Kitsap County Superior Court closed March 18 through March 20 due to COVID-19 exposure

Port Orchard, WA – Due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 among a member of the Kitsap County Superior Court, the Superior Court Office will be closed to the public in the main Kitsap County Courthouse on 614 Division Street, Port Orchard from Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 20, 2020 by General Administrative Order 2020-4.  

Kitsap County Superior Court leaders were informed late Tuesday, March 17 that a member of the Superior Court Office has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual, an adult male over the age of 60, has not been at the courthouse since Thursday, March 12. 

When this individual left the Courthouse March 12, he was not feeling sick and did not have any symptoms of illness. When he awoke on March 13 he had a piercing cough and a temperature exceeding 100 degrees. He was advised to not return to the Kitsap County Courthouse until he received a negative COVID-19 test or was cleared by a physician.

On March 17, at approximately 5:38 pm, this individual, immediately after receiving the positive test result, notified the Kitsap County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin Hull and Court Administrator Frank Maiocco.

While the Kitsap County Health District is not advising the office to close, they are doing so in an abundance of caution to allow the Kitsap Public Health District an opportunity to identify those persons who may had close contact with this individual. If you are identified as a close-contact individual then you will be contacted by the Kitsap Public Health District. Court representatives have been, and will continue, to consult with the Kitsap Public Health District.

In-custody defendants booked in the Kitsap County Jail with felony charges between March 17 and March 20, 2020 will be assigned to one of the Elected Judges Pro Tempore in the Kitsap County District Court as set forth by Washington Administrative Rule 6.   

After this week’s closure, the Kitsap County Superior Court will resume operations in conjunction with Emergency Administrative Orders issued beginning March 13, 2020. Limited operations have been initiated to reduce the number of people who need to come to the courthouse while still meeting the court’s constitutional obligations. 

 

Kevin Hull

Presiding Judge

Kitsap County Superior Court

 

For more information, contact Presiding Judge Kevin D. Hull, Kitsap County Superior Court, or Frank Maiocco, Court Administrator, at (360) 337-7140.