Coronavirus CT Updates: Rockville Courthouse To Close Temporarily

VERNON, CT — The Rockville Superior Courthouse is being temporarily closed amid efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus at the state level.

An official notice was sent out by Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III Thursday.

"COVID-19 continues to challenge the operations of the Connecticut Judicial Branch as we seek to protect the safety and health of the public and our employees and judges. At the same time, we must meet our constitutional obligations. To achieve this balance, we have undertaken several steps to, until further notice, prioritize the cases to be handled and to limit the handling of these cases to only one courthouse in each Judicial District," the notice said. "More stringent steps are necessary as this virus continues to spread."

According to the notice, Rockville Superior Court, also known as GA 19, will be shuttered at the close of business Friday, "until further notice," according to the notice. Matters from Rockville will be transferred to the Hartford GA 14 courthouse, according to the notice.

Rockville was chosen with two others (Danielson and Torrington), "based on caseload data that has been collected since a state order this month that only 'Priority 1 Business Functions' be handled in state courts."

All three locations show lower numbers of public traffic than busier court locations, and the larger locations have the ability to absorb the additional caseload, according to the notice.

One example sent to Patch indicates a motor vehicle infraction case slated for April 3 has been rescheduled to Aug. 14.

Here it is:

(Tim Jensen/Patch)

Effective immediately and until further notice, entrance to courthouses that remain open is being limited to those who are:

• Filing or have a hearing for a Temporary Restraining Order
• Filing or have a hearing for a Civil Protection Order
• Filing or have a hearing on an Ex Parte motion for custody
• Involved in a criminal arraignment or other criminal proceeding