Jury duty calls suspended as SLO courthouse limits hearings and trials over coronavirus
Update, 3:15 p.m. Wednesday: The San Luis Obispo Superior Court announced Wednesday afternoon that it is now limiting all public access to the San Luis Obispo Courthouse Annex expect for previously scheduled criminal and civil hearings.
In a news release Wednesday, the court CEO and presiding judge also said that, effective Thursday through April 10, the Paso Robles and Grover Beach courthouses will be completely closed to the public.
Staff in those locations will continue to report to work and will be available to the public to carry out court business via telephone, email, physical drop box, or the court’s website, the release said.
The San Luis Obispo Courthouse Annex will be open only for matters already on the court’s calendar. All others will be asked to contact the court remotely. Entrance to the San Luis Obispo location will only be available only through Monterey Street. The Palm Street entrance will be closed, the court says.
On Tuesday, SLO Defenders, which contracts Public Defender services with the county, said it is reaching out to existing clients to inform them about options to physically coming to the courthouse, such as waiving their appearances in favor of an attorney appearing.
SLO Defenders is encouraging existing clients who have upcoming court dates to contact them at 805-541-5715.
People not currently represented by an attorney, who are charged with a misdemeanor and have an appearance date in March or April, should reach out to the San Luis Obispo Superior Court at 805-706-3600 to determine whether their arraignment date has been continued.
With the exception of domestic violence related charges, the court is rescheduling many misdemeanor appearance dates.
People accused of felonies must continue to appear in court and will be encouraged to waive additional appearances for future court dates.
Original story: The head of San Luis Obispo Superior Court says that civil and criminal proceedings will be “significantly” limited with most hearings postponed as state officials attempt to limit possible spread of the novel coronavirus.
CEO Michael Powell said late Monday that court operations will be reduced to two courtrooms — the two largest chambers in the courthouse — to reduce large gatherings of people.
As a result, no new trials will begin and county residents will not be called for jury duty until at least April 10, Powell said.
The unprecedented move comes the same day as the county Public Health Department officials announced that a third case of coronavirus was confirmed in San Luis Obispo County, and members of the local legal community say one of their own has also been diagnosed with the virus.
According to a news release from the Superior Court, the court will “continue all non-time-sensitive matters to a later date to minimize the public’s potential exposure to COVID-19 during court appearances or jury service.”
“The court will continue to monitor this evolving situation and will make further operational adjustments as appropriate,” the news release reads. “Please check the court’s website for ongoing COVID-19 updates and additional juror and remote appearance information.”
Powell late Monday that the disruption will “significantly limit operations” but that the court is committed to altering its workflow without compromising residents’ access to justice. He added that the courtrooms and common areas will be sanitized daily.
Powell had said as recently as Friday that the courthouse had no plans at that time to shutter courtrooms or postpone jury trials, in which sometimes hundreds of residents are called to report to the courthouse for jury selection, a long process that involves sitting and waiting in large groups.
Asked about closures Monday, Powell referred The Tribune to an online resource page on the court website with links to various services that people can use to avoid coming to the courthouse.
“For those who need to come to court, please be aware that the court has implemented additional cleaning protocols in high-use areas to reduce the potential for transmission of this or other viruses for those coming to our courthouses,” the message reads. “The court is closely monitoring the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) situation through close coordination with the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department to ensure that we have the latest information. The court continues to weigh the need to provide access to justice and the need to provide for public health.”
Attorneys self-quarantine
Steve Rice, assistant managing attorney with SLO Defenders, the law firm that contracts public defender work for the county, confirmed Monday that a local attorney who regularly works in the San Luis Obispo courthouse was diagnosed with the virus.
That attorney — whom The Tribune is not identifying to protect their medical privacy — is in self-quarantine and is post-symptomatic, Rice said.
“We respect people’s right to privacy and won’t be identifying the individual,” Rice said.
He added that court staff and attorneys who had come into contact with the person, who appeared in court last week, have been alerted by the Public Health Department, and where appropriate, have been recommended to isolate and monitor themselves.
