“I’ve received no assurances that jails in California are practicing social distancing” either when inmates are in custody or when being transported to courthouses and courtrooms themselves ill-equipped to practice physical distancing, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said.
“This is an avenue to protect the public and to protect inmates as well. We’re making sure the courts aren’t vectors” for spreading the virus, Cantil-Sakauye said.
State judicial leaders meeting by call-in Saturday unanimously backed the temporary directives as California’s courts try to strike a balance between due process and public health during a global pandemic. The orders extend the time required for a charged criminal defendant to face a judge from the standard 48 hours to up to one week; and they allow criminal and civil courts to extend by more than a month the time required to bring trials to a judge.
The technology directives are sweeping: Superior courts can use available video, audio and telephone for remote appearances, court reporting and interpreting in proceedings. The order also makes its use a priority for criminal and juvenile matters, including arraignments and preliminary hearings, to ensure that defendants aren’t held in custody or removed from their parents or guardians in violation of their rights.
All jury trials in the state have been suspended until May, and courts in Sacramento are among those currently closed, except for certain emergency or time-sensitive hearings. Other Superior Courts across the state had closed their doors outright even before Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a first-in-the-nation statewide shutdown.
“This provides a much-needed lifeline to courts across the state,” Justice Brad R. Hill said of remote proceedings. “These are extraordinary measures, but they are not a replacement.”
“The intended goal of the actions is clear: Trial courts are to function, not as shuttered business offices, but as beacons of justice during this crisis,” said Justice Marsha G. Slough. The measures, Slough said, “are not used to delay justice. They are intended as relief.”
Cantil-Sakauye later promised that unlawful detainers and foreclosures will be at the forefront of future action to ensure that “no needs or rights are overlooked.”
An executive order Newsom signed late Friday mirrored the orders approved Saturday, suspending rules that block courts from using technology to remotely hold proceedings.
