Transcript
BESHOY:
Good morning everyone. Today is Thursday, March 26th. It’s approximately 10:00 AMPacific standard time. The purpose of today’s recording is just to provide the publicin general and our participants an update as to the court closures. Obviously thecourts are currently closed. so a lot of the questions that we’ve been getting are abit logistical in terms of what does that mean. So I’m joined today by Gina Famularo. Gina, can you give us a brief intro about yourself?
GINA:
Sure. My name is Gina Famularo. I’m a lawyer of 23 years in may of 2020 I practice for nine years in orange County. The balance of my career has been in Riverside County. I’m a partner at family law matters and I only practice family law. That’s been the case my entire career.
BESHOY:
Thank you. Gina. And I am Beshoy Shehata. I’m also an attorney and the manager managing partner at family law matters. I’ve been practicing for a little over two years now and I just, again, I want to step aside from the content of how the current orders and the current, pandemic affects. Your family law case and just give you a brief update as to the court, and what it means when they’re closed. So the first question that we get is, what is the courts closed mean it means as of now that the courts are, working on a skeleton crew, that means they’re closed for the public. The judges are only hearing emergencies and the court staff is still processing paperwork, but no one is allowed to go to the actual courthouse. As of now when will the courts reopen will So far as of Riverside County, it is closed through April 3rd, which means that they are set to reopen on April 6th, since April 3rd is a Friday and April 6th is a Monday. San Diego County is following the same structure. They’re closed through April 3rd, which means that we’re reopened April 6th. The only County thus far that has a different date is San Bernardino County and they are set to reopen on April 3rd. but as of now, these are the only, indications that we have. If you go to the court website, that’s the same information that’ll be posted online there.
GINA:
Let me jump in and let’s discuss what it means that the courts are still processing paperwork. That means we can still submit judgments. The courts are still reviewing the judgements. The judges are still signing the judgments. It means we can file new documents, meaning we can file divorces or paternity cases. It means we can still file requests for court, court dates, what we call our RFOs. It means we can still file any sort of paperwork. It’s going to be processed in the same time as before.
BESHOY:
And Gina, is the self- help center still open or no?
GINA:
It’s my understanding the self help center is also closed. The courthouse in general is close to the public so you cannot walk into the courthouse and get any sort of help.
BESHOY:
Okay. And when will the stop, when will the self- help center reopen?
GINA:
The self help center is scheduled to reopen the same as the rest of the courthouse, which means April 6th or April 3rd depending on what County you’re in.
BESHOY:
Thank you. And then in terms of filing paperwork, you said that we can file the paperwork. Can people file paperwork in person?
GINA:
The answer is no. All paperwork must be filed electronically. The courts all have what’s called an E file system and in Riverside County they’re waiving that filing fee. Right now I believe it’s like a dollar 25 per filing. There are encouraging all paperwork to be filed electronically.
BESHOY:
And how do you do that? How do you file it electronically?
GINA:
Well you need an account so you have to create an account and then you have to file the paperwork over. The internet. Attorneys are the people that are best set up to do that. We can do that on behalf of clients without having to get any special permission or jump through any additional hoops. The system really right now is set up for attorneys to be open for business like normal for self, for pro pers, we call them for litigants who don’t have attorneys and for paralegals. It’s very, very difficult to do business right now.
BESHOY:
Okay. And does that mean, I know you’ve mentioned that the, the, the electronic filing fees are waived. Does that mean the first appearance fees waived then the, and then fee for filing a request for order Are those included?
GINA:
No. court filing fees are still expected. What is waived is just the transaction fee to file a document online.
BESHOY:
Perfect. Thank you. And then let’s switch gears a little bit and talk about domestic violence restraining orders. What if the parties, obviously cabin fever people are still in the homes with the shelter in place order. What if a restraining order is needed?
GINA:
Well, you can still file a request for a restraining order that is still open for business. Traditionally, there’s help that people can get if they need a restraining order. There’s one Avenue is what we call an EPO. That’s where the police call a judge and they get emergency orders for a few days. That’s still available to you. In other words, if there’s a dramatic incident in your home, you can call the police and restraining orders are available through the police officers. However, if you’re trying to file on your own, traditionally there’s something called the self help center, which is where you walk into the courthouse and they will help you fill out the domestic violence restraining order papers that is closed. There’s also something called a domestic violence liaison office. It’s, there’s one I believe in Riverside. There’s one in Marietta that’s also closed.
GINA:
So if you need a domestic violence restraining order, you’re going to have to do it on your own and figure out how to get the paperwork filed. By going through the file system, you’re going to have to go through a paralegal and hope that they’re capable of getting your paperwork filed through an E file system. I just spoke to someone today who needed a restraining order and is going through a paralegal and they said that the paralegal has no Avenue to file their paperwork. Attorneys on the other hand, we are available to file paperwork. We do have access to the E file system and it sounds like that’s the best option for most people.
BESHOY:
And what if I have a domestic violence restraining order that’s already filed and I have a hearing scheduled on the calendar between now and April 3rd what’s going on with those hearings?
GINA:
Well that’s about a week away. And in my experience they’re they’re continuing them out. I’ve had two on calendar. Both worked, continued out. My suggestion to you is to call the courthouse and confirm it’s going forward because the public information is that restraining orders will be heard between now and April 3rd. It just not been my experience. So confirmed before you go down there and try to try to have your restraining order go forward, there are phone numbers online, you can pull them up and you can ask what is the status of my hearing.
