open, officials must drastically curtail trips to local courts to help reduce community transmission of COVID-19 for the public and employees. The Chief Justice’s order issued on Friday, March 13, directed that all superior and district court proceedings be postponed for at least 30 days, with some exceptions (see the Supreme Court Order for all exceptions and additional directives), effective March 16. 

See the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates page as a first resort to find local announcements, changes, and administrative orders by county and determine if a question can be answered without calling the local courthouse. Find more information on the county's pages. As the courts work to postpone thousands of cases, court officials will notify parties and their attorneys of new hearing and trial dates. Any person who has likely been exposed to COVID-19 and has business before the courts should not enter the courthouse and should contact the clerk of superior court’s office for further instruction.