Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye told state lawmakers Tuesday that court leaders want to be a "better partner" in addressing the state's homelessness crisis, a top issue among Californians and capital politicians.

In her annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature, Cantil-Sakauye said she will appoint a working group to investigate whether surplus court properties can be repurposed as housing. The appointees—not yet named—will also consider whether specialty court programs aimed at helping the homeless should be reorganized and whether temporary assigned judges can help local courts with cases related to homelessness.

"Because we three branches work together, our courts have become more than a place to resolve disputes," Cantil-Sakauye said in prepared remarks released shortly before her address. "They have also become a place for social justice."

The initiative is not a surprise. In an appearance at the Public Policy Institute of California in December, the chief justice told a Sacramento audience that she was pondering ways the judicial branch could help ease the homelessness problem, including potentially opening up courthouses at night as shelters. Cantil-Sakauye did not advance that specific idea on Tuesday.

The U.S. Supreme Court just weeks ago turned down a chance to address how cities are confronting the nationwide plight of homelessness. Several California cities filed friend-of-the-court briefs backing the petitioner, Boise, Idaho, represented by lawyers from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The firm Jones Day filed a brief on behalf of seven cities in Orange County, and the Los Angeles city attorney submitted a brief as well.

In a relatively brief speech that ran about 15 minutes, Cantil-Sakauye made only brief mention of the other issue roiling state politics, the COVID-19 outbreak. Court leaders around the state have been grappling with how to maintain operations while reported cases rise and at least one county has banned large-scale gatherings.

"We know we can rely on our California leaders in all three branches to keep our heads during the coronavirus epidemic to take all necessary action to protect our residents," she said.

On Tuesday, the superior court in Placer County, home of the first COVID-19 fatality in California, announced it has expanded the types of hearings where parties can appear by telephone. The court also reduced the number of appointments and workshops available to unrepresented litigants.

Two of the state's six appellate courts have also posted notices encouraging anyone concerned about health issues to consider arranging for oral arguments by teleconference.

The state Supreme Court has said in a statement that it is monitoring information about the virus and will continue normal operations.

In her speech, the chief justice touched on her past criticism of federal immigration "interference" at state courthouses. She did not, however, mention U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in and around state courthouses in Sonoma, San Francisco and Fresno counties.

Cantil-Sakauye turned instead to court programs, such as a human traffic prevention court, funded by the Legislature through so-called innovation grants, and work on alternatives to the state's cash-bail system.

The chief justice also highlighted state leaders' recent apology to Japanese Americans for helping the U.S. government send them to internment camps during World War II and noted that her husband's parents had been detained. She also praised Associate Justice Ming Chin, who announced in January that he will retire this summer.

"I dwell on Ming's life because he personifies the integrity and intellect of our nearly 2,000 judicial officers and approximately 20,000 court employees," she said. "Justice Chin is a jurist without parallel."