Downtown San Diego Courthouse
What Has Been Going on With Our Courts Due to Covid-19?
On March 13, 2020 the San Diego Superior Court took initial steps in limiting the exposure of the public, and its staff, in order to try and limit the spread of Covid-19. At that time the Court sought to delay jury duty. Only days later, On March 18, 2020, a General Order was entered that deemed the Court to be closed effective March 17, 2020 through April 03, 2020. During this time the Court was not allowing any family law hearings or filings. The order deemed the closure a “court holiday” as to avoid anyone being prejudiced by statutorily provided deadlines.
On April 03, 2020, the Court entered another General Order extending the Court closure through April 30, 2020. However, the Court provided carve outs for Family law matters to permit filing requests for domestic violence restraining orders and other emergency orders. If the Court was to set a hearing on any emergency request, it was to be conducted telephonically or virtually.
On April 30, 2020, the Court entered yet another General Order once again extending the Court closure through May 22, 2020. No new family law carve outs or exceptions were entered. Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the Court was scheduled to reopen on May 26, 2020.
The San Diego Court is Finally Open Again! Well, Sort of.
On May 26, 2020, the Court did in fact reopened but not in the same fashion as previously. To state it as Presiding Judge Lorna Alksne has, the court “is not reopening, it is resuming services.” What does that mean? It means that the Court has begun accepting new filings, scheduling hearings, and even conducting both hearings and trials. But none of which is being done in person.
If someone wishes to file a document with the Court, there is a screening process that they must go through before entering the building. They will have their temperature taken and documents inspected before being granted access. Litigants and attorneys will only be permitted to go inside the Courthouse for limited types of filings. The remainder of filings will be left with a drop box. Even when granted the ability to file a document with the business office, you still will not see the inside of the business office. Litigants and attorneys are required to wait in the hallway where a clerk will peak out to provide assistance.
If you are one of the lucky few who step foot into the Courthouse at this time, be prepared to follow all guidelines and directives, including wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. There is also hand sanitizer available throughout the building.
What About Hearings That Were Missed During the Closure?
The Family law court has reported the need to reschedule an astonishing number of hearings and trials that were missed from March 17, 2020 through May 22, 2020. The estimate was north of 11,000 matters that needed to be rescheduled. As you can imagine, that is an immense undertaking and a lot of people wondering what they need to do.
The good news is that our Courts have great leadership and they have been making large strides to get things back on track. The guidelines that remain in place, such as social distancing, only add to the complication. What the Court has done thus far is start by resetting many of the matters that were scheduled for the initial weeks after “reopening”. Thereafter, they began rescheduling the matters that were missed during the closure. Anyone that had a hearing that was missed or rescheduled will be sent a notice from the clerk of the court identifying the new hearing date assigned. The notice will be sent to the address on file with the Court. One more reason it is always important to keep your address up to date with the Court.
How Are Hearings and Trials Being Handled?
So you finally have a date on calendar for your hearing, now what? As stated before, the Courts will be adhering to all state and local guidelines related to Covid-19, including social distancing. That has all but eliminated the realistic possibility for in person hearings at this time. So for the foreseeable future the Court is turning to use technology in place of personal appearances. For matters that do not require testimony, the Court plans to conduct the hearing via telephone. For matters that do require testimony, the Court intends to utilize video conferencing technology. At this time the understanding is that in Family Law matters the Court will utilize Microsoft Teams for both telephonic and video appearances. It would be wise to download Microsoft Teams and become acquainted with the software well in advance of your hearing.
For more information on virtual hearings and how you will connect to the Court, you can visit the Court website at http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,2059755&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
