- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
State chief justice issues emergency order allowing for Lakeport court closure
With law enforcement needed to protect evacuated areas, and many court staff, local attorneys, members of the public and even some judges themselves forced from their homes, Lake County Superior Court Presiding Judge Andrew Blum requested and received an emergency order from California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who also chairs the California Judicial Council.
The general order issued late Monday night implements emergency relief, and deems Monday, July, 30 to Friday, Aug. 3, as court holidays.
That’s important to the courts, because the law establishes timelines for filing paperwork and holding hearings and other court proceedings.
The order said no hearings will be held or filings accepted at the Lakeport courthouse, located at 255 N. Forbes St., through Friday, and that all cases set for this week will be rescheduled.
“All parties will be notified by mail,” according to the notice accompanying the order.
While the Lakeport court remains closed, the court’s Clearlake offices and courtroom calendars will still be held as scheduled, the notice said.
Cantil-Sakauye’s order notes that, in appropriate cases, any judge of the court can extend time frames for specific types of cases because of the emergency conditions.
In one of the examples cited by the emergency order, it explains that a judge may extend the time period provided in the penal code within which a defendant charged with a felony offense must be taken before a magistrate from 48 hours to five days, but only in cases where that deadline would have expired between July 30 and Aug. 3.
The document also offers time extension guidelines for a variety of other cases, from temporary restraining orders, to preliminary hearings, trials and cases involving minors.
Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier told Lake County News that the Lake County Superior Court’s most recent disaster-related closure was for the Clearlake courthouse due to a mandatory evacuation for the Rocky fire in 2015.
“We’ve had to close Lakeport for a partial day here or there over the years but I do not recall ever closing the main Lakeport courthouse for multiple days due to a disaster and I’ve been there for 14 years,” She said. “This is an unprecedented disaster with the majority of the Northshore under mandatory evacuation.”
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