A reported surge in local hospitalizations related to COVID-19 is having a ripple effect in local courts, which are delaying some proceedings and moving others online.

Presiding Circuit Judge Greg Nicholas issued a statement Monday indicating that the non-civil jury cases set for today before both Nicholas and Circuit Judge Martha Williams will instead be conducted remotely. Today’s docketed non-civil jury cases “will be virtual court hearings only, so parties and witnesses will not need to appear in person and will be provided information regarding how to participate in virtual court trials,” Nicholas wrote.

Also this week, the Jan. 6 traffic court docket originally set to take place before District Judge Chad Floyd Wednesday will instead be delayed until March 3. Floyd issued an order Monday indicating that Wednesday’s traffic court call docket, which was set for appearance times at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 10: 30 a.m., will be combined with the March 3 docket, and that the Circuit Clerk’s Office would notify all attorneys and parties involved in the cases that were scheduled for tomorrow’s proceedings.

In addition, the circuit court’s jury trial docket, originally set for Jan. 25, has been postponed until a yet-to-be-determined date in February, “when hopefully local conditions have improved, and jury trials can be resumed,” Nicholas wrote.

The changes will not delay other activities in the court system’s schedule. “Despite the changes, Cullman Circuit and District courts will remain open and motions may still be filed in all cases either electronically or directly through the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office,” wrote Nicholas.

“Virtual court hearings will be held for the remainder of January as a substitute for in-person proceedings, where feasible. In-person judicial proceedings will be held utilizing previously adopted COVID-19 safety measures, in cases where it is necessary to provide immediate relief in emergency circumstances and for all court hearings deemed so essential that a postponement is not appropriate.”

Nicholas cited the ongoing concern over public health, including local hospitalizations that are taxing the capacity of medical providers, as the reason for the court’s decision.

“The latest weekly report received from Cullman Regional Medical Center indicates that their ICU is now operating at over 100% capacity and the hospital currently has 83 patients who are COVID-19 positive, 21 of whom are currently on ventilators,” wrote Nicholas. “Further, the number of COVID-19 cases in our area is expected to increase even more during the next few weeks due to the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays.

“While CRMC has managed to respond admirably to recent challenges and is currently able to provide care for all COVID-19 patients, the potential shortage of critical care beds and nurses at our local hospital is a cause for concern, if numbers continue to increase.”

All City of Cullman Municipal Court cases set for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 have been reset to Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 3 p.m. All cases set for Thursday, January 7, 2021 have been reset to Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 3 p.m.

Reset court date notices will be mailed to each defendant. It is imperative that defendants ensure correct addresses are on file. To update your address, please call the court office at 256-775-7136.