The Supreme Court has authorized the resumption of in-person criminal jury trials, and some in-person civil jury trials, effective on or after June 15, 2021. Criminal jury trials will be conducted in person and will be the priority, with cases that involve detained defendants continuing to receive the highest priority. Most civil jury trials at present will continue to be conducted in a virtual format. The Court’s May 11, 2021 Order is attached.

The Court’s authorization to resume in-person jury trials is based on improved COVID-19 trends throughout New Jersey. In-person jury trials will be conducted with necessary health precautions, including social distancing and the requirement that participants wear face masks except in limited circumstances when other health protections are in place. As announced in this May 6, 2021 notice, up to 50% of judges and state court employees will be present in state court locations as of June 15, 2021. Those on-site judges and state court employees will support upcoming in-person jury trials and other court events.

The Court in a separate May 11, 2021 Order also has authorized the resumption of in-person grand jury sessions, which must be conducted with necessary health precautions.

Questions about this notice may be directed to the Office of the Administrative Director of the Courts at (609) 376-3000

/s/ Hon. Glenn A. Grant, J.A.D.

Acting Administrative Director of the Courts

Dated: May 11, 2021

Notice and Order – Resumption of Certain In-Person Jury Trials Effective June 15, 2021; Prioritization of Criminal Jury Trials – 05-11-21 – corrected.pdf

Effective June 15, 2021, up to 50% of judges and state court employees may be present on-site in state court locations. Consistent with public health guidance, the Judiciary will increase on-site presence gradually and with the understanding that we may change direction if COVID-19 trends worsen in the future.

The Judiciary throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been guided by the recommendations of public health authorities, including the New Jersey Department of Health (NJ DOH). Today, and based on positive trends statewide, key public health indicators regarding COVID-19 in New Jersey are encouraging. New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been decreasing for several weeks and continue to decline. In all regions of the state, the COVID-19 Activity Level Index (CALI) is moderate. Subject to continued appropriate precautions, these data support an increase in on-site presence of judges and state court employees.
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The Supreme Court has approved a Background Screening Policy for Proposed Guardians of Incapacitated Adults (the “policy”). This directive promulgates that new policy and related new and revised court forms. It also provides guidance for use of the new policy, which will apply to guardians in matters filed on or after May 15, 2021.

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The Supreme Court has approved a background screening policy for certain proposed guardians of incapacitated adults. The Court also has amended Rule 4:86 (“Action for Guardianship of an Incapacitated Person or for the Appointment of a Conservator”) so as to implement the policy. As approved by the Judicial Council, a new Certification of Criminal and Civil Judgment History has been promulgated, along with revised versions of a number of other court forms.

Proposed guardians in matters filed on or after May 15, 2021 will be subject to this new background screening policy. Directive #11-21 (“Guardianships of Incapacitated Adults – Background Screening Policy for Proposed Guardians; New and Revised Court Forms”) promulgates the new policy as well as the new and revised forms. This memo outlines the steps necessary for implementation of the policy.

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Notice is hereby given to the Bar and all interested parties that the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey proposes to amend the Local Civil Rules. The proposed amendments are posted for public comment as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2071(b) at http://www.njd.uscourts.gov.

Amendment are proposed to the following Local Civil Rule:

New Text underlined.

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The Supreme Court has extended the end-date for post-indictment excludable time for the additional period from May 18, 2021 through June 15, 2021. The Court’s April 9, 2021 Order is attached.

As set forth in the Court’s April 9, 2021 Order, current COVID-19 trends indicate that it is too soon to expand on-site presence and in-person events, including for purposes of in-person jury trials. Public health indicators – including the millions of COVID-19 vaccines administered statewide – instead suggest that the Judiciary should be positioned to resume in-person jury trials on or after June 15, 2021.

Jurors who have been summoned to report for service before June 15, 2021 will be assigned to panels for virtual civil jury trials. All counties will continue to summon jurors for upcoming reporting dates. Judges will adjust trial dates for in-person trials as necessary.

Questions about this notice or the Court’s April 9, 2021 Order may be directed to the Office of the Administrative Director of the Courts at (609) 376-3000.

/s/ Hon. Glenn A. Grant, J.A.D.

Acting Administrative Director of the Courts

Dated: April, 9, 2021

NOTICE COVID-19 Extension of Post-Indictment Excludable Time; Delay in Resumption of In-Person Jury Trials.pdf

Attorneys were previously advised of the added security requirement to use two-factor authentication when accessing the online 2021 Attorney Registration application (Notice dated November 30, 2020). This notice is to advise that effective May 1, 2021, the two-factor authentication requirement will be extended to all Judiciary applications used by attorneys.

As indicated in that earlier notice, two-factor authentication uses the email address or cell phone number previously provided by attorneys and verified/updated as part of the 2021 Attorney Registration process.

To assist attorneys through this expansion of the two-factor authentication beyond the Attorney Registration application, the Superior Court Clerk’s Office is making available at no cost training on the use of the two-factor authentication process. This training will include the legal and ethical requirements related to Judiciary information security. Additionally, Judiciary staff will provide useful techniques to troubleshoot problems and provide answers to frequently asked questions related to two-factor authentication.

The sessions will be conducted using Microsoft Teams. Attorneys must register in advance. The scheduled training sessions are as follows:

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