Los Angeles Times - 18.03.2020

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In an unprecedented

move, nearly all trials in Los

Angeles County will be on

hold for at least a month, but

a broad swath of services will

still be accessible to the pub-

lic when courthouses reopen

Friday, raising concerns

about safety measures.

In an order filed Tuesday,

Presiding Judge Kevin C.

Brazile said several “es-

sential functions” will con-

tinue to be processed, in-

cluding civil and family re-

straining orders, emergency

petitions for temporary con-

servatorships and guardian-

ships, arraignments, search

warrants, preliminary hear-

ings, bail and bond proc-

essing, grand jury indict-

ments and criminal jury tri-

als where there is no agree-

ment to delay the case.

Brazile’s order appeared

to be a compromise between

limiting the number of peo-

ple in courthouses — no ju-

rors or prospective jurors

were to report to any of the

county courthouses until at

least April 16 — while main-

taining core functions of the

legal system.

“This order will allow us

to comply with social dis-

tancing and to prevent the

spread of the virus within

our community,” Brazile

said in the statement.

The Times has posted

the full order online, and it

lists new extended dead-

lines. For example, any tem-

porary restraining order set

to expire will be extended by

21 days. Whereas defendants

charged with a felony previ-

ously had 48 hours to appear

before a magistrate, that

deadline is now seven days.

Ann Donlan, a court

spokeswoman, said there

will be no restrictions im-

posed on who can enter L.A.

County’s courthouses when

they reopen on Friday. Don-

lan said in an email that

some public access “may be

limited due to the need to

adhere to social distancing

of six feet in courtrooms.”

Brazile told fellow judges

in an internal memo that ad-

ministrators have ordered

60,000 8-ounce bottles of

hand sanitizer, but they will

not be available until the end

of the month. The hand sani-

tizer was to be placed in

courtrooms, jury assembly

rooms, self-help clinics and

administrative offices.

Laurie Levenson, a Loyo-

la law school professor and

former federal prosecutor,

said Brazile had “no choice”

but to slow proceedings

across the court system, and

she predicted the move

would have a long-lasting

impact on the legal system.

“We’re looking at a back-

log,” said Levenson, adding

that mistrials, a large-scale

release of defendants in cus-

tody and a drop in wide-

reaching investigations by

local law enforcement will all

be more likely in coming

weeks and months.

Levenson also antici-

pated that law enforcement

and prosecutors could be

more reluctant to bring new

cases that are not of critical

importance since Brazile’s

order limits the full function-

ing of the court apparatus.

“It’s unprecedented.

You’re going to have to ... try

to find some consistency,”

Levenson said.

The only comparable sit-

uation Levenson could think

of was when courts in Los

Angeles were effectively

frozen during the 1992 riots

that erupted after four Los

Angeles police officers were

acquitted of beating Rodney

G. King, but she said the dis-

ruptions resulting from the

virus are likely to be far more

extensive and long-lasting.

Ultimately, she said, the

county must strike a delicate

balance of protecting the

public during a health crisis

and from potentially dan-

gerous defendants.

“I don’t think the mes-

sage wants to go out that you

can commit a violent crime

and nothing is going to hap-

pen to you,” she said. “But

anything less than that, I

think you get pushed to the

back of the line.”

Trials in

county

to go on

hiatus

Courthouses will stay

open only for certain

vital services.

By Matt Hamilton

and James Queally

Renters and homeown-
ers are likely to see signifi-
cant new protections
against evictions and fore-
closures after the Los Ange-
les City Council on Tuesday
approved emergency mea-
sures to mitigate the econo-
mic effects of the novel co-
ronavirus.
At the same time, advo-
cacy groups criticized Gov.
Gavin Newsom for not doing
more to prevent Califor-
nians from losing their
homes during the pandemic.
L.A.’s plan will temporar-
ily ban evictions and late
fees, require landlords and
residential mortgage-hold-
ers to work out payment
plans with affected resi-
dents, reduce city business
taxes and create a citywide
rental assistance fund. The
measures will not take effect
immediately. Instead, the
council’s vote directs the city
attorney to draw up an emer-
gency eviction plan, which
could be finalized as soon as
March 24.
In doing so, the city
would be taking advantage
of the broad constitutional
powers that experts agree
governments have to halt
evictions in emergencies.
“The moment that we are
in is one that takes a popula-
tion of millions of people in
Los Angeles who live day-to-
day on the edge and throws
them into extreme economic
danger and distress,” said
Councilman Mike Bonin,
whose district includes
many Westside beach neigh-
borhooods. “I’m praying
there will be a national com-
prehensive response to this,
or a state one. But in the
meantime, we just got to go
because the pain is going to
be extreme.”
Some eviction protec-
tions for residents affected
by the coronavirus are al-
ready in place, created
through an executive order
Mayor Eric Garcetti issued
on Sunday.
Also Tuesday, Los Ange-
les County officials an-
nounced a moratorium on
all no-fault residential and
commercial evictions, start-
ing retroactively on March 4
and lasting until May 31.
Tenants will have six
months after the end of the

emergency proclamation to

pay for lost rent, Supervisor

Hilda Solis said.

