El Paso County Court, Municipal Court to resume some in-person hearings

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The process of reopening El Paso continues as El Paso County Court and El Paso Municipal Court prepare to resume select in-person hearings.

The El Paso Municipal Court will require visitors to wear face coverings, use hand sanitizer and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Officials said the court has mailed court dates and location of appearance notices with instructions on requesting attendance remotely. 

Municipal Court is allowing only the person who received the citation into facilities. For juveniles or individuals with disabilities, a legal guardian or caregiver can accompany them. All visitors will have their temperatures checked.

El Paso County Court will also resume some in-person proceedings. Social distancing will be enforced and court rooms have been reconfigured to ensure six feet of separation between parties. Only select courts will hold hearings on certain days to limit the amount of people in the Court at a time.

“We're not opening up the doors wide open and saying, ‘Hey everybody come back to the courts,’” said Judge Laura Strathmann of the 388th Judicial District.

“We're doing a much more measured approach to still watch out for the safety and health of everybody involved,” the judge said.

The court system has been operational virtually and many matters that can be resolved without an in-person hearing will continue to be done virtually.

Jury trials are still on hold. Court officials aim to resume these trials by early July.