Courts cautious about reopening despite governor’s new order

Courts around California did not rush to announce new reopening policies on Monday after Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the state's blanket stay-at-home order. But many will begin to conduct more in-person business beginning next week or soon after.

The California Department of Public Health announced Monday morning on its website the orders had been lifted "for all regions."

A hospital surge order remains in effect, imposing a series of new restrictions in areas where intensive care unit capacity drops below 10%.

At his regular noon news conference on Monday, Newsom said the changes rely in part on a four-week projection based on recent trends in case rates.

Though rumors began circulating last week that Newsom would lift his stay-at-home order, court officials have remained cautious.

For instance, on Friday Los Angeles County Superior Court Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor announced masks would be mandatory in courthouses.

"The Court will continue working with our County DPH based on our local infection rates as referenced in the Governor's press release," said Ann E. Donlan, communication director for the Los Angeles Superior Court, in an email. "Our priority continues to be the safety of our public, justice partners, court staff, and judicial officers."

That same day, the Placer County Superior Court announced it was extending COVID policies. "Jury trials will not be held in January 2021," warned a news release. "The court will convene jury trials only in extraordinary circumstances through February 12, 2021."

Courts around the state pulled back on in-person interaction again in early December, when a new rush of cases began being reported at emergency rooms after the Thanksgiving holiday. Many of these orders run through Friday or into next month.

Several courts contacted by the Daily Journal said they would let their current guidelines run until they expire.

"At this point in time, the governor's anticipated announcement will have no immediate effect on our order suspending jury trials until Feb 26," Riverside Court Public Information Officer Marita Ford said in an email.

"Presiding Judge Russell Hom intends to follow his current order and resume criminal and civil jury trials effective Monday, Feb. 1," Kim Pedersen, public information officer for the Sacramento Superior Court, said in an email.

"With the lifting of the stay at home order, we continue to prefer that court business be handled remotely wherever possible, but in-person services remain available with little change over the past few months of the pandemic and we are working on resuming jury trials in both criminal and civil cases in February," said San Diego courts spokeswoman Emily Cox.

Orange County Superior Court Public Information Officer Kostas Kalaitzidis said the governor's most recent order had not as of yet affected court operations. Court leadership, which had halted new civil trials in December, will reassess whether the court will resume hearing new civil trials at the end of the month, Kalaitzidis said.

"We consider the guidelines presented by the governor's office and the health department specifically," Kalaitzidis said. "But our utmost effort goes towards making sure there is access to justice while also making sure the court is safe for judicial officers, employees, the general public and community."

The Judicial Council's latest COVID-19 emergency rules, issued Dec. 7, remain in effect. These reiterate rules first issued in April limiting foreclosures and unlawful detainer actions, extending deadlines and setting guidelines for essential hearings.

Federal courts in California have also been incorporating guidance from the state in their COVID policies. Most appear to have remained on a cautious footing despite Monday's order.

"The Continuity of Operations Plan order will expire on Friday, January 29," Sara Tse, chief deputy of operations for the U.S. Central District of California, said in an email. "The resumption of jury trials will be decided by the executive committee in consultation with the colored tier system."

"We are not considering any expedited reopening at this time," Eastern District Clerk of Court Keith Holland said in an email. "We are meeting with our Courthouse Facility Security Committees every two weeks to discuss reopening."

"There are no changes to current court operations," Nicholas Jackson, a spokesman for the U.S. Northern District of California, said in an email. "In-person, in-court proceedings (other than grand jury proceedings) remain suspended through February 15, 2021. Building access continues to be limited, hearings will be held remotely, and most court staff will continue to work remotely."

"The current order suspends jury trials/in person proceedings through Feb. 5," John Morrill, clerk of court for the U.S. Southern District of California, said in an email. "I don't have any information on how the recent lift of the stay-home orders will affect the timing of resuming jury trials/in person proceedings."

The ever-changing specifics of California's COVID-19 orders may have made them more difficult to challenge in court, but they have also given ammunition to Newsom's political enemies.

"A new day, a new erratic COVID rule," said former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, in a news release. "Californians want to follow the science. Instead we are forced to follow a governor who decides on a whim the fate of millions of Californians while refusing to release the data behind his contradictory and arbitrary decisions."

Faulconer is a Republican who has formed a committee to explore running against Newsom next year. He has also spoken favorably of a GOP-led recall effort to remove Newsom from office.

But at his news conference, a defiant Newsom rejected the idea that his latest actions were influenced by the recall.

"That's just complete, utter nonsense," Newsom said.

Even some Democrats have chafed at Newsom's ever-changing orders and what they say is a lack of communication. The governor said Monday he has worked to keep the Legislature and other stakeholders informed, but did not want to slow down the state's responses.

He also addressed the dozens of lawsuits the state has faced over his orders, saying he expects to win "the vast majority" of them.

"We feel like we are on firm footing based on the data," Newsom said.

Daily Journal Staff Writers Winston Cho, Gina Kim and Blaise Scemama contributed to this report.