L.A.’s push to protect vul-

nerable residents comes af-

ter Newsom called on cities

and counties to approve

temporary eviction bans. In

a statement issued with the

executive order he signed

Monday night, the governor

said no one should be forced

out of their homes because

of the coronavirus.

But Newsom’s order does

not appear to give cities and

counties much additional

authority to prevent resi-

dential evictions, and in-

stead leaves any decision to

do so up to local officials. So

far Los Angeles, San Fran-

cisco, San Jose and a hand-

ful of other cities have taken

action. Most have not.

For advocates for low-in-

come and disabled renters,

the lack of a statewide plan is

troubling. They say the gov-

ernor needs to protect all

residents.

“It’s critical, especially for

our clients that are at high

risk, that we have a uniform

policy that’s immediate that

halts evictions,” said

Navneet Grewal, a civil

rights attorney at Disability

Rights California.

The California Apart-

ment Assn., the state’s larg-

est group representing land-

lords, also wanted Newsom

to create a plan for the entire

state so that owners with

properties in multiple cities

and counties wouldn’t have

to navigate different rules.

“We would have preferred

a consistent standard,” said

Debra Carlton, an executive

vice president at the associ-

ation. Carlton said that if cit-

ies are going to pass a mora-

torium, they should follow

the guidelines the gover-

nor’s office laid out: that

eviction protections should

be limited to those affected

by the virus and that all back

rent must still be paid.

Garcetti’s executive or-

der is largely in line with

what Newsom recom-

mended. If eligible tenants

don’t pay rent, they won’t be

evicted, but their credit

could still be dinged and

eviction cases can still be

filed. And tenants still must

pay back rent within six

months after the state of

emergency expires.

The mayor’s order covers

those who become sick with

the virus or have to take care

of those who are, Angelenos

who have lost income be-

cause their workplace has

shut down or who have lost

hours at work, and parents

who must pay for child care

because many schools have

closed.

Dennis Block, a promi-

nent Los Angeles landlord

attorney, said Tuesday that

his firm still intends to pro-

ceed with evictions despite

what Garcetti announced,

saying that many tenants ar-

en’t in situations caused by

the coronavirus.

The City Council’s mea-

sure attempts to go further

by providing a ban on evic-

tions related to the nonpay-

ment of rent without requir-

ing proof of a link to the co-

ronavirus. Details for how

that would work depend on

how the measure is drafted,

and city attorneys said they

were concerned that any

measure banning evictions

outright would go beyond

the guidelines Newsom laid

out in his executive order.

The council’s plan also

wouldn’t forgive rent that’s

owed.

Government has signifi-

cant power to temporarily

ban evictions because of an

emergency, said John

Sprankling, a professor at

the University of the Pacific,

McGeorge School of Law in

Sacramento.

The more narrow the pro-

posal, such as a moratorium

that only applies to people

affected by the coronavirus

or that requires back pay-

ment of rent, the more likely

a court would approve of it,

he said. But Sprankling also

believed that courts would

also allow a blanket ban

against evicting people from

their homes without com-

pensation to landlords,

since judges have long rec-

ognized that emergencies al-

low for exemptions to consti-

tutional protections.

“There would undoubt-

edly be litigation about this,”

Sprankling said. “Some

landlords are going to lose a

significant amount of mon-

ey. But it’s pretty easy to pre-

dict that courts are going to

say they’re not entitled to

compensation from the

state.”

A broader moratorium

on evictions could help rent-

ers like Oswaldo Sanchez.

The 44-year-old is renting a

two-bedroom apartment in

South L.A. where he lives

with his wife and three chil-

dren.

Sanchez was in eviction

proceedings over a rent dis-

pute with his landlord prior

to the growing pandemic.

He’s since lost work because

of the effect of the co-

ronavirus on business and

his need to care for his chil-

dren who are at home be-

cause L.A. Unified schools

have closed.

“It’s very difficult in this

situation with children,”

Sanchez said. “It’s inhu-

mane. It’s very inhumane.”

While the city is propos-

ing that banks and other

residential mortgage hold-

ers work out payment plans

with homeowners and land-

lords, apartment owners are

concerned that the pro-

posed eviction moratorium

leaves them out.

