Court Closure Update

Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California is issuing emergency orders upon request from each county’s presiding judge. These orders allow the courts to manage a reduction in judicial services. Each court is authorized to limit its operations as necessary to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 disease. We will be monitoring court rescheduling and closures on this page.

Here are the updates as of May 5, 2020:

The Orange County Superior Court announced that the court will be closed at all locations from March 23, 2020 through May 22, 2020. The effect will be that for most types of cases, the closure will be considered a court holiday for purposes of scheduling. For more information on how the closures will affect the calendar of various types of cases, you can read the court’s latest releases here.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court is restricting access to all courthouses from March 23, 2020 through June 22, 2020 authorized parties only. You can view the Court’s updates here.

The Riverside County Superior Court is closed from March 20 through May 15, 2020 to all non-emergency business. Additionally, for those who do appear for the limited matters that the Court is hearing, face coverings (masks, bandanas, etc.) are required. The Court’s news page is available here.

The San Bernardino Superior Court has closed most courthouses between March 17, 2020 through May 28, 2020, including Barstow, Big Bear, Fontana, Needles, and Rancho Cucamonga. Other courthouses in the county are limited to emergency matters and are reducing the number of courtrooms hearing criminal and family law matters and are limiting court hours to 8:30 to noon. The San Bernardino Justice Center will have one courtroom for all civil matters on restricted hours.

The San Diego Superior Court has suspended all non-emergency services at all courthouses, and is targeting May 22, 2020 as a tentative date to reopen. For information about services that may still be available, you can read the court’s latest update here.

The Santa Barbara County Superior Court is closed for non-emergency matters until at least May 23, 2020. During this time, the court will only hold criminal arraignment (hearing only in-custody matters) and juvenile matters in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara courthouses. Please read the court’s news release here for more information.

The Ventura County Superior Court closed all courthouses as of March 23, 2020 and are scheduled to reopen on May 12, 2020. All civil and non-emergency hearings are suspended for 90 days. For more information, you can read the court’s update here.

In addition to the state courts, the United Stated District Court for the Central District of California is closed at all locations until June 1, 2020. All civil matters except for emergency hearings are postponed, and those matters still to be heard will be conducted via telephonic hearing. For criminal cases, criminal duty matters will go forward at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles only.  Telephonic hearings on other criminal matters may proceed as directed by the assigned judicial officer. For more information, please view the court’s annoucement here.

We will keep updating this page with more information as it becomes available. Stay safe, everyone.