Fresno County courts shut down due to coronavirus concerns. What’s it mean for Muhammad trial?

Fresno County shut down all its courts except for emergency functions in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Presiding Judge Arlan Harrell said in an email sent Sunday to court staff that the closure will be in effect through Friday, April 3.

All cases will stop for now but the court will remain open for certain emergency orders, such as search warrants and domestic violence restraining orders.

Jurors in ongoing cases will be required to return to court once it reopens on Monday, April 6. That includes jurors in the death penalty case of Kori Muhammad, who is accused of killing four men in April 2017. After several weeks of testimony from witnesses, police and psychologists, the jury had just begun deliberating on Friday.

His defense attorney Richard Beshwate Jr. said it’s difficult to determine what effect this will have on the jury.

“I’m concerned that the delay may be longer than anticipated, which could then impact the case,” Beshwate said. “I’m hopeful that we can resume as soon as possible, but I’ve been been quite concerned of this possibility for several weeks.

Courthouses in the central San Joaquin Valley have been scaling back operations since California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-in-place order was issued Thursday. Courthouses in Tulare, Kings and Merced and the U.S. District Court in Fresno have all taken measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.

“I take this action to reduce the health risk to court users, court personnel, and court officers after consulting the Executive Committee and the supervising judges of the various divisions of the Court,” Harrell wrote. “I, moreover, weighed the constitutional rights of all litigants to due process against the risk posed by the novel coronavirus to the safety and health of all concerned.”

The temporary closure comes as the number of cases in the state and in Fresno County continues to rise. As of Sunday, there were 1,605 cases in the state and 30 deaths. In the county, health officials have recorded six cases and no deaths.

Attorneys’ concerns

Defense attorneys and district attorneys had shared their concern about the potential spread amid crowded courtrooms.

“I am very relieved to hear the news of the closure,” said Amy Cobb, deputy district attorney.

Defense attorney Eric Schweitzer has been advocating for closing the courts in light of the coronavirus, calling the situation unsafe for lawyers, court staff, the public and inmates.

“I support Judge Harrell’s decision to declare closure until such times as better safety measures may be installed,” Schweitzer said.

In an email to its justice partners, Harrell said the court would be open for nearly a dozen limited emergency matters, including domestic violence restraining orders, search warrants and emergency writs regarding COVID-19 emergency measures.

Harrell’s order makes it clear that jurors are not released from jury service by the temporary closure. Jurors will be notified when and where to return.

In the meantime, the court and its partners will work on developing technology and procedures for moving forward after the closure.

Other counties

Courts in Tulare, Kings and Merced counties have recently stepped up their plans for protecting against the highly contagious virus.

In Kings County all criminal trials with or without time waivers will be continued 30 days, from March 18 through April 17. The same goes for all civil trials and traffic hearings. All customer service counters inside the courthouse will be closed to the public. The court will operate two exterior service windows to handle court business.

Tulare County is continuing all matters in Departments 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, or 13 in the Visalia Division from Monday, March 23 to Thursday, March 27. Cases in Department 14 in the Visalia Division will be continued for three weeks.

Also starting on Monday, Merced County Superior Court will only handle essential matters. The clerk’s offices will be closed to the public, excluding essential filings, including restraining orders, emergency petitions and emergency ex-parte requests. If you do not have to be at the courthouse, don’t go, court officials said.

The Merced County Superior Court is disinfecting a courtroom after a a Merced police officer living in Madera County tested positive for coronavirus and was present during a case. It was declared a mistrial.

Madera County court officials are expected to announce additional changes, as well.

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This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 4:17 PM.