The North Dakota Supreme Court has issued an order in response to the coronavirus pandemic

According to the order, all jury trials in state courts will be suspended until April 24. Courts will be allowed to continue holding non-jury proceedings to the extent possible.

The court advises people not to come to court if they are experiencing acute respiratory illness symptoms such as a cough or shortness of breath, flu-like symptoms, have a fever, or are coughing and sneezing. Those people are advised to contact their lawyers for assistance or, if they do not have an attorney, to call the clerk of court office to discuss rescheduling their hearings. The order applies to anyone involved in a court proceeding, including civil litigants, witnesses, victims and others.

The advisory states that each individual judge can conduct court proceedings as he or she sees fit, but the supreme court encourages them to consider allowing written submissions and electronic or telephone appearances in lieu of requiring litigants, attorneys and others to be personally presesnt at a hearing.

The ND Supreme Court will review its emergency order no later than March 27. They are paying close attention to federal and state directives.