Soledad Ursua, who pur-

chased a triplex in Venice

five years ago and lives in one

of the apartments, said she’s

worried about her mortgage

and other expenses if her

tenants stop paying rent.

The city, she said, should

do more to ensure landlords

can pay their bills too. “You

can’t just legislate on behalf

of one group of people,” said

Ursua, 35. “Everyone needs

to take a haircut.”

RACHEL CARLSON,center, and others watch Tuesday’s council meeting from a tent outside City Hall, where a television was set up.

Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times

L.A. moves to protect tenants

Council calls for a ban on evictions and the creation of a rental assistance fund

By Liam Dillon

autism support, are af-

fected.

“My gardener called this

morning and asked if he

could work,” said Pine.

Because gardeners and

small construction crews

generally work outside, they

are unlikely to pose a health

risk, he said.

San Francisco Mayor

London N. Breed an-

nounced a declaration that

would waive some civil serv-

ice and charter rules for hir-

ing health workers, includ-

ing nurses.

Typically, the city’s hiring

process for nurses takes six

months or more, she said.

The change will allow the

city to hire them “on the

spot.”

Breed told a news confer-

ence that San Francisco’s

streets were “fairly empty”

Tuesday, with fewer bikes

and cars but more people

out walking “enjoying the

outdoors.”

“So far its been OK,” she

said, “but this is day one, and

we have three weeks to go

and maybe even longer. And

it is important that people

understand we probably

need to be prepared for the

long run.”

Freeways throughout the

Bay Area bore only light traf-

fic. Parking spaces were

abundant.

At Crissy Field in San

Francisco, only a few jog-

gers, dog walkers and fam-

ilies took advantage of the

clear sunny day to go to the

beach. A lonely heron stood

in a field with the Golden

Gate Bridge in the back-

ground.

Diyar Borak, a rug store

owner from Mill Valley, was

standing on the pier, fishing

rod bent in a tight almost

half-circle. “It could be a hal-

ibut,” he said to a curious on-

looker. “I got one here a few

days ago.” He counted only

six other fishermen, a frac-

tion of those who normally

show up.

As he talked, the line

broke on his rod. “Oh, well.

maybe it was the big one,” he

said with a shrug. “I just

hope whatever it was, the

lure isn’t stuck in its mouth.

We don’t need anyone or

anything else getting sick

right now.”

In the East Bay city of

Walnut Creek, the normally

bustling downtown was

mostly deserted Tuesday, as

were shopping districts in

Oakland and the South Bay.

Palo Alto’s University Av-

enue was a ghost town. All

nonessential shops were

closed, and restaurants

were empty. The only visible

lunch eaters were two sitting

outside a Pizza My Heart.

Businesses and residents

are subject to citation for

violating the order, but

elected officials said law en-

forcement was much more

likely to issue warnings than

citations.

Still, the threat of a sanc-

tion proved effective in some

cases.

Janine Hedlund, 37, a

hairstylist in Lafayette,

texted clients Tuesday that

she was canceling their ap-

pointments.

“What if somebody sees

me doing hair and then call

the police on me?” she said.

“I want to abide by the

rules.”

If Palo Alto police see a

group of 20 construction

workers huddled together,

they plan to issue a gentle re-

minder, not a citation, said

Mayor Adrian Fine.

The San Francisco Police

Department tweeted over-

night that it would visit bars

and nightclubs to ensure

they were shut down.

Businesses that deemed

themselves essential in-

cluded Menlo Park’s Abbey

Flooring, which reduced

hours. Bow Wow Meow, a

high-end pet product and

grooming shop, also had its

doors open.

“We provide pet products

and services that people

need,” said Amy Bearg, an

executive assistant at the

shop’s anchor store in San

Francisco, describing serv-

ices such as anal gland ex-

pression and hot spot shav-

ing. “For some animals,

these services are essential,”

she said.

No region statewide has

been hit harder by the co-

ronavirus than the San

Francisco Bay Area.

As of Tuesday evening,

authorities had reported 356

cases and six deaths in the

counties where shelter-in-

place orders were issued

Monday — Alameda, Contra

Costa, Marin, San Fran-

cisco, San Mateo and Santa

Clara, as well as the neigh-

boring county of Santa Cruz.

Overnight, the number of

cases rose from 138 to 155 in

Santa Clara County, from 42

to 64 in San Mateo County

and from 40 to 43 in San

Francisco.

Five of the deaths were in

Santa Clara County, all peo-

ple who were in their 50s or

older. One death was in San

Mateo County.

Bay Area learning new way of life

A DOCTOR in San Francisco talks to a homeless

man about the risks from the coronavirus.

Josh EdelsonAFP/Getty images

[Bay Area, from B1]