Marshall Circuit Court Judge Curtis Palmer, in consultation with the other local judges and the County Clerk, has determined the courthouse will reopen to the public for limited purposes of holding necessary hearings as of Monday, May 4th . To keep everyone safe, Plexiglas barriers have been installed in some offices and bench seating has been replaced with individual chairs which are located a safe distance apart.
For everyone’s safety, the following rules should be followed until further notice:
For litigants coming to the courthouse for a hearing, only the parties to a case, their lawyers and necessary witnesses should enter the building.
Other persons who are drivers or moral supporters should remain out in their vehicle.
No children should be brought into the courthouse without prior permission from the Clerk or the Judge involved in the case.
All members of the public coming into the courthouse should bring their own mask and wear it at all times while in the building. A limited number of masks may be available at the security checkpoint at the entry door of the courthouse. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building.
Please maintain appropriate social distancing between yourself, other members of the public and all county employees.
If anyone scheduled for a hearing, or a member of their household, is symptomatic or diagnosed with Coronavirus, please contact the court by telephone and obtain a continuance.
In an attempt to limit the number of persons coming into the courthouse, the public is reminded that most, if not all, requests for information may be made over the telephone or on-line without physically entering the courthouse building. While our laws require personal appearances in certain types of hearings, many other hearings can be held on-line. For hearings which do not require a personal appearance, the courts are utilizing the on-line Zoom Meeting platform which allows lawyers and their clients to appear in front of the judge by video from their homes or offices. To ensure the public maintains their access to our free and open courts, all Zoom hearings for non-confidential case types will be live-streamed on YouTube.
These are difficult circumstances for everyone involved. Please be considerate of one another and be prepared for possible delays in the timing of any particular hearing. Because of space limitations in our courtrooms and the need for social distancing, certain high volume types of hearings may take us a little longer than usual ensure that justice is done while keeping everyone safe and healthy at the same time.
The courthouse will also be open to the public for early voting May 26th through June 1st (excluding Sunday).
