Bryan County Courthouse damage following a tornado on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (Credit: Judicial Council of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts)

Two days after a tornado ransacked portions of Bryan County, lawyers with scheduled matters at the county courthouse should advise clients all proceedings have been postponed until further notice.

Bryan County Courthouse Damage following April 5, 2022 tornado. Credit: Bryan County State Court Judge Billy Tomlinson.

From ripped-off portions of the roof to knocked-down walls, the Bryan County Courthouse is not exactly fit for business. But as staff work to pick up the pieces and schedule repairs, at least one judge is crediting what's inside the courthouse for helping keep Bryan County Clerk Rebecca Crowe safe. "She was sitting at her desk, and she said she heard [it] like a train coming and went running for the vault, which is through her office and around the corner," said Bryan County State Court Judge Billy Tomlinson. "She said that, as soon as she turned the corner to go into the vault, that all of the windows behind her exploded and it sounded like a train was going through the courthouse."

Click Through the Photos to See the Courthouse Tornado Damage

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What It Means for Lawyers

Atlantic Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Robert Russell III issued an order Wednesday declaring a judicial emergency in Bryan County after determining access to the county courthouse to be "temporarily impossible." The order closed the courthouse. But it stated that electronic filing services and digital search capabilities had not been interrupted and "are otherwise normally available." However, what has changed for lawyers are schedules. Because the courthouse closure impacts superior, state, juvenile, magistrate and probate proceedings, timelines have been tolled for a month. All court deadlines, time schedules, and filing requirements have been "suspended, tolled or extended" through 5 p.m. on May 5, per the emergency judicial order. A meeting has been set for Tuesday for the Bryan County Board of Commissioners to consider alternate locations for the court to conduct business. But progress is already being made, according to Tomlinson.

Judge Billy Tomlinson of Bryan County State Court. (Courtesy photo)

"There's an old school in north Bryan County. The Board of Education is going to lease office space for the clerk's office to go in there," Tomlinson said. "At the county annex on the south end, the commissioners' room is large. They're going to allow us to use that as a courthouse." Tomlinson said the city of Richmond Hill also is helping out by offering use of its municipal court and city council rooms for court business. "They've been great," Tomlinson said. "The city of Richmond Hill is going to lease us the facilities for one year for $1. Everybody's coming together and helping." In the Bryan County State Court, Judge Tomlinson has vacated all state court dockets scheduled for April 8, 11 and 15. Notices of rescheduled court dates will be provided to all impacted parties, per the Bryan County State Court website.

Read the Emergency Order