1,072. Court Cases on Chol Hamoed

Hilchos Shvisas Yom Tov 7:11

Representatives of the court may go out on chol hamoed to fields that contain mixed species in order to declare them ownerless. We may redeem captives, evaluations, and renounced and consecrated property. A woman suspected of adultery may perform the sotah ceremony, the red heifer may be burned and we may break the neck of the calf (in the case of a corpse found between cities). We may pierce a slave’s ear, purify a metzora (“leper”) and indicate the location of graves whose markings were washed away by the rain in order to keep kohanim from walking there. All these are things are permitted on chol hamoed because they are necessary for the general community.

Hilchos Shvisas Yom Tov 7:12

Monetary disputes, court cases that may result in lashes and capital cases may all be judged on chol hamoed. If a litigant does not accept a judgment against himself, he may be placed under a ban on chol hamoed. Court documents and similar things may be written on chol hamoed. For example, judges may write the evaluation of someone’s property in order to settle a debt, a statement of property sold to support a man’s wife and daughters, and the documents of chalitzah and refusal. We may also write any legal document necessary to remind judges of court proceedings, such as a record of the litigants’ claims and the agreements they made, like conceding to certain people as witnesses or judges. If someone needs a loan and the lender will not give it to based on a verbal agreement, it is permitted to have a promissory note drawn up. Similarly, a bill of divorce (get), a marriage contract, a receipt and a deed may all be written on chol hamoed because they are like matters that affect the general community.