Extending Plea-Eligible Judge Policy

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December 18, 2020 - Message from the Circuit Court Extending Plea-Eligible Judge Policy

The court is extending the “all active judges are plea-eligible” policy in criminal cases currently in effect until at least February 15, 2021. This means that if the State and defense counsel agree on a plea to be entered before any active judge, the matter will be scheduled at the earliest possible time. Individual judges may choose to hear the pleas remotely and/or defer sentencing in appropriate cases. Pleas will be heard subject to the availability of the particular judge chosen. If certain judges receive a disproportionate number of pleas such that they cannot be scheduled within a reasonable amount of time, the parties will be notified and asked to agree upon another active judge to hear the plea.

This procedure is available for pre-indictment pleas, and even though a pretrial date has already passed. It is not  available where a case has already been set for a resolution conference before a senior (retired) judge, or a particular active judge is already scheduled to hear the plea, nor in the event that a plea has already been taken and sentencing has been deferred. It is also not available for appeals or jury-demanded cases from the District Court.

Robert A. Greenberg
Administrative Judge