The Sacramento Superior Court is preparing to resume new criminal jury trials on June 15th at the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse in downtown Sacramento. Trials in the building were temporarily suspended in order to comply with physical distancing measures during the COVID-19 outbreak in California. Some court business has been conducted online since that time.
Criminal trials will be pre-assigned every Wednesday with a calendar of the assigned trials and the respective departments posted on the SSC media home page. Click here to get to that page.
Courthouse officials say there will be a limited number of people allowed in the building and seating in the courtrooms will be extremely limited, and they say some hearings will continue to be live-streamed to the public. Anyone interested in sitting in on criminal jury trials and certain sentencing hearings will have to go through a lottery process to get a seat in the courtroom. You have submit an email request to the SSC public information officer by 4:00 p.m. on the prior Friday. That's when the lottery drawing will take place, and those selected will be notified.
Due to state orders regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the general public is restricted from entering the Schaber Facility, and only those involved in the court process or selected in the lottery will places on a list approved visitors. People will be screened at the building entrance, where you'll be required to provide deputies with your name and the reason for being there. Everyone going into the courthouse will also be required to wear face masks and have their temperature taken. That policy will remain in effect as long as the state and county shelter in place and other COVID-19 safety orders are in place.