CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW)- The Montgomery County Mayor announced Friday afternoon, that the Montgomery County Court Center will be closed on Monday, March 16, 2020.

In a message, Mayor Jim Durrett said employees will report to work, and meetings held to discuss enforcing the order that came down from the Tennessee Supreme Court earlier today, Friday, March 13.

“In light of the TN Supreme Court order relating to the COVID-19, Montgomery County will close the courts center on Monday. The closure is not related to anyone having the virus, but is an operational action,” Durrett said in a message. “…Monday we will be meeting to identify means to continue to operate under the order and do it in an orderly way.”

The Supreme Court of Tennessee announced that all in-person proceedings in all state and local courts in Tennessee, including but not limited to municipal, juvenile, general sessions, trial, and appellate courts, are suspended from the close of business on Friday, March 13, 2020 through Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

“We are working to avoid the typically packed courtrooms,” Circuit Court Judge Jill Ayers said. ” We want the public to understand that courts will still be open. Everything and anything we can continue to do, within the parameters of what the Tennessee Supreme Court has sent out, we will do.”

“This is new and it is fluid. We will continue to assess how we can provide services, possibly in a different way, to meet the needs of the public and the court,” Ayers said. “Any updates on how services are provided will be shared with local media and on social media.”

Durrett said Monday, while the closing may inconvenience may people, it will prevent a major issue in the future.

” The new order will require multiple departments of county government, working along with our judicial partners, to ensure we meet the constitutional duties of the people reflected in the order,” Durrett said. “It should be everyone’s goal to meet the minimum intent of the order, but as we move forward, it is my intent to allow for more matters to come before our judicial partners to prevent a major backlog.”

Those who have circuit court dates have had their court dates reset to April 1.

For exceptions and more information about the TN Supreme Court order click here.