Some Florida counties are stopping evictions from being carried out as service workers face job uncertainty in the wake of COVID-19 related business closures. In Leon County, Clerk of Court Gwen Marshall and Sheriff Walt McNeil are waiting on guidance from the Chief Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit.
“He is talking with the other judges in our circuit. We have a proposal we’ve sent to him and hopefully before the day is out, I’ll get a response from our chief judge," McNeil says.
It would be up to Second Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Jonathan Sjostrom to decide how counties in his area should proceed. One option being floated would allow landlords to continue to file eviction notices, but the sheriffs office could delay serving tenants.
Legal Services of North Florida and some 20 other aid groups are asking the Florida Supreme Court to stop evictions statewide.
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Department of Housing and Development to delay evictions to tenants and homeowners at least to the end of April.
