In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and adhere to Gov. Brad Little's statewide stay-home order, federal and district courthouses in the Treasure Valley will operate at a reduced capacity until further notice.

As of Monday, Ada County officials said all necessary court proceedings will be conducted via video or telephone, according to the county website.

"If it is not possible to do so, and the matter is deemed an emergency, a hearing may be conducted in the courthouse," officials said. "Citizens still have access to the court. Filings can still occur outside the building on the east side of the Ada County Courthouse."

In Ada County, the courthouse closure has turned the Ada County Jail into a functioning courthouse. Normally, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office has 29 transport deputies who take people from the courthouse to the jail and back, according to Patrick Orr, spokesman for the office.

Now instead of going to the courthouse, deputies transport jail inmates between the areas where they’re housed, and two conference rooms. Those rooms are set up with video and audio recording systems which allow judges, attorneys and others to be virtually present during court hearings. The office can also conduct a hearing via a smartphone if an inmate cannot leave their housing areas, according to Orr.

The changes come as the Ada County Jail sees a large decrease in its inmate population, and as law enforcement agencies have changed some of their arresting practices to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus. On March 16, there were 1,054 people in the jail. On Tuesday, that number had dwindled to 857.

Normally, if a person is arrested and charged with a crime, they are required to have a preliminary hearing within 21 days if they are out of custody. A recent order from the Idaho Supreme Court suspended that requirement. Thus, the only preliminary hearings taking place in Ada County right now are for people in the jail, said 4th District Administrative Judge Melissa Moody.

In Canyon County, court hearings are still taking place in person, but are being scaled back due to the stay-home order. According to the county website, about 25 hearings were scheduled Tuesday, which included criminal, civil and juvenile proceedings, with some taking place via video.

Like the Ada County Jail, Canyon County's facilities also have seen a stark decrease in its inmate population. On Tuesday, it was at 68% capacity with 327 inmates, according to the county’s jail statistics website.

People with coronavirus symptoms — fever, cough or shortness of breath — are not able to enter either courthouse. Anyone who has traveled within the last two weeks, been diagnosed with or have had contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 also is prohibited.

On Monday, officials also closed the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the James A. McClure Federal Building and the U.S. District Courthouse in Boise, except for essential hearings, until April 15 — the end of Little's 21-day order issued March 25.

The presiding judge will determine whether a hearing is considered essential, and if so, it will be conducted with "the least number of persons as possible in the actual courtroom … (and they) will maintain a distance from each other of six feet in accordance with social distancing and no more than 10 people will be physically present in the courtroom," officials said. This includes any bankruptcy, civil and criminal cases.

All grand jury proceedings and jury trials scheduled before May 11 are suspended unless otherwise noted by Chief District Judge David C. Nye, officials said. Any in-person meetings set to take placed on or before May 11 at the federal courthouse also will be rescheduled or conducted via video or phone.

"The daily function of a federal courthouse involves regular interaction between large and small groups of people, all of which need to be managed and limited in a sensible and appropriate manner so that recommended precautions against the spread of COVID-19 can be implemented for the protection of court employees and members of the public," officials said.

Usually, if a person is charged with violating a state law, their case is handled in district court, and thus at the Ada or Canyon county courthouses. If a person is charged with violating a federal law, their case is heard in the federal courthouse in Boise. While there has been no move from the Idaho Supreme Court or Idaho Gov. Brad Little to issue a moratorium on evictions — which are handled at the county level — as other states have done, Little briefly commented on the issue during a press conference Friday.

"The advice I'm giving is this isn't necessarily a good time to be evicting people, because there might not be anybody waiting in the wings," Little said.

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