With in-person court hearings set to resume, backlog of cases remains Young-Bin Lee | Staff Photographer Onondaga County courts are slated to reopen April 1. COVID-19 restrictions will still be in place, which can make it hard to catch up on delayed cases. Facebook Subscribe to our newsletter here. Nearly a year after COVID-19 shut down local courts, officials in the Onondaga County court system said cases could be backed up for months or potentially years. The Onondaga County Supreme Court only held a few time-sensitive or urgent cases in a virtual format over the past year, said Justice James Murphy. In-person cases are slated to resume April 1, but officials are concerned that nearly 60 homicide cases and thousands of other civil cases have gone unheard.