SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY – Statement on COVID-19 and court policy

SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY

In response to the growing public health crisis worldwide and in this state involving the COVID-19 coronavirus, the New Jersey Judiciary continues to implement all possible measures to apply social distancing in court operations consistent with the recommendations of the New Jersey Department of Health (“NJ DOH”) and the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”).

The Judiciary accordingly has closed comi buildings to the public and adjusted the operations of court offices to reduce the risk of exposure to or transmission of the virus.

Executive Order 107 (March 21, 2020) imposed strict limitations on the operations of “brick-and mortar” businesses and required telecommuting to the greatest extent possible, causing law firms to transition expeditiously to remote work operations with few if any attorneys or staff working from their law firm offices.

Those modifications to the operations of the courts and the practice of law have rendered certain filing requirements temporarily incompatible with ongoing efforts to support timely processing and adjudication of cases.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that effective immediately and until further order:

1. Pursuant to NJ. Const., Art. VI, sec. 2, par. 3, the provisions of Rule 1 :6-
   4 are relaxed and supplemented so as to eliminate the requirement that, in
   addition to filing all Civil motion papers, orders to show cause, and
   orders, attorneys must also simultaneously submit to the judge a copy of
   all motion papers; and
2. The requirement of submitting paper “courtesy copies” of motion papers
   to the judge (as set forth in Notices to the Bar dated June 28, 2017 and
   December 6, 2017) is modified so as to suspend the requirement of
   submitting courtesy copies in Civil matters so long as the total
   submission (including appendices and attachments) does not exceed 25
   pages. Where the submission is more than 25 pages, courtesy copies still
   must be mailed or delivered to the court and postmarked within two days
   of the electronic filing.

For the Court
Chief Justice
Dated: March 25, 2020