Courts continue handling some cases amid shutdown

"In our civil division, we're doing our domestic cases," Cumberland County Chief District Court Judge Ed Pone said. "Domestic violence protective orders are being done. We're having the 10-day hearings, those emergency hearings."

Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said his office is focusing on cases involving people in the county jail to keep the number of inmates down.

"We don't want the jail to be any more overcrowded than necessary. Those numbers are low right now," West said. "We don't want the virus to spread in the jail. If it is an out-of-custody case, if someone's not in jail, we're continuing those cases."

"The cases, the detectives are still working them now," Boose said. "They're still going around interviewing people for break-ins, robberies and stuff like that, so the files will continue on the felonies to be worked on."

"The pandemic is real," Pone said. "It's important for our citizens to understand, if they do not have official business at the courthouse, to please stay at home."

When courts restart session after the outbreak passes, he said, the system will likely be backlogged, so people will need to bring their patience to the courthouse along with their legal paperwork.