Contra Costa Superior Court Closed Temporarily Due To Coronavirus
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- The Contra Costa County Superior Court will be temporarily closed at all locations through the end of March due to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Friday.
The closure begins Monday, March 16 and court officials said they hope to reopen locations by 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 1. The court's website will be posted with updates.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
The closure will be in effect for most court cases. Jurors who have been ordered to appear in court for criminal trials for Monday, March 16 must still report to the court as ordered, and judges in those cases will provide further guidance on how the cases will proceed.
"The Court appreciates the careful balance that must be maintained between the timely administration of justice and the protection of public health and safety," the court said in a statement.
An emergency order was issued by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court for the court closure to effectively be a public holiday in regards to statutory or other timelines.
The court had these instructions for people who were scheduled to come into the courthouse during the closure:
- If you have a hearing scheduled, it will be reset to a later date. Notice of the new date will be mailed to you or your attorney
- If you have scheduled jury duty service, your service will be rescheduled and the new date will be mailed to you
- Any in custody arraignments will be handled in Martinez, but all courthouses are closed to the public
Court officials emphasized that the closure is "not in response to a specific notice of exposure at any Court facility or to any Court staff," but was just in an abundance of caution to limit the spread of the novel virus.
The Santa Clara County Superior Court also issued an emergency order Friday, mandating that many court matters be rescheduled until after April 5. The matters include:
• Civil and Probate Jury and Court Trials, except for ongoing trials
• Small Claims Motions, Trials and Appeals
• Most Traffic Matters, except for trials
• Many Family Hearings
• Most Guardianship and Adoption Proceedings
• Many Criminal Trials
If you have a matter you want to check on, you do so here: http://www.scscourt.org/online_services/case_info.shtml
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