Most court hearings rescheduled due to coronavirus. Here’s what’s still being heard.
As a result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, Stanislaus Superior Court has suspended all nonemergency services and will reduce its staff by an estimated 40 percent.
Stanislaus is among nearly every county in the state to get an emergency order to limit services and continue most matters.
The only matters that will be heard are:
• Criminal arraignments will be heard daily as scheduled. If you signed a promise to appear in court for arraignment in a felony or misdemeanor case, you will need to come to the court on the date you promised to appear. The judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest if you fail to appear.
• No time waiver preliminary hearings
• All requests for civil harassment restraining orders
• Claims of exemption
• Unlawful detainer cases will be heard in Department 10 until further notice; filings will be accepted at the Turlock Division
• Detention hearings in both juvenile justice and dependency case types
• Temporary emergency orders for domestic violence, gun violence and child custody
• Petition for appointment for guardianship/conservatorship
• Requests for temporary guardianship/conservatorship (Including LPS) – temporary orders may be issued without hearing and will be effective for 30 days.
The emergency order allows the court to put aside all jury trials at least through April 16. One murder trail that began before the order was issued was expected to conclude late this week or early next week.
The court will reschedule and provide notices on all other matters. For an entire list of affected services, go to bit.ly/2J8k6VK.
All clerk’s office closed Monday as well.
The court asks that you check the status of your case online at https://www.stanct.org/case-index-lookup before going to court. You are also advised to visit the court’s homepage for regular updates.
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
