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Judges and Judiciary

Apr. 29, 2020

Constitutional rights groups say lack of public access allows courts to operate in secret

Since Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye gave local judges the ability to adopt their own rules to address the impact of the virus on March 23, public access to the courts has been severely limited throughout the state.

Superior courts in Yolo, Alameda and Santa Clara counties have re-opened criminal proceedings to the public via live audio stream.

"We have worked very hard here to ensure and promote public access throughout the State of Emergency," Yolo County Presiding Judge Sam McAdam said in an email Wednesday. The court proceedings are available to the public on YouTube.

Santa Clara County announced Monday...

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