Santa Barbara County Judge Michael Carrozzo met with representatives of the legal community Thursday afternoon, according to a press release, to urge justice system leaders to reduce the number of persons required to come to court.
Judge Carrozzo is encouraging all judges to work with attorneys and litigants to postpone current and upcoming jury trials and consider these circumstances on a case-by-case basis
The goal is to lower the number of jurors coming to court and all attorneys are asked to work together to settle as many matters as possible and reach stipulations to continue cases, where necessary.
The Court is reportedly working with justice partners to implement video appearances and establish electronic filing for criminal justice partners, in order to reduce the number of in-custody defendants being transported between the jail and courts and persons coming to the clerk's office.
Along with previous measures taken to amplify cleanliness, the justice partners agreed to work with the presiding judges in the arraignment courtrooms throughout the county to explore further approaches to reducing the number of persons coming to the courthouses.
Jurors who are ill are encouraged to contact the Jury Division through the online portal or by calling and those paying fines are directed to pay over the phone or via the web-based payment system.