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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Court Executive Officer Krista LeVier told Lake County News that the court has submitted a request for an emergency order from California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.
As it works to adjust its operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, LeVier said the court has received new guidance and recommendations from Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace regarding jury trials “which we are attempting to put in place as quickly as possible.”
One of the new recommendations that LeVier said Pace gave the Superior Court is to consider conducting jury selection for trials at an offsite location.
The request Presiding Superior Court Judge Michael Lunas made to Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye is under the auspices of Government Code section 68115, which covers judicial emergencies and would allow for proceedings to be held in a location other than the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
Government Code section 6811 states, “When war, insurrection, pestilence, or other public calamity, or the danger thereof, or the destruction of or danger to the building appointed for holding the court, renders it necessary, or when a large influx of criminal cases resulting from a large number of arrests within a short period of time threatens the orderly operation of a superior court location or locations within a county,” the presiding judge may ask the chair of the Judicial Council – in this case, the chief justice – for permission to hold proceedings in other locations, transfer cases to adjacent counties, extend judicial timelines and other measures.
“The request is to provide authority to extend trial deadlines under Penal Code section 1382 up to 30 days,” LeVier said.
Penal Code section 1382 sets California’s speedy trial rules, which include bringing defendants in criminal cases to trial within 60 days of arraignment or indictment, or in misdemeanor or infraction cases, within 30 days of arraignment or entry of plea.
“The court has an obligation and duty to protect the defendants right to a jury trial, while at the same time taking all reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of transmission of COVID-19,” LeVier said.
To that end, she said the court has been working closely with Dr. Pace and Public Health throughout its response to the pandemic, which included a shutdown in March, the adoption of video conferencing and a return to some in-person proceedings in the months since.
Emergency orders the Judicial Council issued in March allowed courts to put off trials for several months by extending the constitutional right to a speedy trial by 90 days. The Judicial Council cleared courts to resume trials in June.
The court, under the leadership of Lunas and LeVier, has implemented numerous health and safety measures including masking, social distancing signage and taping off seats in courtrooms, hand sanitizer dispensers, rearranging the public window and computer kiosk at the court clerk’s office, and video conferencing in order to protect staff and members of the public.
In court this week, Lake County News observed all court staff, District Attorney’s Office personnel, attorneys, defendants and members of the public wearing masks and observing social distancing in adherence to the rules, although the tables for defendants and prosecutors were not being wiped down between cases.
Even though the court has tried to minimize the size of groups in courtrooms at any one time, several local attorneys told Lake County News that fluctuating caseloads have made it challenging to enforce social distancing. They described scenarios where as many as two dozen people were in a courtroom at once, and other times just a handful.
The court had planned to begin trials on July 8 but, up until this week, all of the cases had been resolved or rescheduled, LeVier told Lake County News.
“The court has been reviewing our plan to conduct jury trials with Dr. Pace for some time. In recent discussions, Dr. Pace recommended some additional precautions that the court could consider in an effort to make the jury trial process as safe as possible for all involved,” LeVier said.
Those recommendations included the offsite jury selection, which has for years been a challenge in the cramped quarters of the Lake County Courthouse’s fourth floor. In past jury selections, the size of juror pools required that jury selection take place downstairs in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers.
In June, the Judicial Council’s Pandemic Continuity of Operations Working Group issued a resource guide that suggested – among other adaptations such as using technology for juror prescreening and reworking jury assembly procedures to allow for smaller pools – that jury selection could be moved from courthouses to offsite locations that accommodate larger groups.
As for moving to another location, “The court has begun investigating that possibility; however that will take time to accomplish,” LeVier said.
With jury trials scheduled to go forward on Wednesday, Aug. 19, LeVier said it was not possible to get the new measures suggested by Pace in place in time.
That led to the court’s submission of the emergency order request, LeVier said.
“The Judicial Council staff indicated it might be a day or two before we have a response from the chief,” LeVier said Wednesday.
More information about the court’s operations can be found on its website.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A massive illegal cannabis operation that included more than 51,000 plants was eradicated last week following the service of search warrants by state and local officials.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, wildlife officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with support from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Food and Agriculture and other allied agencies, served a search warrant spanning two parcels in the Scotts Valley area of Lakeport in Lake County.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the warrant stemmed from an investigation involving environmental damage associated with illegal commercial cannabis cultivation. The operation involved personnel from six separate agencies.
A records check confirmed that neither of the parcels were licensed by the state for commercial cannabis cultivation.
On the site, officers and staff eradicated 51,799 illegal cannabis plants, confiscated seven firearms, seized over $27,000 in cash and documented approximately 40 Fish and Game Code crimes.
