Courts In California Close Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Trials Reportedly Pending For 60 Days

KEY POINTS

Trials were held in abeyance due to court closures amid COVID-19 outbreak
The court proceedings are delayed for 60 days, including adoption proceedings
Even if the court proceedings continues, the stay-at-home order will make it difficult for the people concerned to leave home
Social Distancing needs to be stringently followed
New forecast was released relative to the peak and possible cessation of COVID-19

Court trials are reportedly pending for 60 days amid COVID-19 outbreak, and not only that, even the processing for adoption is also held in abeyance.

Deputy labour minister Zhanna Andreasyan said officials had started looking more closely into adoptions after noticing that four times as many children went to foreigners rather than to locals AFP / KAREN MINASYAN

With the growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, different facilities were advised to momentarily close as part of the government’s protocol to combat the further spread of COVID-19.

In Los Angeles, downtown courthouses had been closed. In an exclusive report of TMZ, nobody is allowed to enter the downtown courthouse to file lawsuit; rather, there is only a court staff designated to receive documents outside the building.

Lawsuits, as well as adoption, are lengthy processes but there’s nothing much people can do with the current situation other than wait. Sources told the said news outlet that court closures are making it “downright agonizing.”

The effects of delays in court trials may be agonizing to several concerned individuals but Raise a Child’s Executive Director, Rich Valenza, pointed out that the same could have psychological impact to kids, the aforementioned news outlet further reported.

Considering the Stay At Home Order issued by several governors in the United States, including California, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye also issued an order on March 23. She reportedly stated that the closure of schools meant that many court employees, litigants, witnesses and potential jurors could not leave their homes in order to attend court proceedings as they would need to stay at home to supervise their kids. Moreover, Chief Justice Sakauye said that court facilities were “ill-equipped to effectively allow social distancing and other public health requirements.”

coronavirus self-isolate social distancing Sharon McCutcheon - unsplash

There is a delay of 60 days on the trial. That places 58 counties in California on a uniform trial day schedule, Los Angeles Times reported.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Kevin C. Brazile, presiding judge of Los Angeles Superior Court, reportedly issued an order blocking public access to county courthouses with the exception for attorneys, staff, defendants and “authorized persons.” A skeleton-staff will continue to accept filings and assist clienteles only through phone or electronically.

Other courthouses which were placed by Brazile on indefinite closure were the ones in Beverly Hills, Catalina Island and the civil courthouse located at Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.

On the lighter side of this health crisis, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation came up with the forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic could peak in California in late April and end in the United States in June, if social distancing measures are stringently followed through, Lake County News reported.