BOSTON (WHDH) - Courthouses in Massachusetts will start to physically reopen next month after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to close.
Beginning July 13, courthouses will reopen to the public for limited purposes, including some-in person proceedings, the Supreme Judicial Court announced Wednesday.
Courts will continue to conduct most business virtually with the number of in-person proceedings expanding further during a second phase that is slated to begin on Aug. 10.
Clerks’, registers’, and recorder’s offices will also reopen on July 13.
Entry into courthouses will be limited to people attending in-person proceedings, those conducting business with opened offices, and people meeting with probation.
Those who enter will be screened to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Cell phones will be permitted in all courthouses starting on July 13, subject to compliance with certain rules set forth in a new Trial Court policy. The new policy will be posted on the court system’s COVID-19 webpage and at the entrance to each courthouse.
Jury trials in both criminal and civil cases in state courts continue to be postponed to a date no earlier than Sept. 8.
On July 13, judges may begin to schedule civil and criminal bench trials.
No new grand jury can be empaneled prior to Sept. 8, unless the Supreme Judicial Court so orders. Existing grand juries are extended until the date of that new empanelment or the date of the October 2020 empanelment in the relevant judicial district, whichever occurs first.
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