2019 State of the Court

CORONAVIRUS

IMPACTS TO THE COURT AND COMMUNITY

In 2020, the nation was drastically impacted by the Novel 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Courts, among other government and essential services, were greatly impacted by having to balance the constitutional rights of the community we serve with the impacts and safety concerns caused by this health emergency. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to unravel, San Bernardino Superior Court (SBSC) took numerous actions to protect all court users in the days prior to temporarily closing on March 17, 2020. In the beginning, SBSC promoted online services so attorneys and the public could avoid coming in-person. As new directives were quickly announced by California Governor Gavin Newsom, San Bernardino County Public Health Officials, and the Judicial Council of California (JCC), services were quickly reduced in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The changes included the suspension of civil jury trials and protocols for visitors, and within a week the court was only hearing emergency matters at five remaining court locations for over two months between mid-March to the end of May.