The San Diego Superior Court has added to the list of time-sensitive, essential functions that are available to provide additional emergency services during the COVID-19 Court Service Suspension. Effective March 24, 2020, the additional following services are now available:
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Emergency surrogacy order requests (members of the public with such a need are asked to notify the court with their request through the email address: [email protected]).
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Chamber ex parte requests for Elder Abuse, Workplace Violence and School Violence Restraining Orders.
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Probable cause determinations for persons arrested without a warrant.
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Requests and orders for lower bail or own recognizance release from custody pursuant to Penal Code § 1269c.
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Requests and orders for release from custody pursuant to stipulations between defense counsel and the prosecution.
For more detailed information regarding the newly added emergency services, please see General Order No. 032420-36, which is posted on the Court’s website.
In an effort to mitigate community spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the San Diego Superior Court has suspended all non-emergency services effective March 17, 2020 - April 3, 2020. All court days from March 17, 2020 to April 3, 2020, inclusive, will be deemed a court holiday for purposes of computing the time for filing papers with the court pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 12 and 12a. For more detailed information regarding the impact on other statutory deadlines, please see General Order No. 031820-34, which is posted on the Court’s website.
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SERVICES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DURING THIS PERIOD:
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Chamber ex parte requests for civil harassment TROs, DVTROs, and Gun Violence Protective Orders.
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Emergency ex parte lockout proceedings (UD).
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One Family law judge at each branch will review ex parte requests for emergency TROs.
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One Juvenile judge will be available for dependency detention hearings and for emergency orders.
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One Probate judge will be available to cover emergency conservatorships and other emergency orders in Probate. Please email [email protected].
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All search warrants (day and night) will be electronic.
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Petitions for writ seeking emergency relief in unlawful detainer matters.
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Emergency writs challenging COVID-19 emergency measures.
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Writs of habeas corpus challenging medical quarantines.
Additional services available as of March 24, 2020:
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Emergency surrogacy order requests (members of the public with such a need are asked to notify the court with their request through the email address: [email protected]).
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Chamber ex parte requests for Elder Abuse, Workplace Violence and School Violence Restraining Orders.
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Probable cause determinations for persons arrested without a warrant.
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Requests and orders for lower bail or own recognizance release from custody pursuant to Penal Code § 1269c.
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Requests and orders for release from custody pursuant to stipulations between defense counsel and the prosecution.
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SERVICES SUSPENDED 3/17/2020 – 4/3/2020:
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Criminal
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All criminal proceedings including arraignments, preliminary hearings, readiness hearings, pre-trial motions, trials, and sentencings will be rescheduled.
Criminal defendants should contact their attorney.
Criminal case attorneys: The Superior Court is developing a procedure for processing criminal cases suspended during this time period. Please monitor the San Diego Superior Court website (sdcourt.ca.gov) for updates.
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Civil
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All Civil proceedings will be rescheduled except for those matters described above in available services.
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All Unlawful Detainer (UD) matters will be rescheduled except for those matters described above in available services.
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E-Filing and in-person filings are suspended.
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All Temporary Restraining Orders that would otherwise expire from March 17, 2020, to April 6, 2020, inclusive, will be automatically extended by 30 days, and a new Restraining Order hearing date will be set. For all such cases, the Court will be issuing orders continuing existing orders and assigning a new hearing date.
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Family
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All Family Court departments are closed except for those matters described above in available services.
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All family and family support matters will be rescheduled.
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All Family Court counseling and mediation matters will be rescheduled.
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The Family Law Facilitator’s Office will be closed to the public.
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All clinics and workshops have been cancelled.
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All Temporary Restraining Orders that would otherwise expire from March 17, 2020, to April 6, 2020, inclusive, will be automatically extended by 30 days, and a new Restraining Order hearing date will be set. For all such cases, the Court will be issuing orders continuing existing orders and assigning a new hearing date.
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Traffic
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All traffic matters will be rescheduled.
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All those cited to appear in Traffic Court will have a 30-day grace period to appear starting when the Court reopens all services (monitor sdcourt.ca.gov for service updates).
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Limited traffic online services may available at sdcourt.ca.gov .
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Small Claims
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All Small Claims filings are suspended.
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All Small Claims matters will be rescheduled.
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The Small Claims Advisor will be closed.
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Juvenile
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All Juvenile Dependency and Delinquency matters will be rescheduled except for those matters described above in available services.
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All adoption and citation calendars will be rescheduled.
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Juvenile case attorneys: The Superior Court is developing a procedure for processing Juvenile cases suspended during this time period. Please monitor the San Diego Superior Court website sdcourt.ca.gov for updates.
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Probate
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All Probate hearings will be rescheduled to a new date by the clerk’s office except for those matters described above in available services. Parties will be informed of the new date by U.S. mail.
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All in-person visits by Court investigators and Court-approved attorneys for conservatorship cases will be suspended.
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If you have a case and have a case-specific question, you are asked to submit an email. Non-case specific questions will not be answered and the court will not accept documents submitted through these email boxes. Please be advised that your email and any attachments will not be included in the court file or be considered a court record, may not be preserved, and will not be forwarded to the judicial officer presiding over your matter as that would constitute an ex parte communication. You must include your name and case number:
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Criminal and Juvenile defendants should contact their attorney.
Criminal and Juvenile case attorneys: The Superior Court is developing a procedure for processing criminal and juvenile cases suspended during this time period. Please monitor the San Diego Superior Court website (sdcourt.ca.gov ) for updates.
In addition, effective March 17, 2020 – April 3, 2020, the Court will institute the following changes:
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Jury
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All jurors summoned for the dates March 16, 2020-April 3, 2020, are not to report to the Courthouse. You have fulfilled your service. Jurors summoned past April 5, 2020, are to monitor this website for additional information.
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Workshops and Clinics
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Volunteers
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Court Researchers
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Please monitor the San Diego Superior Court website (sdcourt.ca.gov ) for continued
updated information.
