ews for Immediate Release  

April 30, 2020 
 
Elk and Cameron Counties To Allow General Public Limited Access To Court Facilities  

 

ARRISBURG — In accordance with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s April 28, 2020 Order, President 
Judge Shawn T. McMahon of the 59th Judicial District of Pennsylvania today ordered that beginning May 
4, 2020 court facilities in Elk and Cameron Counties,  which includes the Elk County Courthouse, 
Cameron County Courthouse and Office of Magisterial District Courts, shall allow general public access 
on a specifically defined limited basis.  

resident Judge McMahon’s April 30, 2020 Administrative Order of Court also extends the local judicial 

emergency declaration from April 30, 2020 to June 1, 2020 and requires everyone entering a court 
facility to wear an appropriate face mask that adequately covers their nose and mouth for the duration 
of their business in a court facility. 

n an effort to continue promoting and protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public and court 
users, including employees of court facilities, court facility access shall be limited exclusively to: 
 

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Individuals, including the general public, who have an essential and immediate need to enter a 
court facility such as for a proceeding or to address a matter that cannot otherwise be 
addressed by telephone or in another manner other than in person; 

•  Attorneys; 
•  Parties to a case with a scheduled in person proceeding within a court facility that has not 

otherwise been continued; 

•  Subpoenaed witnesses or victims to a case with a scheduled in person proceeding in a court 

facility that has not otherwise been continued; 

•  Media. 

any proceedings may be conducted by advanced communication technology, as opposed to being 

done in person. This is being determined on a case-by-case basis and attorneys and litigants are 
encouraged to inquire with the specific court or office as to how their proceeding will be conducted. 

irect in person filing at a court facility should be limited to extreme, exceptional and extraordinary 
circumstances. Filings have and will continue to be accepted by the Magisterial District Courts, Office of 
the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, Clerk of the Orphans’ Court and 
Domestic Relations Sections, however, when possible, the preferred method of filing should be by mail 
or placed in the dropbox located immediately inside the court facility where the filing office is located.  
 

   

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Jury trials (both criminal and civil) remain suspended and will be scheduled for a future date.  

o the fullest extent possible, court users are encouraged to continue to conduct as much business as 
possible through the mail, email, online or by telephone to the office they are seeking to do business 
with. A full list of contact information for each office is available at www.co.elk.pa.us/judicial.  

ourt facility general access shall not be permitted unless specifically authorized under President Judge 

McMahon’s April 30, 2020 Administrative Order of Court.  

 

Additional details regarding court operations and access are available in President Judge McMahon’s  
April 30, 2020 Administrative Order of Court, available at www.co.elk.pa.us/judicial, which remains in 
effect until June 1, 2020, unless modified or extended by further Order of the Court.  

Media contact: Stacey Witalec, 717- 877- 2997 
 

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