COVID-19 is Not an Excuse: Courts Must Hold Preliminary Hearings Within 60 Days of Arraignment

COVID-19 is Not an Excuse: Courts Must Hold Preliminary Hearings Within 60 Days of Arraignment The question before the court in Lacayo v. Superior Court was whether there were such “extraordinary circumstances” presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic to justify “good cause” for continuance of the defendant’s preliminary hearing beyond the 60-Day Rule. On February 24, 2020, Defendant Kareem Lacayo (“Lacayo”) was arraigned on charges for possession of a firearm…

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8,000 California Inmates Could be Released by August—Are you or your loved one eligible?

8,000 California Inmates Could be Released by August—Are you or your loved one eligible? As we mentioned at the beginning of the pandemic in California, the state’s justice system has implemented unprecedented protocols in an attempt to quell the surge in COVID-19 cases among incarcerated inmates by releasing 3,500 California inmates within 60 days.   The Los Angeles Times reported on July 10, 2020—that as many as 8,000 California prisoners…

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