Administrative Order AO-78-20

Effective March 22, 2020, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks issued Administrative Order AO/78/20, which states until further notice, “no papers shall be accepted for filing by a county clerk or a court” electronically or in hard copy except in the following essential proceedings:

1. Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) applications and hearings addressing patient retention or
2. release
3. MHL hearings addressing the involuntary administration of medication and other
4. medical care
5. newly filed MHL applications for an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) plan
6. emergency applications in guardianship matters
7. temporary orders of protection (including but not limited to matters involving domestic violence)
8. emergency applications related to the coronavirus
9. emergency Election Law applications
10. extreme risk protection orders (ERPO)
11. any other matter that the court deems essential

None of the above-referenced matters, with the possible exception of matters under number 9, are currently authorized to be filed electronically.

Any of these matters would ordinarily be filed in paper will be brought to the Suffolk County Clerk’s window in Central Islip. Where there is any question as to whether the proposed application is an essential proceeding within the purview of the Administrative Order, the County Clerk’s staff will defer a review of the papers by the sitting Justice prior to processing the documents and accepting the applicable fees.

Documents mailed for filing with my Office which were postmarked prior to the effective date of the Administrative Order will be processed as of the day they are received. Papers postmarked on and after that date will be returned.

After consultation with District Administrative Judge C. Randall Hinrichs, it is recommended that counsel consult with the sitting Justice prior to appearing in the courthouse with their application. This consultation is particularly important with regard to any application that would otherwise fall into the category of “any other matter that the court deems essential”. All questions concerning applications that are considered essential proceedings should be directed to the Supreme Court at 631-740-3852.

In addition, Gov. Mario Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.8 March 20, 2020 tolling time limits. The Executive Order provides that “any specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding, as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to the criminal procedure law, the family court act, the civil practice law and rules, the court of claims act, the surrogate's court procedure act, and the uniform court acts, or by any other statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or part thereof, is hereby tolled from the date of this executive order until April 19, 2020.”

Effective immediately, drop off service at the Riverhead County Center will be limited to requests for copies of documents and requests for authentication of documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates and burial permits.

Any information you may need concerning whether or not a document has been entered by my Office should first be sought by searching the Court Minutes through my website (www.suffolkcountyny.gov/clerk). The searchable information on that website is updated in real time. Phone calls or e-mails of this nature will be directed to the website.

Any other inquiries can be made to the Court Actions Department by e-mail at courtactions@suffolkcountyny.gov E-file inquires should continue to be made through the e-mail and phone numbers provided on the E-filing website.

Your cooperation and understanding during these challenging times is greatly appreciated.