Circuit Court takes a couple of snow days, sort of; Clerk takes exception

As anybody having business with our local courts today has already found out, the Circuit Court canceled most in-person sessions for both today, Groundhogs's Day, and tomorrow, the Feast of St. Blaise. The Office of the Chief Judge issued this statement on February 1 in conjunction with the announcement:

Due to predictions of significant snowfall in Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today ordered that courts and related operations of the Circuit Court of Cook County may conduct business remotely on Wednesday and Thursday, with some exceptions.

In criminal cases, initial bail hearings and juvenile detention hearings may be held in person. Anyone previously scheduled to appear in court by Zoom in a criminal case shall still appear by Zoom Wednesday and Thursday. Unless otherwise ordered by the judge presiding, cases involving defendants in custody shall be continued until Monday, Feb. 7.

In civil cases, all jury trials now in progress or scheduled to begin on Wednesday or Thursday will be continued until Friday.

In the Domestic Violence Division at 555 W. Harrison St., all petitions for emergency civil no contact orders, emergency civil orders of protection, emergency firearms restraining orders, or emergency stalking no contact orders may be filed by email sent to the Domestic Violence Courthouse and will be heard remotely.

All orders resulting from proceedings held February 2 and 3 and not entered by the circuit clerk during that period shall be entered by the clerk no later than February 9.

Zoom rooms and Help Desks may be closed Wednesday and Thursday, depending on location. No person who is unable to attend a court proceeding shall suffer any adverse legal consequences as a result of a Zoom room being closed. The circuit clerk shall send notice of the new date to all parties no later than Feb. 18.

All employees of the Circuit Court who are able to perform their duties remotely on Wednesday and Thursday will do so, according to the order.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it has taught us that a lot of business we used to do in person can be conducted remotely, and without cleaning off the car, or shoveling the driveway.

But this is not true for everyone.

In a memo dated yesterday, addressed to Judge Evans and copied to all presiding judges (and obtained by FWIW today), Clerk of the Circuit Court Iris Y. Martinez acknowledged that, while it was appropriate for Judge Evans to consider the safety of "safety and welfare of judges, court system employees, and persons having business with the court," his order did not sufficiently take the welfare of court clerks into account. She elaborated:

As you know, and as your Presiding Judges know, whenever there are court proceedings, whether in-person or remotely over Zoom, my employees must report to the office to conduct their duties and responsibilities. Unlike the judiciary, my clerks do not have the ability to run the court calls remotely. While the judiciary, employees of the Circuit Court of Cook County. and the public do not need to travel to a courthouse tomorrow or Thursday and can safely remain in their homes, my clerks will have to risk their safety and welfare as they report to work.

Martinez expressed disappointment that she "was not consulted or given the opportunity to raise my concerns about the safety of my employees."

She concluded by saying her employees would make their way to their courthouses today and tomorrow -- but said that judges will have to be patient with any weather-related delays.

Some parts of Cook County have been impacted more severely by Winter Storm Landon than others.

While the system snow may be completely out of the area this evening, forecasters are still predicting lake effect snow tonight and tomorrow.