The Supreme Court of South Carolina

MEMORANDUM

The South Carolina Judicial Branch is actively monitoring the development of Coronavirus (COVID-19). While there have not been any cases of COVID-19 confirmed in South Carolina, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said more cases are likely to be identified throughout the United States in the coming days.

Pandemic preparation is contemplated in the South Carolina Judicial Branch’s Business Continuity Plan. In recent days, our Crisis Management Team has been meeting and discussing how to enact the portions of this plan which address how we would respond to a pandemic event. Our Business Continuity Plan has been established to ensure that the South Carolina Judicial Branch can prepare for, respond to, and recover from any emergency that disrupts normal operations. 

This week, resources and tips from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the CDC have been provided to South Carolina Judicial Branch employees and put into practice. In addition, South Carolina Judicial Branch employees have been reminded to sign up for our emergency notification system.

As this situation continues to develop, I want to remind all employees of South Carolina’s Unified Judicial System of the following:

• Bond hearings should continue to be conducted at least once a day, if conditions allow.
• County and municipal employees working within the Unified Judicial System should follow the decisions made by the respective county or municipal government officials with regard to office and facility closings. 
• Courts should work together with their respective government bodies and county emergency officials to coordinate on issues such as staffing procedures, the viability of work-from-home practices, and the separation of potentially ill staff from others within the workplace.

The South Carolina Judicial Branch’s Crisis Management Team will continue to monitor this situation and provided further communication as needed.