BESHOY:
Thank you, Gina. and on that note, also ex parte emergency hearings. what the public needs to know about that is if you think that you have grounds for an emergency, hearing, first thing I would suggest that you consult with an attorney to determine whether you actually have grounds or not. But from a procedural perspective, all the paperwork is still being filed and processed. There are judges that are on call to review the paperwork, but there’s no really, there’s no guarantee that your emergency hearing will be granted. It’s dealt on a case by case basis. when will the emergency, if it’s granted, when will the hearing be held Typically it’s three weeks away, but as of now, the only exceptions of the courts have indicated, which again, Gina indicated that there is a couple that have gotten continued on the court’s own motion, but the emergency hearing is tentatively set to be heard three weeks away from the, of filing on an as of now.
BESHOY:
Those are the only minor group of exceptions that are going forward for the hearing. Does the court have the technology to hear your case remotely unfortunately, the answer is no. Right now, the court does not have that technology. However, we do anticipate that being a possibility in the future as the court system because of the closure of the court system is congested. So I assume and we anticipate that the court will have that capability in the future and allow the parties to participate in virtual hearings.from the comfort of their home or wherever they are. Gina, I’m going to go back to you. What about CCRC child custody Recommendation counseling?
GINA:
Sure! A child custody recommending counseling be as you know, are those appointments before a custody matter. We as attorneys don’t go to those. Our clients go and try to resolve custody issues before the court date. The courthouse is close to those. If, as far as our clients go, we’re notifying our clients the status of hearings, the status of ex parties, the status of custody matters as they arise. As we get information, all of our staff is, are updating, the appointments and the court dates. But if you have a CCRC appointment, rest assured it’s been continued. Call the court or look on the website and see what the new date is. But they’re closed to CCRC appointments at least in Riverside County through April 3rd that means the next scheduled CCRC appointment would be April 6th and in San Bernardino County, the next available CCRC appointment would be April 3rd.
BESHOY:
And for those who have been rescheduled for those appointments that are were already set and are being rescheduled, do, do the parties need to do anything to reschedule those appointments or will they be notified How are they going to be notified?
GINA:
Well, hopefully there’ll be notified if their clients through our office. We will absolutely notify our clients. We are checking on our clients weekly and we will also email those appointments. But if it’s somebody who perhaps does not have an attorney, what will happen is they’re going to have to get notice directly from the court. Don’t assume that the court’s going to notify you. Take the initiative, go online, check on the status of your case, check on the status of your hearing, check on the status of your CCRC and if you don’t see any updates, call the court and they can give you an update over the phone.
BESHOY:
Perfect, thank you Gina and then trials, if you have a schedule, if you have a trial that is scheduled in April after the closure as of now, what’s the status of those?
GINA:
As of right now, all trials after April 3rd are going forward. They’ve not been changed. No, no trial dates have been moved at this point. We’re hoping that they, they go forward. Unfortunately this is a very fluid situation and that’s why we’re doing this podcast is just so people have the most current information today. But as of right now today, April trials will go forward. Yay!
BESHOY:
Awesome! And Gina, any, I know this is going to be a very short podcast, this is just intended to inform the public of what’s going on with the courts. Are there any final closing comments from you?
GINA:
Sure. We just want everybody to know that right now the courts are close to the public for all matters. The only exception would be possibly ex parties. If you have an ex party scheduled between now and April 3rd or April 6th, call the court before you drive down there. Paper work can be filed. It’s difficult to do without an attorney. We are equipped to file paperwork if you need any help. And once the courts reopen, we’re ready for business. We’re open as regular now and we will be open, once the courts are open as well.
BESHOY:
And I do want to remind the participants in the public that the courts are scheduled to reopen. They’re not going to stay closed forever if you need paperwork difficult or I’m sorry if you need paperwork filed, although it may be a little tricky and a bit difficult to do on your own, that’s really the time when you’re going to need the solicit help to get it done. especially with the anticipated congestion, you want to reserve your dates as soon as possible because otherwise you’re just going to get, you’re going to get a spot in line and we don’t know exactly when that will be, but we are anticipating a lot of congestion once the courts we hope and, and we do urge, everyone that if you really need the court’s intervention and you need the court to make orders, that you can take advantage of the, well not take advantage, but you do what you need to do to get the documents filed ASAP to reserve that spot.
GINA:
And B, I would like to add with all the doom and gloom in the news and talk of the country being shut down. Perhaps for weeks or months, the court system will not be closed forever. It’s only going to be a matter of weeks. Worst case scenario before technology will catch up to the court system and if the courts remain close to the public, there will be virtual hearings and if that’s the case, we are already set up to handle those so our clients will not skip a beat B.
BESHOY:
Thank you Gina and again, I just want to remind everyone that this podcast althoughis short, it will still be posted on all of our social media websites and are on ourYouTube page. Use it as information to guide you through the next couple week’s or however long we expect the shelter and police order to remain also keep in mind thatif you have any specific case related questions to call in and ask those questions. Ifyou’re an existing client, take advantage of that. Call your legal team speak withthem if you need the consultation. That’s what we’re here for. We can conduct themvirtually and other than that, we’ll keep you guys informed. We do have an outline ofthe next couple of sessions. We do have some experts that will be joining us that willeach focus on a specific area and how it’s impacted by COBIT 19 and the shelter inplace order. So please stay tuned. We are, launching these podcasts every day at 10:00 AM Pacific standard time. The link is the same. The access code is the same. So please feel free to join, at your own leisure. And if for some reason you miss it due to workor a personal or something personal has come up, just listen to them. we do provide alot of information to keep you guys updated. Thank you again. Thank you Nina fortaking the time and God bless us all and we’ll get through this.
Thank you, Gina. Thanks you guys. Bye bye.
