By Julian Verdon and Kalani E. Gaines
SACRAMENTO – As if there are not enough problems with virtually all COVID-influenced court procedures in Sacramento County Superior Court held via livestream, a blaring fire alarm—that no one seemed to worry about—delayed and disturbed the goings-on Friday.
Judge Michael Savage found himself marking time as he waited for Assistant Public Defender Pamela Dominisse to show up to the next hearing. But then the fire alarm interrupted proceedings.
Dominisse needed a moment to discuss the case with the defendant, Gary Mitchell, and while doing so, both she and Mitchell jumped when the piercing sound of a fire alarm suddenly went off.
After a couple of minutes of the alarm continuing to sound, the bailiff muted the courtroom’s audio; however, one could still see the flashing lights—as Dominisse continued to talk with her client.
No one in the courtroom voiced any worries that the alarm warranted an evacuation of the building.
Eventually, Dominisse approached the Zoom screen, but her voice was muffled by the alarm. After a brief respite, she said, “I need to waive 
time too, but I also need to talk to him.”
After she said this, the alarm went off again.
As Judge Savage waited, one could slightly hear the alarm in his own courtroom. Eventually, the bailiff approached the screen, but the audio continued to cut in and out due to the noise. The only discernible words were about a water pipe issue, but Judge Savage was not entirely sure.
“I think that is what he said, a water pipe,” Judge Savage stated to someone else inquiring on what the bailiff said. No reasons for the alarm going off were confirmed during the livestream.
Judge Savage wanted to proceed, asking defendant Mitchell whether he was all right with a recorded Zoom session instead of in-person. Mitchell offered an inaudible response amid the blaring noise.
“I think he said yes,” noted Judge Savage before continuing. He then asked Dominisse if they had new dates regarding a trial readiness conference and the actual trial itself.
Dominisse covered and uncovered her ears throughout the hearing while speaking with Judge Savage. The livestream audio was muted and unmuted due to the loudness of the alarm.
Judge Savage then asked Mitchell if he agreed to waive time. After a brief discussion with his attorney, Mitchell stated that he did indeed agree to waive time.
Mitchell’s case was the last one of the day since the one after him was delayed because one of the lawyers was in the middle of another case. Therefore, to save time, Judge Savage likely wanted to complete all the scheduled hearings before the workday ended.
The alarm continued to sound after the hearing finished, and the stream ended shortly thereafter.
Kalani Gaines is from Stockton, CA and she is currently majoring in Sociology at CSU Sacramento as a third-year student.
Julian Verdon is a senior at UCLA majoring in English. He is from Los Angeles California.
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