PSPS adds to the challenges of scheduling jury trials and preliminary hearings

I will be doing separate posts on Patricio Segura's and Mark Dare jury trials. Both are currently scheduled to be long, full day trials which may end up being longer and the rescheduling is not as simple as shuffling dates.

Under normal circumstances, defendants refuse to pull their time waiver or enter a limited time waiver; in custody defendants get priority; there are only so many courtrooms and when you have several trials back to back and expert witnesses and interpreter schedules to accomodate; court management does a great job getting trials out and scheduling preliminary hearings. Throw in the two recent PSPS and the unpredictability of future PSPS and the upcoming holidays; right now scheduling and planning for jury trials is a challenge.

Courtroom 5 has the Ray Christie trial. Segura, Dare were scheduled to start on November 4 and were rescheduled. Chad Smith's third jury trial is scheduled to start November 18 and there are already two homicide trials scheduled. Humboldt Superior Court Operations Manager Kelly Nyberg told the attorneys in the Segura and Dare cases that "if anything else goes" their jury trials will be shortened to half days. This will extend the period for jurors during holidays. Summons have to go out, jury services has to plan for hardship questionnaires.

Two courtrooms are needed to call the calendar, do arraignments, interventions and preliminary hearings. That leaves two courtrooms for other jury trials or preliminary hearings.

There will probably be a lot of continuances and rescheduling in the upcoming months.