(CN) — In the last weeks of 2020, the Covid-19 case count in Los Angeles County skyrocketed with an average of 13,000 new cases each day. As the new year dawned, daily deaths topped 200 and the county has become the U.S. epicenter for the virus with nearly 1 million cases since the pandemic began a year ago.
Yet despite the raging pandemic outside, county courthouses continue to hold indoor court hearings. The Los Angeles County Superior Court — the largest superior court system in the nation with a network of 600 courtrooms and over 5,000 employees and judicial officers — limits people in its buildings to essential personnel and those appearing in their cases and requires face coverings. The court encourages remote appearances and has made major changes to try and maintain regular services.
But Kate Marr, executive director of the pro bono Community Legal Aid SoCal, says the rules are not always enforced.
“We had a staff member who went to the Torrance Superior Courthouse for a hearing and there was a bailiff operating the front door and he was not wearing a mask,” Marr said in a phone interview. “You’re smacked in the face as you walk into the courthouse building: This is not something the court is taking seriously.”
Marr said her law clinic filed a complaint with the LA County Health Department afterward, and has also pulled staff from the self-help desk it operates at the Compton courthouse for their safety. Several legal service groups are considering filing some type of legal action against the court for the lax health policies inside county courthouses.
“Court employees were blatantly violating the regulations, with staff walking down hallways without masks,” Marr said. “Other things are bad too. There’s a huge crush at the elevator banks of people trying to get to the higher floors and no one is enforcing occupancy limits.”
An LA County Superior Court spokesperson said by law the court cannot comment on personnel complaints. If a court employee or judicial officers violates the court’s mandates, like not wearing a mask, the matter is handled by court leadership.
Meanwhile, traffic court room are at capacity according to Public Counsel attorney Lauren Zack.
“There was a bailiff who was making a joke at one hearing I was at and he said, ‘Oh, make sure you leave after your matter, because someone in here is probably sick,’” Zack said. “I did not find that funny.”
Zack said the fact matters like traffic infractions are still being heard feels a bit removed from the reality of the pandemic. Over 6,600 people in LA County are hospitalized with Covid-19, although that figure is 1,000 fewer than last week according to the public health department. Since the start of the pandemic, Covid has claimed the lives of over 15,000 Angelenos.
“Every traffic infraction matter can wait,” Zack said. “They’re sometimes litigated years later. I have represented cases going back to 2017. I get that closing the courts again would add to the backlog, but the reality is that traffic courts can handle that. There’s just no urgency to these matters.”
In late summer 2020, superior courts resumed normal services after reducing operations in the early days of the pandemic. The court administration rolled out mandates and cleaning crews roamed the halls to wipe down surfaces. Hand sanitizer dispensers went in nearly every courtroom, but even with all those precautions there is no escaping the virus.
To date, 445 court employees have tested positive for Covid-19 according to a court spokesperson — about 9% positivity compared to 10% countywide. How many court employees have died from the virus remains unclear.
“Covid-19 affects each individual differently, and no person or agency can control individual outcomes following infection,” Ann Donlan, communications director for the court, said. “Nevertheless, the court continues to track positive cases overall which is more central to the issue of identifying potentially infected individuals and our efforts to prevent further infections.”
