The Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 13 issued an Order Suspending in Person Court Proceedings, in regards to COVID-19 pandemic, No. ADM2020-00428.
The Supreme Court Order can be found here.
The Juvenile Court of Hamilton County, under the direction of Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw immediately developed protocols to limit in-person court proceedings in Juvenile Court. A modified court docket and court staffing pattern for both the Court and the Office of the Juvenile Court Clerk were implemented on Monday.
This week, officials have been strongly encouraging attorneys to submit court filings by U.S. Mail or fax. Now the court is adding an additional option for safety and convenience. Based upon the language of the Supreme Court Order "urging clerks to utilize available technologies, including alternative means of filing" the Juvenile Court Clerk has implemented protocols that will now allow attorneys to submit filings via email, effective Friday, March 20. An Attorney Advisory is now available on the Hamilton County Juvenile Court Clerk website, found here.
Juvenile Court Clerk Gary D. Behler said, "We are pleased to immediately offer this option for attorneys to submit court filings for Hamilton County Juvenile Court by email. We have created a new email account that will allow electronic submissions as an alternate way of filing during this time of crisis due to this global pandemic. I believe that this is an appropriate use of technology to facilitate new ways to conduct the business of the Court. I applaud the hard work of my staff including Directors Cathy Jones and Jacque Griffith, Technology Coordinator Kristie McGowan, and Supervisor Sherrie Hobby. These folks helped develop this new process at the same time they were coping with a rapidly changing court landscape and a reduced staffing pattern to protect our staff and our citizens.
"I also want to thank our IT Services partners who are an incredible resource: Director Bart McKinney, David Summers, Lark Walters and Darren Combs. In addition, we appreciate the tremendous support and leadership of Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger during this challenging time. "
Judge Rob Philyaw said, "Hamilton County Juvenile Court Clerk Gary Behler and his staff are doing everything they can to ensure that delivery of services are not impeded and are in fact easier and safer during these unprecedented times. We will continue to work with him, attorneys, law enforcement, and the public to protect children, the public and constitutional rights pursuant to the Tennessee Supreme Court directives."