Chief's Emergency Appellate Powers Amped Up!

See At The Lectern for Judicial Council expands Chief Justice’s emergency power to extend appellate times

• The amended rule allows the Chief Justice to issue tolling orders, not just extension orders as before.  The circulating memorandum explains the significance:  “Tolling stops or suspends the running of time; when the tolling period ends, the time starts running again.  By contrast, extending time adds days to the end of a time period.  Tolling gives courts flexibility and can be easier to apply.”
• The amendment also fixes the part of the rule that had most inhibited statewide extension orders.  The rule previously allowed a statewide extension of only 14 days with the possibility of just one additional 14-day order, as opposed to authorizing individual courts to issue 30-day extension orders with an additional 30-day extension.  Now, the Chief Justice can issue a statewide 30-day tolling or extension order with an unlimited number of 30-day renewals.

Also: The Judicial Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday, April 6, at 12:20 p.m. via teleconference, to consider a slate of 11 temporary emergency rules in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.