For most of this year, the spread of the coronavirus halted most court proceedings and brought the justice system to a crawl after Judge William Shaffer, acting administrative judge in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, enacted restrictions March 18 limiting access to the courthouse, county government center and courtrooms to only those who had direct business there.

The orders were lifted May 31, but the county was unable to call a jury selection to try any cases.

1. COVID-19-related lawsuitsLawsuits filed in state over election and COVID-19 restrictions.While the coronavirus brought a halt to many court proceedings on the county level, the state and federal levels saw a slew of activity related to how the government has responded to the virus. Many of the actions sought to reverse Gov. Tom Wolf's shutdown orders, while other suits targeted attempts to make voting by mail and other alternatives easier.The legal actions had varying degrees of success.

2. Kelly files for “cured” provisional ballots to be tossedIn early November, a state judge rejected a request from U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and Sean Parnell, who challenged U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17th, for his seat in the election, to toss out provisional ballots after counties allowed voters who erred in completing or packaging their mail-in ballots to correct their mistakes. Instead, he ordered a recount of particular provisional ballots known as “cured.”

Read more in Sunday's Butler Eagle. And to keep up with local news in 2021, subscribe now.