Alameda County Superior Court Announces the Opening of an Early Disposition Court to Address COVID-related Backlog in Misdemeanor Cases

Alameda County Superior Court will begin an Early Disposition Program (EDP) designed to address the backlog in criminal cases due largely to the operational challenges resulting from the COVID pandemic. The EDP will be funded under an allocation plan approved by the Judicial Council of California and will be leveraged in conjunction with the Temporary Assigned Judges Program that will provide additional judicial and staff resources to address COVID-related delays in criminal cases as the court reduces reliance on emergency orders and continuances. 

Ultimately, the program hopes to open two court locations within the Alameda County Superior Court system: one handling misdemeanor cases, and the other handling lower-level felony matters. The first of these Early Disposition Courts (EDC) is scheduled to open and begin operations on April 11, 2022, in Department 113 of the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse (WWM) located in Oakland, California. The court will be presided over by the Hon. Gloria Rhynes (ret.) and will be devoted entirely to reducing the backlog of misdemeanor cases throughout the county. Appropriate misdemeanor matters will be calendared in the WWM Early Disposition Court, either at the initiation of criminal proceedings, or based upon the age of unresolved misdemeanor matters.

The EDP represents a unique opportunity to address COVID-related backlogs, thereby promoting more efficient access to our courts for our justice partners, and most importantly, the communities we serve.       
Further program details will follow soon.

For more court updates, visit the ACBA Blog.