Kern — STO-19-0004

Source: https://www.kern.courts.ca.gov/system/files/general/kcsc_standing_order_expressive_activity_1.pdf

Sparse pages use OCR; original PDF remains authoritative.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FILED SUPERIOR COURT OF CA, COUNTY OF KERN NOV 14 2019 fi wb ren, SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF KERN STANDING ORDER RE: EXPRESSIVE | MISCELLANEOUS NO.:_ G71 O~‘ 4-0 004 ACTIVITY By Order of the Presiding Judge: It is the purpose and intent of the Court in issuing this Standing Order to ensure the safe and orderly use of court facilities; to minimize activities which unreasonably disrupt, interrupt, or interfere with the orderly and peaceable conduct of court business in a neutral forum free of actual or perceived partiality, bias, prejudice, or favoritism; to provide for the fair and orderly conduct of hearings and trials; to promote the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on sidewalks and streets around court facilities; and to maintain proper judicial decorum. The Court further issues this Standing Order to facilitate safe, peaceful, and orderly public access to courthouses unhindered by threats, confrontation, interference, noise pollution, or harassment that may be directed at court users including but not limited to those court users waiting in line outside a courthouse. The Court intends this Standing Order to be enforced in a content-neutral fashion. The STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 1

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Order regulates only conduct occurring in and around court facilities without regard to the content of any particular message, idea, or form of speech. The Court does not intend to ban all expressive activities from the environs surrounding court facilities and intends that this Order be construed so as to provide for ample alternative channels for communication of information near but not within court facilities nor on courthouse grounds. (See Comfort v. MacLaughlin (C.D. Cal. 2006) 473 F.Supp.2d 1026). THE COURT HEREBY ORDERS: i. Demonstrations, Distributions, Solicitation, and Other Expressive Activity a. Definitions: 1; Prohibited 5 1 21 1 3 3 661 885 119 31 95.264061 Activity shall mean the acts of demonstrating, protesting, gathering, picketing, parading, proselytizing or preaching, posting written materials, distributing literature or other materials to the general public, recording or broadcasting (other than news media recording or broadcasting which is covered by a different order), soliciting sales or donations, engaging in commercial activity, or engaging in oral or demonstrative protest, education, unhygienic activity, or counseling, unless otherwise authorized by this Order or the Court. ii. Walkway shall mean (a) the area of any corridor or sidewalk, or other path of pedestrian movement, directly from the edge of the public sidewalk nearest an entrance to any building containing a courtroom to that entrance; (b) the area of any corridor or sidewalk leading directly from any parking lot within a curtilage to an entrance to any building containing a courtroom; or (c) a corridor or passageway within a multi-purpose, commercial, or private building that leads directly to the part of the building containing a courtroom. lil. Curtilage shall mean the area between any building containing a courtroom and the nearest edge of the public sidewalk surrounding the building. It shall not include the area adjacent to that portion of a multi-purpose, commercial or private building that does not contain a courtroom. STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 2

10 aa 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 iv. Courthouse shall mean any building containing at least one courtroom. It shall also include that portion of a multi-purpose, commercial or private building that contains at least one courtroom. v. Courtroom includes any space designated for judicial proceedings, whether permanently or temporarily. b. Prohibitions i. No person shall engage in any prohibited activity within a courthouse. ii. No person shall engage in any prohibited activity on the exterior property of a courthouse, or within the curtilage of a courthouse, or engage in any prohibited activity that affects the exterior property of a courthouse. ili. No person shall obstruct, harass, impede, or interfere with persons entering or leaving a courthouse, persons waiting in line to enter a courthouse, or persons inside a courthouse. iv. No person shall approach persons entering or leaving a courthouse, persons waiting in line to enter a courthouse, or persons inside a courthouse, for the purpose of engaging in any prohibited activity. v. No person shall engage in any prohibited activity in or near a courthouse with the intent to interfere with, obstruct, or impede the administration of justice or with the intent to influence any judge, juror, witness, officer of the court, or court personnel in the discharge of his or her duty. vi. No person shall use amplification equipment to engage in prohibited activity in a manner that harasses or interferes with persons inside a courthouse, with persons entering or leaving a courthouse, or with persons waiting in line to enter a courthouse. vii. If sound from any prohibited activity travels onto Court property or inside a courthouse, that sound, at any decibel level, is subject to the restrictions of this STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 3

10 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22. 23 24 25 Standing Order. It is not the decibel level of the sound that is prohibited, it is whether the sound interferes in any way with the business or purpose of the Court. viii. No person shall publish, post, or distribute any written material other than written material relating to official Court business published, posted or distributed by duly authorized Court personnel, inside any Court facility of this County, without the prior written approval of this Court. c Exclusions i. This Order shall not apply to authorized court personnel or law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties. ii. Sections 1(b)(i), (ii), and (viii) above shall not apply to persons engaged in the stationary solicitation of sales as part of any commercial, primarily non-expressive activity (including but not limited to the sale of newspapers, reading materials, sundries, or food stuffs) expressly authorized by a written use permit, license, or agreement from the County or the Court or the Judicial Council or other owner of a building containing a courtroom authorizing that activity in a specific space not dedicated to court functions. lii. The Kern County Liberty Bell, which is located in front of the Superior Court of California, County of Kern, at 1415 Truxtun Avenue, in Bakersfield, is a county facility. It has been designated as a landmark and historical place. This site is exempt from sections 1(b)(ii), (iii), and (iv) this Order. Permission for the use of this site must be obtained from the County of Kern. d. Severability Clause If any provision of this Order or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Order and the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. \\ STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 4

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 e. Delegation To the extent the terms of this Order do not accomplish its stated purpose at a courthouse, on delegation by the Presiding Judge, the Supervising Judge responsible for that courthouse or his or her designee is hereby authorized to issue an order to accomplish the stated purpose of this Order. f. Other Restrictions This Order does not prohibit the Court from imposing any other reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on persons engaged in such activity. There may be more restrictions, depending upon the circumstances. g. Courtroom This Order does not prohibit any judge from making necessary orders to ensure that judicial proceedings in the judge’s courtroom are conducted in an orderly manner and to halt or prevent disruptions of court proceedings. 2. Compliance with Law Enforcement While on or in the premises of any courthouse, all persons are ordered to comply with the lawful requests, directions, and orders of any law enforcement officers and their agents in the performance of their duties. This Order shall not preclude any law enforcement officer from taking appropriate steps outside this order to ensure the orderly and peaceable conduct of Court business at a courthouse, or to enforce the laws of California. 3. Posting and Service of Order This Order shall be posted at each public entrance to a courthouse and at such other places that will reasonably provide notice of this Order to persons entering such courthouse. The Sheriff of Kern County and his deputies and their agents are directed to serve a copy of this Order personally on any person who appears to be in violation thereof, to advise such person of the apparent violation, and, if the apparent violation continues after such notice, to STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 5

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 immediately notify the Court's Executive Officer, Presiding Judge, or Supervising Judge responsible for that courthouse, as may be available in that order, so that the Court can determine whether proceedings should be initiated to ensure compliance with this Order. This Order shall not preclude any law enforcement officer from taking appropriate steps to ensure the orderly and peaceable conduct of court business at a courthouse. 4. Penalties Violation of this Order may result in the imposition of sanctions in amounts of up to $1,500 per violation pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 177.5 and/or prosecution for criminal violations. IT IS ORDERED. Dated: November [¢ , 2019. Ow LA yhoo. ith K. Dulcich, Presiding Judge mm County Superior Court STANDING ORDER-EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY - 6