Katrina closes federal courts tomorrow at 1PM

Chief Judge Zloch just announced that the federal courts will close at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Below is the text of the advisory, with a link to the court's website.

District Court Operations and Tropical Storm Katrina Chief Judge Zloch announced that all Divisions of the United States DistrictCourt for the Southern District of Florida will be open to the public at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, August 25th. The Court’s public functions at alllocations will be suspended at 1:00 P.M. in anticipation of the onset ofwind and rain conditions associated with Tropical Storm Katrina. Thisincludes the Court’s locations in Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, WestPalm Beach and Fort Pierce.No new jury trials will be started nor will jurors be called to report onThursday, August 25th. Jurors who are currently sitting on trials mustfollow the instructions of the presiding judges.Criminal duty matters in all Divisions will be conducted before Noon. Alldistrict court staff should report for work as scheduled. A determinationabout the status of continuation of non-public functions will be made bynoon Thursday. A liberal leave approval policy will be observed for staffwho are not able to report to work. Further information about the status ofthe Court’s operations for Friday, August 26th will be available on theCourt’s website: www.flsd.uscourts.gov by 1:00 P.M. Thursday.