Federal courthouses in the U.S. Central District, including Orange County, Riverside, and Los Angeles, are closed until Friday, Jan. 8, according to U.S. District Chief Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.
“That's based on the recent surge,” Judge Gutierrez told the Southern California Record. “All proceedings will be done telephonically or through video conferencing. That's the current status. We'll see what happens between now and January 8th.”
As of Dec. 13, there were 1,521,432 confirmed COVID-19 cases, which resulted in 20,847 fatalities, according to California’s coronavirus dashboard. The number of coronavirus-related fatalities increased by 1.1% from the prior day’s 20,622.
“The closure is just a reaction to circumstances that have changed in southern California and really throughout the state,” Judge Gutierrez said in an interview. “The Southern District had conducted trials but they're not conducting trials for about the same period of time. The Northern District had done some trials and they're not doing trials right now either. So, it just reflects what's going on throughout the state of California.”
The Los Angeles federal courts are under the Central District’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) based on a governance order, which provides Gutierrez with the limited authority to close the courthouse in very narrow circumstances.
“I did it in consultation with the executive committee,” Judge Gutierrez added.
The last COOP order was issued in March 2020 by former Chief Judge Virginia Phillips.
“The governance order provides that the chief does have that authority to typically close the courthouse in times of natural national emergency,” Judge Gutierrez said.
While Judge Phillips was appointed to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton in 1999, Judge Gutierrez was nominated by former President George W. Bush in 2007
Los Angeles County is among 36 counties that are under renewed Stay-at-Home orders issued on Dec. 3 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to media reports.
Regarding what will happen after Jan. 8, 2021, Judge Gutierrez said it depends on the number of coronavirus cases.
“Every two weeks we find out something new,” he said. “I'll start thinking about it after January 1 and see what happens. I will consult again with the executive committee. Either we could let it lapse or we could extend it for a week or two.”
The Court's executive committee meets again in mid-January.