TO ALL civil and criminal litigants with matters currently pending before United States District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., Northern District of California.  In light of the evolving developments with coronavirus (COVID-19) and General Orders Nos. 72 and 73, the Court issues the following additional guidance:

1.                              All Civil Case Management Conferences will be held telephonically and will not be recorded.  The Court will issue a notice with the conference call number.  Counsel shall be on the call at the start of the calendar.  The Court will join the call when it is ready to proceed on that action.  For call clarity, parties shall NOT use speaker phone or earpieces for these calls, and where at all possible, parties shall use landlines.  The parties are further advised to ensure that the Court can hear and understand them clearly before speaking at length. 

2.                              All Civil Law and Motion matters will be submitted on the papers.  In the event that the Court determines an appearance is necessary, the Court will either set a hearing date to be held by telephone or will continue the hearing until after May 1, 2020.  In the event of a telephonic hearing, the Court will issue a notice with the conference call number.  For call clarity, parties shall NOT use speaker phone or earpieces for these calls, and where at all possible, parties shall use landlines.  The parties are further advised to ensure that the Court can hear and understand them clearly before speaking at length.  The Court is investigating the ability to hold proceedings via videoconference where necessary.

3.                              Criminal appearances may be waived or postponed with the defendant’s consent.  Because of the current circumstances, the Court is inclined to continue all criminal matters until May 2020 wherever possible.  Parties are encouraged to submit stipulations to continue matters currently scheduled for dates before May 1, 2020, as soon as practicable.  If a party does not wish to continue a matter for whatever reason, that party shall notify the Court in writing by Friday at 10:00 a.m. the week before the scheduled appearance and include a proposal for how the matter may safely proceed absent a continuance.

4.                              Extensions.  All case deadlines remain in place for all cases unless otherwise ordered. 

We all recognize that circumstances are changing rapidly and counsel and parties are requested to monitor the Court’s website and dockets closely for changes in the protocol.