Violations included garbage piled up near various waterways, numerous unpermitted water diversions, illegal grading of the landscape resulting in sediment discharge and stockpiles of chemicals near waterways, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife report.
One cultivation site was built over an existing stream resulting in a modified channel into a ditch with polluted water.
Each violation alone can have a detrimental environmental impact but combined, are degrading entire watersheds at the expense of California's diverse fish, wildlife and plant resources.
Twenty-six individuals were detained during the operation including two minors – a 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy.
Criminal charges will be filed with the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
No further information on the case was available on Wednesday.
CDFW encourages the public to report environmental crimes such as water pollution, water diversions and poaching to the CalTIP hotline by calling (888) 334-2258 or texting information to “TIP411” (847411).
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Altogether, seven fires were set in a two-hour period late on Wednesday afternoon and early in the evening, according to Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office
Van Patten said that at 4:55 p.m. Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a fire on South Dora Street near the intersection of Fircrest Drive in Ukiah.
As deputies were arriving at the scene, a separate fire was reported on Gobalet Lane near South Street Street approximately a mile and a half to the south, Van Patten said.
At that time, Van Patten said the deputies saw another fire on Highway 253 near South State Street, approximately half a mile to the south.
Van Patten said deputies began providing evacuation warnings to the public in these areas when another fire was reported on Plant Road near Taylor Drive in the approximate area of the fires on Gobalet Lane and Highway 253.
As deputies were contacting the public they learned several people had seen a person who they believed was intentionally starting the fires, Van Patten said.
Van Patten said the male subject was described as a Native American or Hispanic adult male with a ponytail, wearing black clothing and riding a bicycle.
Deputies began searching the area for the person with the assistance of the Ukiah Police Department, California Highway Patrol, County of Mendocino Marijuana Enforcement Team and Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force, Van Patten said.
For approximately two hours, several people matching the person's description were contacted by law enforcement personnel but Van Patten the contacts did not yield the person suspected of committing the acts of arson.
During the two-hour period, there were three additional fires with two being located at the end of Airport Park Boulevard and one being located on Babcock Lane near the Talmage bridge, Van Patten said.
Personnel from Cal Fire, the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority and Hopland Fire Department responded quickly to each fire scene, Van Patten said.
Just before 7 p.m., Cal Fire issued a call for an immediate need strike team from Lake County to respond to Mendocino County to assist with the firefighting effort, according to scanner traffic.
Once arriving, Van Patten said firefighters were able to quickly contain the spread of the fires and were successful in extinguishing them.
Van Patten said Mendocino County Sheriff's detectives are continuing investigations into the fires, which at this time are believed to be acts of arson.
He said investigators are asking for the public's assistance in identifying the person who is believed to have set the fires.
If anyone living in the following areas has security camera footage of the outside of their home depicting the responsible subject, during the time frame of 4:50 p.m. to 6:57 p.m. on Wednesday, they are asked to contact the Sheriff's Office Tipline by calling 707-234-2100.
Van Patten said the areas of interest for security camera footage are:
– South Dora Street from Fircrest Drive to Meadowbrook Drive;
– Fircrest Drive to South State Street;
– Oak Knoll Road to South State Street;
– Fairview Court to South State Street;
– South State Street from Fircrest to Highway 253;
– Gobalet Lane;
– Plant Road;
– Airport Park Boulevard;
– Babcock Lane.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The U.S. Census Bureau said this week that it has begun following up with households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. Door-to-door visits are now taking place nationwide.
Based on the current self-response rate of 63.3 percent, the Census Bureau estimates it will need to visit about 56 million addresses to collect responses in person.
Up to 500,000 census takers across the country will go door to door to assist people in responding to the 2020 Census.
You may still be able to avoid a door-to-door visit by completing your census today.
Your response determines funding for health programs and services that your community relies on to stay healthy. It’s just nine easy questions.
Call 844-330-2020, go to www.my2020census.gov or mail back your survey if you received one. Everyone should respond.
Don’t have reliable internet access? Visit a local questionnaire assistance kiosk or questionnaire assistance center to complete your 2020 Census online. Computers or tablets with internet access are available, private and secure. Masking, social distancing, and extra cleaning precautions are being taken to ensure public safety at these locations.
At questionnaire assistance kiosks, equipment is set up for you to use on your own. If you have questions, you may want to visit a questionnaire assistance center.
A local questionnaire assistance kiosk is available at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Local questionnaire assistance centers can be found at the following locations:
– Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday.
– Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake; 10 a.m. t o5 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday.
– Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St. Please call 707-987-3674 to schedule a time.
Library staff at the questionnaire assistance centers can answer questions from the public regarding how to complete the 2020 Census, such as who is considered a household member.