March 30, 2020
Hello OCAABA members, friends and allies:
The following is an update to help us
to do what lawyers do best: consume reliable information and convey it to others.
ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
On March 27, 2020, Governor Newsom expanded California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye's power to manage the courts during the pandemic via
executive order N-38-20
"During the hour long special meeting held by phone, the council unanimously approved the following measures, extended 90 days after the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted to help alleviate backlogs:
- Extend the 10 court day period for holding a preliminary hearing and the defendant's right of release to 30 court days;
- Extend the time period in which a defendant charged with a felony offense shall be taken before a judicial officer from 48 hours to not more than 7 days;
- Extend the time period for holding a criminal trial by more than 30 days; and
- Extend the time period to bring an action to trial by more than 30 days.
- In addition to temporarily extending statutory deadlines, the council also directed the superior courts to:
- Make use of technology, when possible, to conduct judicial proceedings and court operations remotely. This includes the use of video, audio, and telephone for remote appearances, reporting, and interpreting in judicial proceedings, the electronic exchange and authentication of documents in evidence, and the use of e-filing and e-service; and
- In criminal and juvenile proceedings, including arraignments and preliminary hearings, prioritize use of technology to ensure defendants are not held in custody, and children are not held in custody or removed from the custody of their parents or guardians, without timely due process of law or in violation of constitutional rights."
The Orange County Superior Court is now
live-streaming proceedings
On March 24, 2020, the court issued an updated order acknowledging guidance from Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye.
https://www.occourts.org/general-public/notices/general/AmendedAdmin_Order_20-02.pdf Since that time, the court website has been updated with information and procedures for Restraining Orders, Evictions, Small Claims, Civil Limited, Unlimited, Complex, Criminal Law, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Probate/Mental Health, Jury Services and Self-Help at
https://www.occourts.org/media-relations/CoronaVirusUpdate.html
CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT
Chief Judge Virginia A. Phillips activated the Continuity of Operations Plan ("COOP"), effective March 23, 2020 through and including May 1, 2020 "to ensure the continuous performance of essential functions and operations of the Court in light of the continuing emergency pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19, also known as the 'Coronavirus.'" And issued the following orders/notices:
ORANGE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
Though the OCBA Offices are closed, their staff is working remotely and the COVID-19 task force is still hard at work. The website continues to be updated
http://www.ocbar.org/covid-19 The next webinar is scheduled for April 1, 2020 at 12PM addressing: "CBA Webinar - Insights From OC In-House Counsel During the COVID Crisis" and can be accessed here:
http://www.ocbar.org/webinar040120
Judge Nakamura requests court concerns go through the COVID-19 task force. You may send information, suggestions or questions for the task force to
denise.esq@gmail.com and I will convey.
NAPABA and national advocacy to PROTECT APIs
- Hats off to our past-president Thy Bui of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, who was a featured panelist for "Employment Law and Coronavirus: An Update and Discussion."
- NAPABA's next webinar is scheduled for Tue, Mar 31, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT "Scamming Gone Viral - Maintaining Your Company's Cyber Hygiene in the Wake of COVID-19" registration: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6761018351253295884
- Your OCAABA leaders continue to work with NAPABA and other advocacy groups across the nation calling for the protection of APIs and encouraging unity in this time of crisis. Last week, it appears our message was heard:
That day, the President denounced anti-Asian sentiment related to the virus calling for protection of Asian-Americans. In a tweet on March 23, 2020 he said:
OCAABA will continue to monitor at the local, state and federal level to do what we can to protect APIs at home and across the county.
- The 2020 NAPABA convention scheduled for November 5, 2020 in Los Angeles remains on the NAPABA calendar. https://www.napaba.org/ and as a reminder, the deadline for Convention program submissions is April 20 at 5PM EST.
LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LINKS
- Orange County - County Executive Officer Frank Kim:
KEEPING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SAFE
Johns Hopkins Corona virus Resource Center Map:
Orange County Health Care Agency COVID-19 Case Counts and Testing Figures:
A reminder that the case counts are directly related to the number of individuals tested. As of 3/30/20:
|
Total people tested HCA Public Health Lab (PHL) and commercial labs to date
|
5,522
|
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HCA PHL available to test
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989 specimens
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HOW WE CAN HELP
Your OCAABA Board will meet via conference call on April 1, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. In my last email, I asked OCAABA members to think about
How We Can Help. If you have ideas to present at the meeting, please feel free to email me at
denise.esq@gmail.com.
Some things we can do
RIGHT NOW:
Once again, feel free to reach out to me and I will do my best to continue to update you.
We will get through this together!
In Unity,
Denise Crawford
2019-2020 OCAABA President
Some stories to make you feel better about all of this:
