Rule 45.COURT SECURITY AND EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

Rule 45 asks every judicial circuit to plan for trouble before it arrives, through two separate documents. The courthouse security plan is developed by the Sheriff in consultation with the Chief Judge, covers the physical safety of the courthouse and any annex, and is treated as confidential under OCGA § 15-16-10 (a) (10). It has to be reviewed and updated every year, with employees educated annually on their part in it.

The emergency operations plan is broader. Developed by the Chief Judge or a designee, it has to address at least six things: how to collect and maintain employee contact information, where the court would relocate, which activities and functions are essential to keep running, who is trained to perform those essential functions, who speaks to the public and press during a crisis, and how vital records and equipment are protected or backed up. The Council of Superior Court Judges maintains materials to help Chief Judges put this plan together.

Subsection (C) gives the plan teeth. When a circuit is experiencing an emergency, the Chief Judge — on his or her own motion or after a request from another judge or official — may issue an order suspending statutory, rule, or court-ordered deadlines, and may designate a temporary courthouse near the county seat. That order has to identify the judge, the time and place it was issued, the affected jurisdiction, the nature of the emergency, and how long it lasts. No single order can run longer than thirty days, though the issuing judge can extend it twice, in additional thirty-day increments, each time restating the required information.