A complete lockdown of Junee jail because of confirmed COVID-19 cases has once again caused disruption in Albury Local Court.
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Several cases were slated to proceed to sentence or hearing on Thursday, but instead had to be adjourned yet again.
Magistrate Sally McLaughlin accepted there was no choice but to put the cases back given the vagaries imposed by pandemic restrictions in the jail.
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Nevertheless, she opted against lengthy adjournments for the sentence matters in case the crisis was resolved in the short-term.
Remanded prisoners John Wayne Payne, 27, and Kenny Francis Douglas, 18, were first due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Restrictions inside the jail meant they were not permitted to attend the video suite pod so their cases were adjourned to Thursday.
Defence lawyer Braeden Fernandez said he spoke to staff at Junee on Thursday morning.
"And I have been advised that the facility has gone into a total lockdown," Mr Fernandez said.
"At this stage they are unable to advise me when that might be lifted."
It has been suggested that the lockdown could be anywhere from two to four weeks.
Ms McLaughlin said the court accepted there were going to be "numerous" repeat occasions of what had happened with cases this week involving those in the jail.
Douglas is facing sentence on charges of driving a conveyance taken without consent of owner, drive while disqualified and a serious indictable offence of receiving stolen property.
He had been was seen driving a stolen car, later torched, around Albury-Wodonga on December 11.
Douglas is also facing charges in Victoria.
Payne pleaded guilty to supplying a prohibited drug at greater than an indictable but less than a commercial quantity, plus three less serious supply charges.
He will now be sentenced on February 11.
Two hearings did not proceed and were adjourned to March 16 and May 17.
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