Martin Hoshino, administrative director of the Judicial Council. Courtesy photo

The Judicial Council is poised to repeal three emergency rules adopted this spring as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered courtrooms around the state.

The council late Monday released a circulating order that would sunset a freeze on evictions and judicial foreclosures later this summer. A second order would rescind on June 20 a temporary schedule that set bail at $0.

The council will also consider recommending that Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye repeal her order extending the deadline for defendants to be arraigned beyond 48 hours.

"These rules achieved their goals—to reduce harm, save lives and help 'flatten the curve' of the pandemic," Martin Hoshino, administrative director of the Judicial Council, said in a statement. "As a result, 51 California counties and our courthouses have started a phased, safe reopening. A statewide rule no longer serves our need to be flexible and responsive based on local health conditions."

The targeted rules are among 13 adopted hurriedly by the Judicial Council this spring as statewide stay-at-home orders forced court employees, jurors, judges, lawyers and litigants out of courts. An unprecedented executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 27 freed judicial branch leaders from traditional restrictions on their statutory authority.

The rules staying evictions and judicial foreclosures were scheduled to stay in effect until 90 days after the governor lifts the pandemic-related state of emergency. The circulating order would end those rules Aug. 3. With courts reopening, judges have more time to handle nonurgent matters, according to a Judicial Council statement.

"Housing policy decisions are usually left to the state Legislature, which was unable to hold sessions during the statewide shelter-in-place order," said Monterey County Superior Court Judge Marla Anderson, who chairs the Judicial Council's legislation committee. "With the Legislature back in session, lawmakers can address any measures needed to protect the homes and businesses of those affected by the pandemic."

Newsom in March signed an executive order authorizing local governments to halt evictions of renters and homeowners who can document pandemic-related hardships. Pending state legislation would pay landlords 80% of rental payments missed by tenants affected by the pandemic, so long as the tenants are not evicted from their homes.

Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, criticized the council's proposed repeal of eviction protections, saying in a statement that "the emergency is not over."

"Allowing renters to be forced from their homes will not only put countless Californians at risk of homelessness, but also threaten the public health of all communities," Chiu said in a statement issued Tuesday. "While the Legislature should step in to address these issues, removing protections for renters and homeowners months before legislative solutions are agreed upon and take effect is ill-conceived and will result in a rush to evict.

The second circulating order would drop the $0 bail schedule, which was originally imposed to reduce jail populations and the spread of COVID-19. Judicial Council staff say the state is expected to begin transferring convicted inmates to jails once again by June 19, easing crowding concerns.

"We urge local courts to continue to use the emergency COVID-19 bail schedules where necessary to protect the health of the community, the courts, and the incarcerated," said Justice Marsha Slough of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, who chairs the executive and planning committee.

Sheriffs around the state have accused the $0 bail schedule of creating a revolving door at local jails.

Council members have until June 10 to vote on the circulating orders.

Read more:

'How Do We Exit?' Judicial Council's Leader Ponders Post-Pandemic Court Operations

Judicial Council Adopts Emergency COVID-19 Rules on Civil Deadlines, Bail

Governor Gives California Chief Justice 'Unprecedented' Authority to Address Pandemic