Valerie Hartman
   Public Information Officer
  16th Judicial Circuit
  Jackson County, Missouri

The judicial offices of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Jackson County will be closed tomorrow, January 9, 2024 for in-person hearings, trials and other court business due to inclement weather.
        Judges have the discretion to conduct hearings remotely, and jury trials currently in progress may proceed at the discretion of the judge.  
        County offices will remain open for business.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO 2024-003

ORDER

WHEREAS, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area – including the area served by the 16th Judicial Circuit – effective from 12:29 PM January 8, 2024, until 6:00 PM January 9, 2024, with expected accumulations of snow of between four and seven inches, and high winds gusts creating possible blizzard like conditions; and

WHEREAS, these weather events and the potential hazards they will create for travel on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 – as well the timing of their anticipated impact on the area served by the Court – impede the ability of the Court to conduct most regularly scheduled in-person business in a manner that is safe for Court staff and members of the public; and WHEREAS, Court Operating Rule 7, Section C 12.2(b) authorizes the Presiding Judge to close judicial offices due to unsafe conditions that impede the ability of the judicial offices to conduct business, as follows:

C.12.2 Presiding Judge (b) The presiding judge may authorize a judicial office within the circuit to close for all or part of the day to any unsafe office condition, which impedes the ability of the office to conduct business, or pursuant to authorization by the Chief Justice.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that all judicial offices located in the 16th Judicial Circuit shall be CLOSED for in-person hearings, trials andother Court business on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, PROVIDED, as follows: 1. Jury trials currently in progress in Divisions 5 and 8 may, in the discretion of the Judge sitting in that Division, proceed as regularly scheduled, with such accommodations made for litigants, counsel, jurors, and other interested parties as that Judge may deem appropriate; and 2. Judicial Officers may, in their discretion and where possible, conduct hearings and trials remotely through the use of approved video and telephone conferencing technologies; and 3. This Administrative Order shall be deemed to authorize, but not compel, Municipal Divisions within the 16th Judicial Circuit to suspend operations on those dates or to take such other actions deemed appropriate by those Divisions in accordance with their evaluation of their particular circumstances.

4. Employees who are required to work as directed by their Department Directors shall report to work as instructed.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

January 8, 2024 JUDGE JALILAH OTTO, Presiding Judge