In the continued interest of the health and safety of the community and court personnel, we remain committed to balancing access to justice with the ongoing public health crisis that COVID-19 presents. The scope of court operations shall be predicated upon minimum public health criteria established by Mecklenburg County Public Health. Mecklenburg County Public Health has developed community public health indicators based on the case rate per 100,000 persons and percent positivity rate, which provide a general framework for decision-making and recommendations related to superior and district court.

According to the latest COVID-19 data from Mecklenburg County Public Health, the positivity rate is 7.6 percent, with a case rate of 181.92 per 100,000 persons. These data metrics indicate high community spread in Mecklenburg County.

In accordance with the Administrative Order regarding district and superior court operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and Courts-Continuation of Operation Plan (C-COOP), the 26th Judicial District will continue to operate in the red from January 1, 2022 through January 31, 2022, with the following changes:

Business court matters will continue to be held in courtroom 6370. Civil trials in superior court will be held in courtroom 6130. Additional civil trial sessions in superior court may be scheduled for 2.1 exceptional cases and medical malpractice cases. Criminal trials in superior court will be held in courtroom 5370.

Jurors summoned to appear should follow their reporting time and instructions listed on their jury summons. All grand jury proceedings will continue as scheduled.

Two trial courtrooms will be open for in-person criminal arraignments and trials in district court. A limited number of cases will be scheduled in four ninety-minute blocks each day. One courtroom will be open for in-person criminal pre-trial readiness conferences in district court. Please see the attached announcement for more details regarding district court criminal operations in January 2022.

Domestic court matters that cannot be heard remotely may be scheduled for in-person hearings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in accordance with the structure set forth in the attached reference chart.

Involuntary civil commitments before magistrates will be held in Hearing Room 2 (6527) in the Alternative Resolution Suite 6510 on Monday through Friday.

Recovery Courts will conduct hybrid court sessions every two weeks per the Recovery Courts calendar.

The key court officials will reevaluate current operations and issue an updated court schedule on a monthly basis, taking into account local COVID-19 data, public health guidance, and workforce availability. Please see the attached reference chart for full details regarding changes to court operations that will take effect on January 1, 2022.