TL;DR New York courts are currently STILL HANDLING newly filed (i.e. since Tuesday 17th March 2020) Family Offense petitions e.g. stalking, assault, harassment, revenge porn.
Effective Tuesday 17th March 2020:
All existing scheduled court proceedings, except those matters listed below that will be heard in emergency hearings, are adjourned.
However, the Court will establish emergency measures and will still hear:
- All newly filed Family Offense petitions* (e.g. stalking, assault, harassment, revenge porn)
- Newly filed emergency Child Custody and Visitation petitions that are required to be heard the same day
- Child support violation petitions
- Child Protection intake cases involving remand applications
- Newly filed Juvenile Delinquency intake cases involving remand applications and cases of youth on remand status
Note:
Dates for newly filed non-emergency petitions will be mailed and/or emailed.
Rescheduled dates will be mailed and/or emailed.
The Court will not dismiss cases based upon the non-appearance of parties or counsel, unless the Court is informed of the parties’ intent to withdraw the action.
The following court activities are suspended until further notice:
- In court mediation sessions
- Court childcare centers
- Court held trainings
- Appointment Express
All other case types not mentioned are adjourned.
*Family Offense Petitions
Courts in NY are still hearing new Family Offense petitions, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if the below applies to you.
In New York, a family offense petition is filed when a family member claims that another family member committed one of the following acts against another family member:
- Disorderly conduct
- Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image
- Harassment
- Aggravated harassment
- Sexual misconduct
- Forcible touching
- Sexual abuse
- Menacing
- Reckless endangerment
- Criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation
- Strangulation
- Assault or attempted assault
- Stalking
- Criminal mischief
- Identity theft
- Grand larceny
- Coercion
Here, “family members” are defined as individuals related by blood or marriage, individuals who were formerly married, or individuals who are unrelated but have a child together; and individuals who are unrelated who are or have been in an intimate relationship.
On the day a family offense petition is filed, the petitioner has the right to an immediate court appearance.
If there is “good cause”, the judge may issue a temporary order of protection and/or a temporary order of child support. The temporary order of protection usually lasts until the date the respondent or alleged abuser is scheduled to appear in court.
Our phones remain open as usual (646-666-8908) and our intake team is ready to help! If you have any questions, or want to get in touch outside of office hours, do not hesitate to contact us through the form on our website
We promise to try to keep you up to date with what’s happening in the court system during this chaotic time, stay tuned to our blog and our social media channels for more info.
The information above is subject to change if/when the pandemic situation evolves.