This Friday, June 24, 2022, the Court will begin the task of transitioning from Judge John E. Waites, upon his retirement, to newly appointed Judge Elisabetta G. M. Gasparini. More than 4000 cases are currently assigned to Judge Waites and must be reassigned. This work, along with the additional tasks necessary for our management and staff to bring a new judge on board, is extensive. This task has been in process for months, but hands-on work will begin in earnest on Friday, June 24, and will continue throughout much of the weekend. It is anticipated that the work will continue through Monday and possibly Tuesday of next week. This is the first step in the process. Work to update the Court’s webpage to reflect the judge change, any necessary changes to Local Rules or Forms pages, procedures and guidelines are in process, but that work will likely continue for a number of weeks.

Any proposed order pending from a matter heard by Judge Waites should be submitted for his signing before 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 24. Note that hearings before Judge David R. Duncan, scheduled for Monday, June 27 will proceed as scheduled. However, there may be a delay in processing docket entries or inquiries received after 10:00 a.m. on June 24. Further, CM/ECF will undergo maintenance and be unavailable between approximately 10:00 p.m. on June 25 to 4:00 a.m. on June 26.  Act promptly and plan accordingly.