California Superior Court Ventura Court Order Coronavirus

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER RE: IMPLEMENTATION OF EMERGENCY RELIEF IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER RE:  IMPLEMENTATION OF EMERGENCY RELIEF IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Ventura County is experiencing record setting increases of COVID positive cases and hospitalizations. The County is currently in Tier 1, grouped into the Southern California region, which pursuant to the Governor’s December 3, 2020, Regional Stay Home Order and December 6, 2020, supplemental order, requires that all persons stay at home for all non­essential services. To limit the number of persons in the courthouses during the spike in cases, while seeking to balance the court’s obligations to render justice with its duty to protect all who visit and work in its courthouses, I am exercising my authority as Presiding Judge and the authority granted under the December 16, 2020 Emergency Order of Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chair of the Judicial Council of California.

This Court HEREBY FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. All hearings and court proceedings currently scheduled for December 21 and 22, 2020 and December 28 and 29, 2020 remain on calendar, unless continued by the judicial officer presiding over a particular matter or calendar. Parties and attorneys shall follow the court’s existing orders as to whether an in-person appearance is allowed.
  2. The court will be closed on December 23 and 24, 2020 and December 30 and 31, 2020, except for limited courtrooms to hear emergency criminal, juvenile, unlawful detainer, mental health, and temporary restraining order matters.
  3. There shall be no in-person appointments for the clerk’s offices and or self-help centers from December 21,2020 – December 31, 2020.
  4. For purposes of computing time for filing papers under Code of Civil Procedure §12 and 12a, December 21, 2020 – December 31, 2020, inclusive, are deemed holidays, except for the following:
    • December 21 and 22, 2020 and December 28 and 29, 2020 –
    • All Criminal filings, Traffic citations or Traffic payments will be filed that are submitted at the public outside walk-up window, the public drop box or through interagency mail;
    • All Juvenile filings will be filed that are submitted through the public drop box located at the Juvenile courthouse;
    • All filings relating to hearings that remain on calendar on December 21 and 22, 2020 and December 28, and 29, 2020; and
    • All filings relating to hearings that are on calendar from January 4 – January 8, 2021.
    • December 23 and 24, 2020 and December 30 and 31, 2020 –
    • Filings relating to emergency matters, as set forth in paragraph 2; and,
    • Filings relating to in-custody or detention hearings.
    • The clerk’s office may also file and process any documents submitted prior to December 21, 2020.

E-delivery for Civil, Family Law, Probate and Small Claims filings shall be suspended and unavailable from December 21 – 31, 2020. The limited documents that will be filed in paragraph 3 above, are to be submitted through the court’s drop boxes, available, which will be available from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on December 21, 22, 28 and 29, 2020 or by United States mail, only. Drop boxes for Civil, Family Law and Small Claims are located at the Hall of Justice, 800 South Victoria, Ventura, CA 93009, and the drop box for Probate is located at the Juvenile Courthouse, 4353 East Vineyard Ave., Oxnard, CA.

The court extends the time period provided in §825 of the Penal Code within which an in-custody defendant charged with a criminal offense must be taken before a magistrate from 48 hours to not more than 7 days, applicable only to cases in which the statutory deadline otherwise would expire from December 21, 2020 to December 31, 2020, inclusive.

To the extent any provision of the Court’s Public Notice of Court Closures under Government Code68106 is in conflict with this order, this order controls.

THIS ORDER IS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AND WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THOURGH DECEMBER 31, 2020, UNLESS EXTENDED OR REVOKED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Hon. Bruce A. Young

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