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LA County Superior Court to reopen after cyber attack
LA County Jul 23, 2024
The superior court building in downtown Los Angeles. | Photo courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
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The Los Angeles County Superior Court was scheduled to reopen Tuesday after after a ransomware attack first detected on Friday.
According to an announcement of the reopening Monday, the attack left most of the court’s internal and external computer systems inaccessible. While many technology functions have been restored, some are either operating with limited functionality or still offline.
“I am grateful to the countless court staff who worked tirelessly over the past 96 hours since the attack was first detected to bring many of our network systems back online and ensure the largest trial court in the nation is able to reopen for business,” LA County Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said in a statement. “The decision to close the Court yesterday was not a decision we took lightly, but in this instance, was necessary in order to restore the integrity of our systems before we reopened our doors to court users. The Court will not function fully and completely tomorrow but promising and steady progress continues to be made ensuring that we will recover from this attack and restore access to justice for the millions of court users that rely on the Court. I am confident that collectively, we will emerge from this incident stronger and more secure than ever.”
Staff members of the Court’s Technology Services Division restored the integrity of the court’s network and brought back online many systems and services, including case management systems, officials said. Court staff and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and partners the Governor’s Office of Emergency Management is investigating the attack.
“Due to the sensitivity of the investigation, the Court will not comment further on the specifics of the ransomware attack at this time,” according to the court’s announcement.
As the court heads back toward normal operations, court users should expect delays, officials said.
“The court requests patience with court staff and judicial officers as they endeavor to provide meaningful access to justice with limited functionality,” according to the announcement. “It is also recommended that litigants and court users without a matter on calendar tomorrow or who do not have an urgent need for immediate assistance consider visiting the Court next week.”
The court provided additional information on the status of specific court functions for Tuesday, July 23.
Courthouses and clerks’ offices
All 36 courthouses and clerks’ offices countywide will be open Tuesday during normal business hours, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with court staff available to help court users and answer questions.
Court proceedings
Court proceedings scheduled for July 23 will occur in some capacity. Litigants or their attorneys with proceedings that did not happen on Friday, July 19, or Monday, July 22, will receive notice of a continuance date from the court.
Remote appearances unavailable for civil, family law and probate cases
The connectivity issues from last week’s ransomware attack caused remote appearances to be unavailable Tuesday in civil, family law and probate cases.
“Parties with cases on calendar today in Civil, Family Law and Probate departments are instructed to appear in person if possible,” court officials said in a statement Tuesday. “Matters in which parties do not appear in person will be continued and parties will be notified of a continuance date by the Court.”
Electronic recording
The court’s electronic recording system will be used in courtrooms where that is the method of capturing the verbatim record.
Jury duty
People scheduled for jury duty the week of July 22-26 and whose Group Number is 1, 2, 3, 4, 87 or 97 must report at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 23, to the courthouse listed on their summons. If the Group Number is not listed above, jurors do not need to report to the courthouse on Tuesday. The Group Number is located just below the barcodes on a juror summons.
The Court’s Jury Duty Portal was expected to be back online Tuesday. Jurors whose service week is July 22-26 should follow the instructions on their summons and for reporting instructions call 213-972- 0970 or visit lacourt.org/jury.
Restraining orders
The court will accept temporary restraining order filing in person at any family law clerk’s office in LA County.
Electronic filing
Electronic filing is still available for filing case initiating documents only. Electronic filing of subsequent documents in existing cases remains inaccessible.
Call centers
The court’s call centers will be available during normal business hours. A list of call centers and their associated numbers are available on the court’s website.
Self-help centers
The Court’s Self-Help Centers will be open tomorrow to assist self-represented litigants in person. The court’s website has a location list of Self-Help Centers.
Court website
Certain pages of the Court’s website are available, while others will return online over the next several days.
Updated July 23, 2024, 8:51 a.m.