Former San Luis Obispo Councilman John Ashbaugh, who is married to SLO Defenders managing attorney Patricia Ashbaugh, wrote in a tweet that Patricia Ashbaugh was self-quarantined after coming into contact with the since-diagnosed person in the courtroom.
Michelle Shoresman, spokeswoman for county Public Health, declined to comment further or clarify whether the diagnosed attorney was among the cases already announced to the public in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, citing medical confidentiality.
Powell said Monday that he has been told by investigating officials from Public Health that none of his staff are believed to be at risk and that the agency is not recommending any court staff be quarantined.
“I have been in regular contact with public health regarding court operations and public and staff safety,” Powell wrote in a text message late Monday. “The protocol is that the court would be informed by Public Health if a court employee had been required to quarantine. This has not been necessary.”
As court operations were underway earlier in the day Monday, court staff was practicing social distancing in the courtroom. People in custody were seated at least one seat away from the next inmate, and members of the public were being asked to sit and wait outside the courtroom for their case to be called.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen told jurors in an ongoing criminal trial that the San Luis Obispo courthouse’s bench of judges and commissioners held a meeting that morning that included a discussion of coronavirus developments from over the weekend.
Jurors, who were separated from each other by an empty seat on each side, were told that the court would be doing its best to limit the amount of activity in the courthouse, including postponing non-urgent hearings, in an effort to keep jurors safe as the trial plays out.
In a rare move, van Rooyen told jurors that once closing arguments in the trial are completed, the jury will be allowed to deliberate in the empty courtroom as opposed to the closer quarters of the jury room.
But some local attorneys were concerned about what they said was the court’s slow response to coronavirus.
On Friday, defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu wrote an email to Presiding Judge Jacquelyn Duffy with a New York Times article citing different approaches taken by other states to limit or even suspend court proceedings.
“San Luis Obispo has announced a county health emergency. Our governor has declared a state of emergency. Our president has announced a national emergency,” Funke-Bilu wrote. “I urge our judges to immediately issue all appropriate orders consistent with these three unprecedented edicts.”
He continued: “Business as usual is not only inconsistent with our county’s, our state’s and our country’s concerns, but I fear that it will risk the safety and health of everyone that is forced to attend court proceedings during this period of contagion.”
Duffy responded in an email Friday night thanking Funke-Bilu for the email and assuring him “that the health and safety of our personnel, attorneys, parties, and the public are of the utmost importance to me.”
“We have been working on a plan to drastically reduce all non-urgent court operations beginning next week,” Duffy wrote. “As you can imagine, balancing the safety and health of the public while safeguarding the timely administration of justice is a process that requires careful consideration.”
Duffy wrote that she expected the court would release a revised operational plan on Monday.
Funke-Bilu said Monday that he’s self-quarantining after coming into contact with the member of the legal community diagnosed with coronavirus.
Stephanie Barclay, president of the San Luis Obispo Bar Association, declined to comment on behalf of the association Monday morning about courthouse safety precautions, but said she anticipated making a statement after the court’s announcement late Monday.
Barclay could not immediately be reached for comment following the court’s announcement.
California justice system halted
County courts across the state are either in the process of limiting operations or are considering such a move, according to various media reports.
Late last week, the judges of Los Angeles Superior Court announced they are recommending delaying new civil and most criminal jury trials for at least 30 days, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Several Bay Area courthouses are also curbing non-essential operations.
In Santa Clara County, the Superior Court is rescheduling most cases except for a select number of criminal cases, beginning Monday and lasting until April 5, The San Jose Mercury News reported.
Cases affected by Santa Clara County’s rescheduling include civil, probate jury and court trials, except for those that have already have begun, the newspaper reported..
The Contra Costa County Superior Court on Friday also requested from state Supreme Court chief justice “an emergency order providing that, at least until April 1, 2020, the court closure will have the effect of being a public holiday as far as statutory or other timelines,” The Mercury News reported.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 7:01 PM.
