After a unanimous vote by the Judicial Council during an emergency meeting on March 28, California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye issued an order Monday clarifying and implementing temporary emergency measures.
"The continuous operation of our courts is essential for our constitutional form of government, for providing due process and protecting the public," states the Chief Justice in her March 30 directive. "However, courts are clearly places with high risks during this pandemic because they require gatherings of judicial officers, court staff, litigants, attorneys, witnesses, defendants, law enforcement, and juries—well in excess of the numbers allowed for gathering under current executive and health orders."
Citing Gov. Newsom’s March 27 Executive Order N-38-20, which suspends limitations on her authority, Justice Cantil-Sakauye noted that she is empowered to authorize any court to take any action that she deems necessary to maintain the safe and orderly operation of the courts.
Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye
| Office of Chief Justice
"In a time of legitimate emergency, if all those things can be shown, then the state is allowed to infringe upon constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly," said Jeff Lewis, an attorney in Los Angeles.
The actions Justice Cantil-Sakauye has taken so far include extending statutory deadlines for preliminary hearings, arraignments, and last day trials in both criminal and civil proceedings.
“The Chief Justice has signed more than 80 emergency orders requested by the superior courts, and the Chief Justice and Judicial Council have taken a number of recent actions to continue essential court services while protecting the health of the public, court employees, attorneys, litigants, judicial officers, law enforcement, and staff and inmates in detention facilities,” said Merrill Balassone, spokesperson for the Judicial Council of California.
The Chief Justice further clarified her March 23 order, which suspended jury trials for 60 days so that courts could adopt new rules to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest order states that the 60-day continuance of jury trials is to be calculated from the original trial date, according to a statement on the judiciary’s website.