07/23/2020
St Louis County Courthouse returns to Phase Zero.
CIRCUIT COURT PHASE ANNOUNCEMENT – 07/22/20
As directed by the Missouri Supreme Court on May 4, 2020, judicial circuits cannot rush to “open their doors” during this pandemic. They must do so gradually. The Court developed four phases (Zero through Three) to allow for this process. In determining whether changing phases is appropriate, the Court provided the following specific “Gateway Criteria” to consider:
1. No confirmed COVID-19 cases in the court facility within a 14-day period.
2. Rescission or lack of stay-at-home orders or the relaxing of group gathering restrictions applicable to the community.
3. Improving COVID-19 health conditions over a 14-day period in the community, including conditions such as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths in relation to a community’s population density, size of particularly vulnerable populations, and availability of medical facilities including emergency and intensive care capacity.
4. Consultation with local health officials or departments concerning changes to levels of court and courthouse activities.
5. Consultation with local judiciary partners such as children’s division personnel, juvenile officers, members of the local bar, prosecutors and public defenders, law enforcement and probation and parole.”
Starting on May 12, 2020, the 21st Circuit has engaged in phasing discussions with judges, law enforcement officers, court administrators, prosecutors, public defenders, juvenile officers, Department of Public Health officials, probation
officers, bar leaders and others. These discussions occur on a weekly basis, and will continue even after this Circuit enters into Phase Three, as the possibility of moving back to a lower phase always remains, depending on the status of the spread of the virus. This Circuit has also engaged in discussions with the Chief Judge of the Eastern District Court of Appeals and the Presiding Judge of the 22nd Circuit; both Presiding Judges agreed to regularly speak with the Chief Judge and always before deciding to change phases. The 21st Circuit is currently in Phase One, as it has been since June 18, 2020. Factors that this Circuit has considered this week include the following:
1. At least four Court employees have tested positive for the Corona virus within the last two weeks. As to this past week’s two positive results:
A. One employee got tested on July 12, 2020, after exposure to a family member on July 9, 2020 (which was also the last day when the employee was in the Courthouse). The employee received a positive test result on July 17, 2020.
B. The other employee went home ill on July 16, 2020 and immediately got tested. The positive result came back on July 17, 2020.
All employees have been quarantined. Their work stations have been commercially disinfected. The St. Louis County Department of Public Health has been notified; officials there have done contact tracing.
2. On July 16, 2020, one employee of the Department of Justice Services reported a positive COVID test result. (Two employees were found to be positive for COVID during the previous week.) On that same day, three residents of the DJS Jail received positive COVID results. (Twenty-two residents had been tested the previous day.) Three test results are pending.
3. In St. Louis County, the average number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 94 percent between June 21, 2020 (53.4 new cases per day) and July 4, 2020 (104.0 new cases per day). From July 1-10, 1,375 residents tested positive for COVID-19 and 8 residents died due to COVID-19 complications. (Source: St. Louis County Department of Public Health, July 10, 2020.) No daily County statistics are currently available for the week of July 15-22.
St. Louis County recorded its second-highest increase of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with 247 new cases. For the first time since May 2, more than 40 COVID-19 positive people were admitted to St. Louis area hospitals. (Source: St. Louis PostDispatch, July 22, 2020)
“The number of people who have tested positive in the St. Louis region is up 28% since last week, with nearly 500 new cases reported every day. Officials are worried that as more people are infected, hospitals will become overwhelmed.” (Source: St. Louis Public Radio, July 22, 2020)
The St. Louis County Acting Co-Director of the Department of Public Health, Ms. Spring Schmidt, has advised that the number of new cases of COVID-19 in St. Louis County is on a sharp upward trend, due to increased community spread,
primarily among young adults. These young people come home to older people, who are higher risk because of medical problems or simply because of their age. These young people are “propagating the pandemic.” (Source: Dr. Anthony Fauci,
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
4. Since the pandemic began, Missouri has had 33,624 confirmed cases of COVID19; of those cases 9,361 (27.8%) came from St. Louis County. Of the 1,132 deaths due to COVID-19 in Missouri, 610 (58.9%) came from St. Louis County. (Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services)
“Missouri reported on Wednesday (today) the largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, the fifth time the state has topped its daily high in the last eight days.” Missouri’s weekly average of new
cases, “increased from 644 cases a day last week to 907 by Wednesday (today).” (Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 22, 2020)
The transmission rate, R0, for Missouri is 1.08. This number measures the average number of people who become sick from an infectious person. An R0 value of 1.0 means each case causes on average, one new case. If the value is less than one, the spread of the disease is slowing. The higher the R0 number, the worse the spread. (Source: Statista 7.20.2020)
5. On July 1, 2020, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page issued a public health order requiring all individuals over the age of 9 to wear face masks when inside businesses and other public accommodations in St. Louis County, and outside
when social distancing is not possible, effective July 3.
Accordingly, after the aforementioned consultation and consideration, the 21st Judicial Circuit will return to Operating Phase Zero on July 22, 2020. The Court’s Phase status will continue to be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Michael D. Burton, Presiding Judge of the 21st Circuit
St. Louis County, Missouri
July 22, 2020
WHAT DOES PHASE ZERO ALLOW?
According to the Missouri Supreme Court’s May 4, 2020 Operational Directives, during Phase Zero, all in-person proceedings must be suspended, with very few designated exceptions.
The Court, however, did not mandate the suspension of court operations; it simply indicated that proceedings continue, but through video conferencing and other means. The St. Louis County Courthouse is not closed to the public. People may come into the building to file pleadings, motions and responses. Petitioners may enter the building to file for ex parte (temporary) orders of protection, as the Adult Abuse Office remains open.
Due to the current pandemic, however, this court strongly encourages the public to visit the St. Louis County Circuit Court’s website. The website provides means to avoid physically entering the building. For example, petitioners can obtain orders of protection through online filing.
