Are the San Diego Courts Open Yet?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the middle of March, courts across California have closed down for non-emergency hearings. In San Diego, non-emergency hearings were canceled from March 17 through May 22, 2020. As such, the Superior Court of California County of San Diego has canceled over 87,000 hearings between those dates and they will have to be rescheduled when the courts resume their normal activities.

In the interest of the health and safety of the public and court employees, the rescheduled hearings mentioned above are going to be conducted remotely when possible. Here’s what you need to know about family law cases:

• All hearings that were on the calendar before will be rescheduled for a future date. The courts will mail notices to the parties involved.
• As of Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the court is going to offer a family law eFiling option. It can be found on the court’s website at sdcourt.ca.gov.
• If a hearing was previously filed for a domestic violence temporary restraining order (TRO), it will be rescheduled.
• If a temporary restraining order was granted, it will remain in full force until the new hearing takes place.
• If a matter is currently on the calendar for after the court is re-opened, it will be rescheduled within 60 days from the existing date.
• People can still make new temporary restraining order requests even while the court is closed. Contact our office to learn more.

Do you have a pressing family law matter that needs attention? For example, you have a domestic violence or child custody matter that you want to be addressed? Or, do you need to petition the court to reduce your monthly child support obligation due to COVID-19? To get your questions answered, we invite you to contact Cage & Miles to schedule a consultation with a member of our legal team.