Bench Bar Meeting: December 7, 2022
Rick Gazipura, SCCBA Director at Large and Bench Bar Liaison, submits his report from the Bench Bar meeting.
12/7/2022, BENCH BAR MEETING
Judge Volkmann
Thanks to Alex Calvo for his many years of work at the court.
Civil jury trials have been happening for the last several months. There is not a backlog; cases are set for trial every week from now until November 2023.
Prior to Covid there was a resolution rate of 92%. That rate is now 89%, so only a slight drop off.
The Court is down two judges: Judge Marigonda and Judge Gallagher’s positions need to be filled. However, it took ten months to replace Judge Salazar after he retired.
At this time, Judge Volkmann is doing civil trials and hearings. Visiting Judge Carter has also been a great help to the Court.
The Court is still conducting judicial mediations. They are free and are currently booked into April. However, there may be some openings in Dept. 10 prior to that time.
The Court’s two research attorneys have retired and have been replaced by Madeline Myers and Julia Hill.
Alex Calvo
Alex Calvo is retiring as court executive officer as of December 16th. At today’s meeting he expressed his gratitude to everyone and noted how special it was that attorneys and judges in Santa Cruz worked together to tackle important issues. Mr. Calvo started his career as a clerk in Santa Cruz County in 1989.
Sasha Morgan
Ms. Morgan will be taking over as court executive officer.
On December 23rd the Court will close at noon. The counters will close at 11:30 AM and the phones will be off at noon. Civil ex partes must be filed by 11, and then will be heard at that time.
Family ex partes should be filed by 9 AM
On January 1, 2023, there will be new local rules in effect, including new rules re: civil ex parte