LA County’s courts are struggling to recover after a cyberattack. What to do if you have a court date

L.A. County’s courts reopened Tuesday, but some court functions remain limited.

People are being warned to expect delays and appear in person if possible.

Alphonse Provinziano, a senior trial attorney at Provinziano & Associates in Beverly Hills that focuses exclusively on family law, told LAist the issues have been pretty extreme and it’s been a “very challenging” week so far.

“This is affecting people's real lives and their ability to handle very sensitive issues,” he said.

Going in person?

If you have jury duty this week (July 22 – July 26), you can now register and check the status of your service online through the MyJuryDuty Portal or by calling (213) 972-0970, court officials announced Wednesday evening.

All 36 courthouses are open for business, and if you were scheduled to appear Wednesday, it should proceed as planned.

If you’re planning to appear in person, give yourself plenty of time. Provinziano said one of their firm’s attorneys had to park five blocks away from the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown L.A. and ended up being about a half hour late to a hearing.

The long line to get into the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Thursday, July 25.

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Courtesy of Provinziano & Associates

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The line outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown L.A. wraps around the building and onto the sidewalk on Thursday, July 25.

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Courtesy of Provinziano & Associates

)

“Which they totally understood, because there was a huge backup of people waiting to get into the courthouse, which was only compounded by the fact that you couldn't file things electronically,” he said.

If you need to be at the courthouse by 8:30 a.m., for example, he recommends getting there at least 45 minutes in advance.

What about remote appearances and electronic filing?

Court officials said remote appearances are available through Webex for juvenile, criminal, mental health, and appellate cases as of Wednesday evening.

Remote appearances are also available for civil cases, including small claims and unlawful detainers. Court officials announced Friday morning that LACourtConnect is now available for family law, probate, and traffic cases.

Electronic filing was working once again for all documents in civil cases as of early Wednesday afternoon. But it's still unavailable for CARE Court, family law, juvenile dependency, or probate cases.

How are people dealing with this?

Overall, Provinziano said these issues have upended how the system has been operating as remote appearances and electronic filing became more common, and efficient, in a post-pandemic world.

For example, a mother they’ve been working with wasn’t able to come to court in person Tuesday and see what happened with her case because of child care and distance issues.

“They're needing to seek spousal support, child support, attorney's fees, child custody orders, and they've already waited maybe 20 to 60 days to have their hearings from when they filed it, and now they're going to have to wait additional time,” he said. “Anytime you have justice delayed it can feel like justice denied, because you're not getting those orders that you need.”

What’s next?

Provinziano expects the impacts to be felt for at least a couple of weeks, if not months. However, he noted court officials are working to bring services back online “immediately because they know that they need to.”

Court officials say you can find the most up-to-date information through its Temporary Information Center, which has been updated with green, yellow, and red dots to visualize which services are working and which ones aren’t. You can also find updates on the official Instagram and X accounts.

What's working and what's not

Courthouses: The 36 courthouses are open for business 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Court staff will be available to answer questions.

Remote appearances:

• As of Friday morning, court officials said remote appearances are available for all areas that use LACourtConnect, including the Civil, Family law, Probate, and Traffic departments.
• WebEx, which is used for Criminal, Appellate, Mental Health, and Juvenile departments, is available.

Electronic recording: If a courtroom uses this system for capturing the court record, it should be available for use.

Jury duty: Check your summons! If you have jury duty this week (July 22 – July 26), you can now register and check the status of your service online through the MyJuryDuty Portal or by calling (213) 972-0970, court officials announced Wednesday evening.

Restraining orders: You can file Temporary Restraining Orders in person at any Family Law Clerk’s Office throughout Los Angeles County. However, you will need to submit it in person. Electronically filed Temporary Restraining Orders won’t be accepted, court officials said Thursday.

Electronic filing: Electronic filing was working once again for all documents in civil cases, but it's still unavailable for CARE Court, Family law, Juvenile Dependency, or Probate cases.

Call centers: Available during normal business hours, but some were experiencing connection issues Thursday. See the list ▶

Self-Help centers: Opened Tuesday. These centers help people self-representing in court. Find them here ▶

Court's website: Most pages on www.lacourt.org are available now. Court officials say others should work again "over the next few days as the remainder of the Court’s systems are brought back online."