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Active General Orders Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic

Updated February 10, 2023

District of Maine

Index of General Orders

Currently in Effect

 

Order

What It Does

Amendments

Expiration Date

GO 2023-01

(April 18, 2023) (active)
  • Abrogates Previous General Orders and Addresses the Termination of the COVID-19 National Emergency Declaration
 None No expiration date

GO 2020-6

(May 11, 2020) (active)
  • Adopts expedited procedures for compassionate release cases
 None Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2020-9 

(January 9, 2023) (active)
  • Establishes Court Operations Advisory Committee
  • May 5, 2021: amended to extend through December 31, 2021
  • December 10, 2021: amended to extend through December 31, 2022 and reflect changes to committee membership
  • January 9, 2023: amended to extend through December 31, 2023 and reflect changes to committee membership
 December 31, 2023

GO 2020-11

(July 30, 2020) (active)
  • Establishes protocols for the scheduling of video and phone conferencing proceedings
 None Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2020-17

(December 11, 2020) (active)
  • Authorizes the Clerk to reduce in-court services and hours
 None Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2021-2

(January 31, 2023) (active)
  • Reauthorizes the use of videoconferencing and phone conferencing
  • June 8, 2021: amended to extend through September 6, 2021
  • September 3, 2021: amended to extend through December 2, 2021
  • December 1, 2021: amended to extend through March 2, 2022
  • February 14, 2022: amended to extend through May 30, 2022
  • May 20, 2022: amended to extend through August 28, 2022
  • August 12, 2022: amended to extend through November 26, 2022
  • November 16, 2022: amended to extend through February 24, 2023
  • January 31, 2023: amended to extend through May 25, 2023
 Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2021-3

(March 12, 2021) (active)
  • Reauthorizes bar admissions without a hearing
 None Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2021-4

(March 12, 2021) (active)
  • Addresses full resumption of grand jury proceedings
  • Authorizes the resumption of certain in-person proceedings on the following graduated schedule:
    • April 1, 2021: in-court hearings and non-jury trials in criminal and civil cases if found necessary in the interests of justice
    • June 1, 2021: in-court hearings and non-jury trials in criminal and civil cases, but no longer subject to the requirement of necessity
  • Continues civil jury empanelment and jury trials until the July 2021 Jury Term
  • Continues criminal jury empanelment and jury trials until the August 2021 Jury Term
  • Tolls Speedy Trial Act time for any continuances entered in criminal cases pursuant to this General Order and prior General Orders
 None Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2021-5

(May 10, 2021) (active)
  • Establishes protocols for filing of highly sensitive documents (HSDs)
 None No expiration date

GO 2021-6

(February 10, 2023) (active)
  • Establishes courthouse entry, physical distancing, and mask requirements in the District’s courthouses and court-occupied spaces
  • August 3, 2021: amended to reflect revised CDC guidance on mask-wearing in areas of substantial or high transmission rates
  • August 31, 2021: amended to require all persons to wear masks in the District’s courthouses and court-occupied spaces
  • December 10, 2021: amended to allow a person with a speaking role in in-court proceedings to remove their mask subject to certain conditions.
  • January 12, 2022: amended to specify types of qualifying face masks required due to the more transmissible Omicron variant and ongoing surge of cases due to the Delta and Omicron variants.
  • May 20, 2022: amended to update the District’s mask requirements, vaccination requirements, and entry restrictions by adopting or referencing standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • September 12, 2022: amended to remove the requirement that participants in grand jury proceedings always be masked, to update the terminology and requirements for an individual to be up to date on vaccinations, and to reflect language used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its updated guidance.
  • February 10, 2023: amended to, among other things, restrict mandatory mask requirements to (1) periods in which the Courthouse or court-occupied space is in a county that has been designated as having a “high” community level; and (2) proceedings in which the presiding Judge determines masking to be necessary.
 Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023

GO 2021-7

(April 20, 2022) (active)
  • Establishes requirement for all court employees to confirm that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19
  • April 20, 2022: amended to provide limited exemptions to the vaccination requirement on the basis of a medical necessity or sincerely held religious belief.
 Abrogated by GO 2023-1 as of May 10, 2023