Civil Cases:

1.       Jury trials and bench trials may proceed in accordance with the logistical considerations necessitated by the Court’s safety protocols.

2.       Each judge will determine whether to hold a hearing or decide a civil matter on the papers. Hearings will be held via telephone or videoconference. This applies to motion hearings, case management conferences, pretrial conferences, settlement conferences, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) proceedings. For specific instructions on telephone or video appearances, see the docket on PACER, the assigned judge’s schedule of upcoming proceedings (located on each judge’s web page at cand.uscourts.gov/judges), or the ADR webpage.

 

Criminal Cases:

1.       Jury trials may proceed in accordance with the logistical considerations necessitated by the Court’s safety protocols.

2.       Initial appearances and other proceedings before the magistrate judges will be conducted by telephone or by videoconference. New arrestees shall be booked at Santa Rita Jail and produced for court appearance the following day instead of being presented for booking at the U.S. Marshals Service lockup.

3.       Other court appearances may be waived or postponed, or may be conducted by telephone or videoconference. See General Order 74 for procedures pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). A limited number of in-court proceedings are permitted.

4.       To the extent possible, after lodging/filing an application to enter an open guilty plea or a plea agreement, guilty pleas and sentencing shall be consolidated for a date after the presentence report has been prepared.