***ATTENTION – SMITH COUNTY, TN GENERAL SESSIONS AND JUVENILE COURTS***
From JUDGE MICHAEL COLLINS
This notice is effective as of May 11, 2020, until further notice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
The General Sessions and Juvenile Courts of Smith County, Tennessee shall RE-OPEN with specific guidelines below.
ANYONE WITH CASES PENDING in the General Sessions or Juvenile Courts should contact the Smith County Circuit Clerk at 615-735-0500 to verify your court date.
BACKGROUND:
On March 25, 2020 due to issues related to COVID-19 the Supreme Court of Tennessee suspended suspended all in-person court with several exceptions.
On April 24, 2020 the Supreme Court of Tennessee required all Judges to submit a plan to gradually re-open their courts taking into consideration issues related to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements.
JUDGE MICHAEL COLLINS submitted a plan (see below) that was approved by the Supreme Court of Tennessee which will guide all future court proceedings until further notice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
SMITH COUNTY, TENNESSEE GENERAL SESSIONS AND JUVENILE COURT RE-OPEN PLAN:
The purpose of this proposal is compliance with the request of the Honorable Brody Kane, Presiding Judge, Tennessee Supreme Court orders, the laws of Tennessee and the United States, and to ensure safety of all those involved in the process of administering court proceedings as well as those attending court.
This proposal intends to respect the separate and distinct authorities and requirements bestowed by law upon the Sheriff, the Circuit Clerk, District Attorney, Public Defender and any other participant in the criminal justice system.
Further, this proposal presumes the necessity of continued social distancing as a result of COVID-19.
Therefore, the following are the details of said proposal:
1. On all days that court is scheduled to be in sessions, a Court Officer will be stationed at the entrance to the Justice Center parking lot with a copy of the Court Docket listing the names of all persons scheduled to be in court for that Docket.
2. The Court Officer will:
(A) Stop each vehicle and determine the name of the person coming to court and verify that the person is scheduled to be in court, a necessary witness, or a victim, and then make note that the person is present.
(B) Request from persons desiring to enter Court a cellular phone number that said person will be able to immediately reply, or determine if they have no such contact number.
(C) Ask if the person already has an attorney representing them on the matter they wish to appear in court regarding.
(D) Ask the following pre-screening questions and record the answers; “Do you have a cough?”, Do you have a fever?”, “Have you had contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 or anyone that is awaiting testing results for COVID-19?”.
3. The Court Officer will then deliver to the persons scheduled to be in court a copy of the NOTICE TO PERSONS COMING TO COURT (a copy of the Notice is attached).
4. When the time for the court session to begin has arrived, the Court Officer shall provide the information obtained from the arriving parties to the Judge.
5. At the call of the docket the attorneys for any parties will be advised that their client is in the parking lot so the attorneys can consult with the client and arrange with the Judge the specific time for the client to enter the building and courtroom.
6. All parties, necessary witnesses, and victims will be informed by the Court Officer when they can enter the building and courtroom.
7. The Judge will determine when, and if, each party can enter the courtroom and communicate that information to the Court Officer.
8. If a party is experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19 or has been exposed to someone with Covid-19 within the past 14 days or has traveled outside of the United States within the past 14 days, the Court will continue that party’s case to a later date and have the Court Officer inform the party of the new court date, and also inform any other persons that might be involved in that party’s case.
9. If any party to a case does not have a vehicle in which to wait, the Court Officer will direct that person to an area inside the Justice Center where the person can wait, while maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from any other person.
10. Each person entering the court facility shall be directed by the Court Officer where to stand while waiting to enter the court room. There will be designated standing areas in the lobby to stand. When entering the court facility, lobby or courtroom each person must observe social distancing guidelines and remain 6 feet away from other persons.
11. The doors to the court facility and court room will remain open if at all possible to avoid the necessity of multiple people opening and closing doors to limit cross contamination.
12. One case will be heard at a time in the court room and the parties will be directed where to stand depending on the number of people present. There will be an “on deck” area in the lobby where court officers will direct parties to stand as they wait for their turn to enter the court room.
13. All areas of the court facility, where persons coming to court proceedings will be seated or will come into contact, must be sprayed with a disinfectant spray that is EPA registered and labeled as bactericidal, viruccidal and fungicidal, before another case and people are allowed to enter the courtroom. The spraying must be repeated after persons have left the courtroom and before new persons are allowed to enter the courtroom.
14. The Court Officer shall not allow persons to congregate in the lobby of the Justice Center or at the entrance to the Justice Center. If a person comes to the Justice Center while court is in session, for a purpose other than coming to court, the Court Officer shall determine the reason for the visit and direct the person to the appropriate office.
15. All other personnel deemed necessary by the Judge will be allowed in the court room including; attorneys, clerks, liaisons to service providers, etc.
16. The Sheriff and his staff shall at all times determine the level of in-person contact attorneys or other parties shall have with inmates, all while considering applicable constitutional requirements.
17. The guidelines of this plan should be observed. If it is determined that this plan practically cannot be observed then the plan should be amended and resubmitted.
***IF ANYONE HAS A QUESTION ABOUT THIS ORDER OR COURT DATES PLEASE CONTACT THE CLERK AT 615-735-0500.
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