Our Court shares in our community s concerns about transmission of the coronavirus, said Presiding Judge Theodore C. Zayner. We know that groups of people in close confinement increases the potential for transmission, including within the jails and among prisoner populations.
The decision to extend the zero-bail policy comes as the county s inmate population faces its highest COVID-19 positivity rate and ends a nine-day hunger strike to demand better safety protocols in the jails.
As of Jan. 18, there were 107 active cases. A week earlier, on Jan. 11, county jails had the highest case count with 127 cases. The last outbreak was in August, where the highest case count was 90 inmates.
More than 100 tenants and advocates, organized by the
Regional Tenant Organizing Network, blocked eviction
hearings at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in San
Jose, California Wednesday morning, protesting the
displacement of renters during the coronavirus pandemic.
Protesters blocking the courthouse entrance effectively
shut down the court in the morning hours before being
violently removed by County Sheriff’s Deputies. Nine
protesters were arrested on the charge of disrupting court
operations. In a video on Twitter
that gained over 19,000 views in a few hours, a protester is
seen being dragged violently away from the crowd by a squad
of deputies.
Santa Clara County Superior Court extends emergency bail schedule as COVID-19 cases surge in jails
By Jana Kadah article
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Santa Clara County s Superior Court has extended the emergency bail schedule as COVID-19 case counts remain at an all-time high in county jails, officials announced Friday.
The Superior Court bench voted Tuesday to issue the order, which will expire June 30.
The order requires that bail be set at $0 for all misdemeanor and felony offenses, with exceptions for specific offenses listed in the order.
The purpose of the emergency bail schedule is to limit COVID-19 transmissions. Without the order, individuals arrested and held in pretrial custody may be subject to close confinement in county jails.
Orange County federal judge dismisses criminal cases over lack of jury trials
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, pictured in 2018.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
By Meghann M. Cuniff
Print
On what would be the first of three occasions in three days, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney looked into his computer screen one recent January morning and apologized to a criminal defendant for the courthouse’s pandemic-related prohibition on in-person hearings. Then he repeated a move that had already drawn sharp objection from federal prosecutors: He announced the dismissal of all charges, part of a constitutional stance he said has left him feeling isolated and frustrated.
Tenants mount courthouse protest to end evictions in Santa Clara County
January 29, 2021
Derrick Sanderlin, a tenant organizer with Sacred Heart Community Service, joined tenants protesting evictions at the Santa Clara County Superior Court on Jan. 27. Photo by Eugene Luu.
Dozens of tenants and their advocates blocked the entrance to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in downtown San Jose this morning to protest ongoing evictions during the pandemic.
Nine protesters were arrested after sheriff’s deputies declared the demonstration unlawful. The demonstrators successfully shut down the courts in the morning but judges resumed hearing cases in the afternoon. There were no injuries to protesters or law enforcement, according to the Sheriff’s Office.