PUBLIC NOTICE

COURT CLOSURES

PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA RULE OF COURT 10.620

Over the last several years the court has seen significant budget reductions and corresponding reductions in staffing levels. The budget reduction in fiscal year 2011/12 is $299,887 equivalent to a 6.7% reduction. The cumulative reduction to the court’s budget since fiscal year 2009/10 is approximately 12%. The Lake court has been historically underfunded and accordingly does not have sufficient reserves to offset these unsustainable budget reductions.

In an effort to preserve our dedicated and talented employees, and minimize the impact to the public as much as possible, the court plans to address these budget reductions by closing the court clerk’s offices and all courtrooms for a total of thirteen (13) days in Fiscal Year 2011/12. These thirteen closure days will be unpaid furlough days for all employees, pursuant to Government Code section 68108. Pursuant to Rule of Court 10.620(e), the court will accept any comments on the proposed court closures until September 12, 2011. Comments must be submitted in writing to Mary Smith, Court Executive Officer, 255 N. Forbes Street, Lakeport, CA, 95453 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Court Closure Dates in Fiscal Year 2011/12

 

NOTE: These court closure days are NOT judicial holidays for purposes of filing deadlines and other time calculations.

November 21, 2011

November 22, 2011

November 23, 2011 (Note: November 24 & 25, 2011 are judicial holidays)

December 27, 2011 (Note: December 26, 2011 is a judicial holiday)

December 28, 2011

December 29, 2011

December 30, 2011

January 6, 2012 (The first Friday of each month, January through June, 2012.)

February 3, 2012

March 2, 2012

April 6, 2012

May 4, 2012

June 1, 2012

There will be no staff available and no drop box service in Clearlake on the closure days. Any emergency matters or filings must be handled in Lakeport. There will be minimal staff available at the Lakeport courthouse to handle emergency matters only. For routine filings a drop box will also be available in Lakeport from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

One courtroom in Lakeport will be available to hear all mandatory last-day criminal matters, in-custody criminal arraignments, and handle other emergency matters only. All other matters will be heard on the next available court date.