On or about January 29, 2021, Eric C. Taylor, the presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Court system, asked Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, to reprioritize vaccinations.
Presiding Judge Taylor asked Dr Ferrer to continue to provide safe access to justice by prioritizing vaccinations for the 5,000 court employees and judicial officers, as well as the 2,500 justice partners that work every day in the 38 court houses.
“The Court has worked tirelessly to keep the doors of justice open in furtherance of our commitment and duty to uphold constitutional, statutory, and legislative mandates as the third branch of government in our democracy…, said Taylor. “We have been fortunate to work with you and our County’s Department of Public Health to ensure that we conduct court proceedings and business safely. To that end, we have drastically reduced foot traffic in our courthouses, moved court operations and proceedings to remote formats where lawful and permissible, issued Emergency Orders to delay many proceedings and jury trials, implemented social distancing, mandatory use of face masks and other safety protocols, retrofitted our facilities with plexiglass and hand sanitizer stations, and greatly enhanced our facilities’ sanitization services. Nonetheless, the hardworking essential workers of our Court must continue to carry out many of their duties in-person.”
Taylor made the request after both the state of California and the and Los Angeles County announced last week that court worker vaccinations would be further delayed due to a change in the vaccination prioritization list, placing persons 65 and over above the Category 1C workers.
As of today’s date (February 6, 2021), there has been no update from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health nor the Los Angeles County Court system.