Law Offices of Scott L. Levine, LLC

On May 27, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the statewide judicial emergency shall end as of June 1, 2020 and that their previous Orders shall expire according to their own terms. Their last Order lent itself towards reopening the courts next month, and this Order confirms that courts may reopen on a county by county basis in accordance with Orders by local President Judges. The Order provides President Judges with broad discretion on how to resume court activi...ties in their county courts, while providing general guidance that may include: limiting in-person access and proceedings, and will essentially allow advanced communication technology use for court matters and electronic filing via suspension of rules that had prohibited these. While this is simply the first step towards the resumption of legal activity that had been put on hold, we await further specific guidance in Allegheny County, which will almost certainly involve remote: conferences, hearings, mediations, and conciliations for most family law matters, while allowing certain in person activity to resume, with new procedures in place. We are currently in the eleventh week of the physical court closures in the State of Pennsylvania and the associated pause of many court functions. Like our clients, we are ready to resume existing family law matters and to address new issues that have arisen over the past three months. Full text of the Order is here: http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/page-1305/file-9376.pdf

We strive to bring you the most up to date information about court issues as they unfold during this trying time. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court updated statewide court information last evening, March 18, 2020, effective Thursday March 19, 2020. A summary is here: http://www.pacourts.us/news-and-statistics/news?Article=1018...Continue reading

Allegheny County Courts COVID-19 Emergency Order Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Order dated March 16, 2020, President Judge Clark has declared a judicial emergency in the Fifth Judicial District from March 16, 2020 to April 14, 2020. The EMERGENCY ORDER sets forth procedures for Court Operations, including the Court of Common Pleas and the Magisterial District Courts during that period. This Order is subject to modification as the situation further develops.... The Emergency Order sets forth: -All time calculations for the purposes of time computation relevant to court cases or other judicial business, as well as time deadline, are suspended subject to constitutional restrictions. -Additional uses of advanced communication technology to conduct court proceedings, is authorized subject to constitutional restrictions. -All provisions of this Order apply to cases scheduled from March 17, 2020 through April 14, 2020. Pertinent Parts are as follows: Civil Division: -Jury Trials are suspended pending further Order of Court and non-jury trials may be suspended on a case by case basis. Criminal Division -All court events, except as indicated below, in each of the criminal division courtrooms will be postponed. Family Division Adult Section -Scheduled conferences and hearings in support, custody, equitable distribution, and divorce will be postponed; -Protection from Abuse matters will be heard as normal.

We've been a paperless office with full remote working capabilities, redundant systems and phone meetings for over a decade for your PGH Family Law needs. Law Offices of Scott L. Levine, LLC - forward thinking and compassionate legal guidance since 2008. We're just a call away @ 412 303 9566.