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Cleveland Housing Court Pauses Evictions During Coronavirus Pandemic

An eviction order posted at an apartment building in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. Court records show the move-out date has been rescheduled to April.  [Nick Castele / ideastream]
An eviction order posted at an apartment building in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. Court records show the move-out date has been rescheduled to April.

Cleveland Housing Court is postponing evictions and other matters as judges across Northeast Ohio scale back the number of hearings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Judge W. Moná Scott signed an order last week pausing all civil housing cases for the next 30 days, except for emergencies. The clerk won’t be accepting new filings until April 20 and court-supervised move-outs are suspended until then, as well.

Scott also rescheduled hearings in criminal cases for 30 days from their previously assigned date.  

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor last week recommended judges postpone evictions, except in cases involving domestic violence. The chief justice encouraged courts to limit in-person hearings, also saying saying last week that she would dedicate $4 million from her budget to help courts buy equipment to conduct hearings remotely.

Although court staff are exempt from the state’s stay-at-home order, judges across the region postponed hearings in an effort to limit face-to-face contact. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has suspended jury trials and Cleveland Municipal Court is also rescheduling cases.

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.