County Courthouses Resume Full Services

The Santa Cruz County Superior Court, which closed some courtrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the county’s shelter-in-place order, plans to resume full operations Monday, June 15.

All criminal court calendars resumed June 8, but several courtrooms remained dark until June 15 when operations were to resume fully in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.

When court operations resume, technology to allow for “remote appearance” will be used for some court proceedings to reduce the number of people coming to court. Remote appearances are in the works for some traffic hearings starting June 18.

“We have taken all of the health and safety steps that are necessary to safely resume more of our operation next week,” said Court Executive Officer Alex Calvo.

The steps include: Requiring face coverings for everyone coming to court, including staff and judges; promoting social distancing throughout the buildings, installing hand sanitizer stations at entry and exit points; limiting the number of people in a courtroom at one time; staggering start times of court calendars; increasing the frequency of disinfecting and cleaning; and adjusting air conditioning systems to improve air movement and filtration.

Some court sessions took place outdoors for several weeks to allow for social distancing and keep the court from becoming a source of community spread.

“We are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished throughout this crisis,” Calvo said “We took great care to manage our way through a challenging time balancing the need to protect public health with the need to protect access to justice for members of our community.”

The court worked with county justice partners to determine the proper time to resume services.

A task force of local justice partners is working on plans for the return of jurors later this summer.

Clerk services will be he standard 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Santa Cruz Courthouse; most services at the Watsonville location will be limited to emergency matters will be limited until Monday, June 15.

The Self-Help Center in Watsonville will resume its regular hours and the County Law Library will resume limited in-person hours from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Appointments are needed for the Law Library; they can be made by phone or by email using a form posted at www.lawlibrary.org.

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For information about court safety precautions and office and hours, see www.santacruzcourt.org. Individuals are strongly encouraged to check the website for information before coming to court. Individuals who are sick or who have COVID-19 like symptoms must avoid coming to court and should advise their attorney about their condition.