CANB — General Order 44: Court Operations Following End of Covid-19 Emergency; Abrogation of Covid Related General Orders

Source: https://www.canb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/general-orders/GeneralOrder44%20Final.pdf

1 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 2 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 4 In re: 5 General Order 44 6 COURT OPERATIONS FOLLOWING END Dated: July 25, 2023 OF COVID-19 EMERGENCY; and 7 ABROGATION OF GENERAL ORDERS 8 38, 39, 40 (SECOND and THIRD 9 AMENDED); 41 (Effective December 1, 2023); 43. 10 11 12 WHEREAS, On April 10, 2023, the President signed H.J. Res. 7, which became P.L. 13 118-3, ending the national emergency that came about due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 14 terminating national vaccination requirement; 15 WHEREAS, The Judicial Conference of the United States determined that the 16 COVID-19 Pandemic would no longer materially affect the functioning of the federal courts 17 generally or a particular district, effective May 24, 2023, and further determined that the 18 termination of COVID-19 protocols would be implemented for civil courts on September 21, 19 2023; 20 WHEREAS, On June 23, 2021, the District Court for the Northern District of 21 California enacted its General Order 78, requiring public compliance in the courthouses with 22 health and safety protocols promulgated by relevant state and local officials, and authorizing 23 each judge assigned to civil trials and matters to conduct those proceedings in a manner 24 consistent with logistical considerations necessitated by those protocols, including: on the 25 papers, in the courtroom, by telephone, and by videoconference; and WHEREAS, the District Court for the Northern District of California abrogated its26 General Order 80, the Policy Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing, on April 28,27 2023;28

COURT OPERATIONS FOLLOWING END OF COVID-19 EMERGENCY, etc.

1 Accordingly it is ordered that: 2 1. Orders Abrogated 3 a. The following General Orders are abrogated immediately: 4 • General Order 38 – 8th Amended, In re COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (paragraph 8 only, pertaining to the electronic filing of 5 documents by non-ECF filers and clerk’s office operations); 6 • General Order 39 – 3d Amended, Signatures on Electronic Filings; 7 • General Order 40 – 2d Amended, Order Extending Certain Deadlines; 8 • General Order 40 – 3d Amended, Order Extending Certain Deadlines; and 9 • General Order 43 – COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and Court 10 Vaccination and Testing Policy. 11 b. The following General Order is abrogated effective September 1, 2023: 12 • General Order 38 – 8th Amended, In re COVID-19 Public Health 13 Emergency (all remaining paragraphs, pertaining to the conduct of 14 hearings, etc.). See Paragraph 2, below, for more information about how 15 the court will conduct hearings on and after September 1, 2023. 16 c. The following General Order is abrogated effective December 1, 2023: 17 • General Order 41 – The Coronavirus Economic Stabilization Act of 18 2020 (“CARES ACT”) Concerning Forbearance Notices. 19 2. Means of Conducting Hearings 20 a. No later than September 1, 2023, each judge will publish their practices and 21 procedures for noticing and conducting hearings on their page on the court’s 22 website. The court may hold hearings in person in the courtroom, by 23 telephone, or by video conference. 24 b. Each assigned judge will determine whether to hold a hearing or decide a 25 case or proceeding on the papers. In-person hearings may be held in the sole 26 discretion of the presiding judge and in accordance with practices and procedures adopted by each judge. No judge is required to conduct in-27 person hearings.28

COURT OPERATIONS FOLLOWING END OF COVID-19 EMERGENCY, etc.

1 c. As of September 1, 2023, all counsel, parties, and other interested persons 2 shall consult each judges’ practices and procedures for instructions as to 3 how to notice a hearing before that judge and information about how that 4 judge conducts hearings (whether in-person, by video, or by telephone). All counsel, litigants, and other interested parties shall comply with the relevant 5 judge’s procedures for noticing and conducting hearings. Any unexcused 6 failure to comply with the relevant judge’s hearing procedures might result 7 in the imposition of sanctions. 8 3. No Recordings 9 Recordation of any court hearing by any means is strictly prohibited. Any person 10 recording a court hearing shall be subject to sanctions. 11 4. Public Health Matters 12 All courthouse visitors must follow all safety protocols announced on the Court’s 13 website at canb.uscourts.gov, and in the presiding judge’s courtroom. This may include 14 masking as determined by local authorities. Courtroom use and capacity may be limited in the 15 discretion of the presiding judge. Press and public access to in-courtroom proceedings may be 16 in person, by telephone, by videoconference, or by other remote means, as authorized by the 17 assigned judge, so long as these measures are compliant with the mandates of the United States 18 Judicial Conference, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the District Court. 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 Dated: July 25, 2023 21 22 Stephen L. Johnson Chief Bankruptcy Judge 23 24 25 26 27 28

COURT OPERATIONS FOLLOWING END OF COVID-19 EMERGENCY, etc.