B.C. Supreme and provincial courts postpone in-person sessions due to rising COVID-19 cases - Action News
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British Columbia

B.C. Supreme and provincial courts postpone in-person sessions due to rising COVID-19 cases

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and the more transmissible Omicron variant, courts in B.C. are postponing all in-person trials and other proceedings this week as they work with public health officials to update their COVID-19 safetypolicy.

Proceedings set for Jan. 4 to Jan 7 will be rescheduled; virtual hearings will continue as planned

From Jan. 4 to Jan 7, all trials scheduled to take place before the B.C. Supreme Court and provincial courts are postponed due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Online hearings will continue. (Peter Scobie/CBC)

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and the more transmissible Omicron variant, courts in B.C. are postponing all in-person trials and other proceedings in the coming week as they work with public health officials to update their COVID-19 safetypolicy.

Both the B.C. Supreme Court and provincial courtannounced in a written statementthat in light of "the rapid and concerning recent increase in COVID-19 in the province," all in-person civil and family matters scheduled between Jan. 4 to Jan. 7 will be postponed.

For criminal trials and other in-person criminal proceedings, the Supreme Court is advising all accused people and their lawyers, who have scheduled appearances this week, to phone the court at the time of their proceeding to arrange a new date.

Criminal trials and preliminary inquiries for those already in custody will remain on the schedule, according to court documents,with judges deciding if they should go ahead on the date of the proceedings.

Legal proceedings for those not incustody between Jan. 4 and 7, however, have been adjourned automatically.

The provincial court said it will be contacting people scheduled to appear in court this week to reschedule whilevirtual sessions conducted over video conferencingwill continue.

An updated notice is expected to be issued near the end of theweek.

Corrections

  • A previous version of this article stated that in-person criminal matters scheduled between Jan. 4 and 7 would be postponed. In fact, only criminal trials for those out of custody are automatically postponed.
    Jan 02, 2022 9:44 PM PT