Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile ordered an immediate three-day closure of the Sylmar Courthouse Sunday after a deputy public defender assigned to the courthouse tested positive for coronavirus, or COVID-19.
This comes after the Los Angeles County Superior Court recently announced it would be temporarily suspending all infraction hearings, trials, arraignments and appearances for at least 30 days, from March 17 and April 16.
Brazile was notified on Saturday that an attorney assigned to the Public Defender’s Office tested positive last week for COVID-19 after caring for a relative who also tested positive, according to a news release issued Sunday.
Affected judges and staff were notified and are now expected to self-quarantine for 14 days following the Centers for Disease Control and Public Health Office’s guidelines, while both affected courtrooms have also been cleaned and disinfected thoroughly and are set to be cleaned again Monday.
Brazile was then able to make the order for the closure of the Sylmar Courthouse with the emergency powers he obtained from Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye on March 16.
The courthouse, which handles juvenile delinquency cases exclusively in two courtrooms, is set to reopen on Thursday. Cases on the calendar until then are scheduled to be moved temporarily to the Michael D. Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster.
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