I just got off a video presentation hosted by Johanna Schiavoni of the San Diego County Bar Association. The topic was State of the Superior Court Address. Presenting were the Hon. Lorna Alksne, Presiding Judge, the Hon. Michael T. Smyth, assistant Presiding Judge, and Mike Roddy, executive officer in charge of administrative management of the Superior Court.
The presentation was very informative. The Judges and Mr. Roddy spent their time detailing the impact that this pandemic has had on the San Diego County legal field, steps the Court is taking to counter these ongoing issues, and plans for future court operations.
As the presiding Judge said "We are all in this together, and we will all get through this together."
One important item: it is anticipated that the Courts will remain closed until at least May 22, with a gradual re-opening of various departments then rolling out.
On a positive note, it looks like this closure is accelerating the modernization of the fundamental ways that the Superior Court serves the public, with a number of innovations either in the planning stages or already rolled out.
Thank you to the San Diego County Bar Association for providing this event.