San Diego Superior Court Orders Closure of all Non-essential courts Until at Least End of April

Judge Alksne Issued an order on April 1 extending the San Diego Superior Court Closure until at least April 30th.  This order applies to all SD county courts, including Vista, Central (downtown), El Cajon and South Bay courts.  Only "urgent" matters, such as in-custody felonies, and Domestic Violence TRO matters will be heard by the court.

What if I have a court date during this closure?

If you have an arraignment, pretrial conference or even Felony Readiness conference scheduled from now until April 30, 2020, do not go to court.  The General Order has effectively cancelled all these court matters, and they will be rescheduled once the court has re-opened.  The court has not yet revealed how the parties will be notified, but I plan to remain in constant contact with the court and District Attorney's office to monitor the situation, and will advise clients whenever I receive a substantive update.

If you were arrested and posted bail with a court date within the closure period, the matter will be re-scheduled without forfeiture of your bond.  If you were cited with an appearance date during April, your matter will also be continued and rescheduled.  If you do not have an attorney yet for a case pending during this time, consider hiring an attorney who keeps in close contact with the court and will be ready to aggressively defend you as soon as possible.

Stay safe and shelter in place.