You are here

Court Closure Updates - Hurricane Irma

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Announced closures:

Update for Court Employees and Impacted Federal Agencies - Sunday, Sept. 17th at 7:30 p.m.
The Courts of the Southern District of Florida will open to the public for regular business at all court locations except Key West on Monday, Sept. 18th, regardless of school closures. The Court in Key West remains closed until further notice.

All employees are directed to return to work on Monday, Sept. 18th, unless otherwise advised by their supervisor.

GSA advises that efforts to finalize A/C repairs in the Ferguson Courthouse continue with a goal of completing them later tonight. Therefore, we anticipate that the Ferguson courthouse will have A/C tomorrow, although it may not be totally back to normal. The Ferguson courthouse will be open to the public. Employees should report to work, and any adjustments to operations will be made as necessary.

Update for Court Employees and Impacted Federal Agencies - Friday, Sept. 15th at 1:00 p.m.
The Courts of the Southern District of Florida will open to the public for regular business at all court locations except Key West on Monday, Sept. 18th, regardless of school closures. The Court in Key West remains closed until further notice.

All employees are directed to return to work on Monday, Sept. 18th, unless otherwise advised by their supervisor. Employees located in the Ferguson Courthouse are advised that A/C system repairs should be complete over the weekend and that we anticipate normal operations in that facility starting Monday morning. If there are any changes in reporting instructions, they will be posted no later than 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17th.

Update for Court Employees and Impacted Federal Agencies - Thursday, Sept. 14th at 3:30 p.m.
On Friday, Sept. 15th, the Court will generally remain closed to the public, except for Magistrate duty court for new arrests. Court employees should follow the same reporting instructions as yesterday, or follow any new instructions by their supervisors.

The Courts of the Southern District of Florida will open to the public for regular business at all court locations except Key West on Monday, Sept. 18th. The Aronovitz courthouse in Key West remains closed until further notice.

All employees are directed to return to work on Monday, Sept. 18th, unless otherwise advised by their supervisor. Employees located in the Ferguson courthouse are advised that A/C system repairs should be complete over the weekend and that we anticipate normal operations in that facility starting Monday morning. If there are any changes in reporting instructions, they will be posted no later than 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17th.

Probation staff should contact their supervisors for reporting instructions, which may be different than for other Court personnel.

All employees must pay close attention to the Court's website and be on the look out for calls/emails from the Court providing further updates.

Update for Court Employees and Impacted Federal Agencies - Wednesday, Sept. 13th at 6:00 p.m.
The Courts of the Southern District of Florida remain closed for normal operating business, anticipated to open to the public on Monday, Sept. 18th.

Although the Court generally remains closed to the public, Court employees in the following locations are directed to return to work on Thursday, Sept. 14th, if practical: Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. In Miami, the following should report on Sept. 14th: All Miami supervisors and managers, Miami IT staff, and Miami staff located in the Atkins and King courthouses. Employees located in the Ferguson courthouse do not need to report unless contacted by their supervisor.

Key West remains closed to both the public and staff. Probation staff should contact their supervisors for reporting instructions, which may be different than for other Court personnel.

If employees are unable to return to work due to their evacuation or other personal circumstances, the Court will be flexible in granting administrative leave for Thursday and Friday. Please see earlier notices for more details on the Court's liberal leave policy.

All employees must pay close attention to the Court's website and be on the look out for calls/emails from the Court providing further updates. If employees are unable to return to work Sept. 14th, they nonetheless should contact their supervisors and stay in close contact for further developments.

Update for Court Employees and Impacted Federal Agencies - Tuesday, Sept. 12th at 3:30 p.m.
The Courts of the Southern District of Florida remain closed for normal operating business, anticipated to open to the public no sooner than Monday, Sept. 18th. The closure is due to school closures and travel conditions, as well as power outages at various courthouses impacting services including the Court's computer network.

Although the Court will generally remain closed to the public, depending on circumstances of power at each courthouse, Court employees are generally directed to return to work as of Thursday, Sept. 14th, if practical, as described below. This will enable the Court to prepare for the return to normal operations next week. Specifically, all Court staff in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale should report to work Thursday, Sept. 14th, if possible. All Miami supervisors and managers should report if possible on Thursday, as well as Miami IT staff, other critical Miami staff as directed by their supervisors and those who work in the Atkins and King Courthouses. In Key West and Fort Pierce, where the courthouses mostly do not have power or have other issues needing to be resolved, staff do not need to report at this time. Probation staff should contact their supervisors for reporting instructions, which may be different than for other Court personnel.

If employees are unable to return to work due to their evacuation or other personal circumstances, the Court will be flexible in granting administrative leave for Thursday and Friday. The Court's top priority is the safety and well being of our personnel, and no employee is expected to return to work if it would put their safety in jeopardy. However, all employees must pay close attention to the Court's website and be on the look out for calls/emails from the Court providing further updates. If employees are unable to return to work Sept. 14th, they nonetheless should contact their supervisors and stay in close contact for further developments.

Magistrate duty Court for only new arrests and other urgent matters will commence in Miami on Thursday, Sept. 14th, at 1:30 p.m. or such other time as directed. Staff necessary to cover duty court will be contacted and directed to report. Magistrate duty Court at other divisions will be scheduled on an as-needed basis.

Posted Sunday, September 10, 2017, at 2:30 p.m.: Court operations at Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties District and Bankruptcy Courts, including Probation, are closed on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. (Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties schools are closed Tuesday. Monroe and Broward County schools are closed Tuesday, and until further notice.)

Posted Friday, September 8, 2017, at 4:30 p.m.: Court operations at Broward and Palm Beach Counties District and Bankruptcy Courts, including Probation, are closed on Monday, September 11, 2017. (Broward and Palm Beach Counties schools are closed Monday and until further notice.)

Court operations at Fort Pierce District Court, including Probation, are closed on Monday, September 11, 2017. (St. Lucie public schools will be closed on Monday.)

Posted Friday, September 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m.: Court operations at the District and Bankruptcy Courts in Miami-Dade County, including Probation, will be closed on Monday, September 11, 2017. (Miami-Dade public schools will be closed.)

Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2017, at 6:40 p.m.: Court operations at the District Courthouses in Palm Beach and St. Lucie will be closed Thursday, September 7, 2017, and Friday, September 8, 2017. (Palm Beach and St. Lucie County public schools will be closed).

Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2017, at 3:30 p.m.: Court operations at the District and Bankruptcy Courthouses, including Probation, in Miami and Broward will be closed Thursday, September 7, 2017, and Friday, September 8, 2017. (Dade and Broward County public schools will be closed).

Posted Tuesday, September 5, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.: The Sidney M. Aronovitz U.S. Courthouse in Key West will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 6, 2017, until further notice. This includes the U.S. Probation Office. (Monroe County public schools will be closed).

Please continue to monitor public school closures in your area and this website for updates.

Court Closure Policy:
The Court’s closure policy for inclement weather is outlined in Administrative Order 2007-44. Court closures normally follow local public school district closures, unless otherwise announced. If public schools in Miami-Dade County are closed due to weather, the federal court in Miami is closed. If public schools in Broward County are closed due to weather, the federal court in Broward is closed. If public schools in Palm Beach County are closed, the West Palm Beach courthouse is closed. If St. Lucie County public schools are closed, the Fort Pierce federal courthouse closes. If the Monroe County public schools are closed, the Key West courthouse is closed. This policy addresses only inclement weather. If public schools are closed for administrative purposes, such as teacher work days, then the federal courthouses are not impacted, unless the school district announces a complete closure for all workers and teachers.