Alameda County COVID-19 Update · 8 May 2020

Court Updates

Highlights of the Latest for Alameda County Courthouse (updated through May 8, 2020)

Court Filings. Effective May 12, 2020, Alameda County will life all restrictions on accepted court filings. Documents are accepted via fax filing, mail, or drop box at the Hayward Hall of Justice. Documents will be file-stamped with the date on which they were received; however, due to the significant backlog and anticipated influx of filings, processing times will be delayed. Fax filings may take up to three business days to be processed. Documents submitted by mail or drop box will be returned by mail if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided.
Court Closure. The current Emergency Order expires on May 29, 2020.
Videoconference Hearings.
- Commencing May 11, 2020, each Family Law Judge will be scheduled for a half-day court session per week to hear limited family law matters, including restraining order hearings, ongoing and review hearings filed before March 17, 2020, and emergency hearings.
- Hearings scheduled for the month of May are being reviewed by each department roughly one week before the scheduled date. The Court will contact the litigants and/or attorneys if the matter is selected for a videconference hearing and provide instructions for appearing. Do not assume all hearings will be continued and continue to monitor the online register of actions.
- Trials may proceed via videoconference.
- The Court will use the BlueJeans platform for videoconference hearings. Details regarding the program can be found here.
- Informal settlement conferences regarding Requests for Orders (RFOs), long cause hearings, and trials scheduled between March 17, 2020 and June 30, 2020 may occur by agreement between the parties. The requests can be made directly to the courtroom clerk of the department where those hearings had been scheduled. The specific format for making such a request is found in Emergency Rule 5.26.

The full text of the amended Emergency Local Rule 1.8a. can be found here (most recently updated as of 5/7/20):

Answers to FAQs can be found here (most recently updated as of 5/7/20)

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