The Judicial Council of California is the rule-making arm of the California court system. In accordance with the California Constitution and under the leadership of the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

, the council is responsible for "ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice." It was created by an amendment to article VI of the

California Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...

in 1926.

Rules

The

California Rules of Court California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

are rules adopted by the Judicial Council. Every court may also make local rules for its own government and the government of its officers not inconsistent with law or with the rules adopted and prescribed by the Judicial Council.

California law The law of California consists of several levels, including Constitutional law, constitutional, Statutory law, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulati ...

encourages the Judicial Council to provide for uniformity in rules and procedures throughout all courts on the form of papers, limitations on the filing of papers, rules relating to law and motion, and requirements concerning documents to be filed at or prior to trial.

California Government Code The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which together form the general statutory law of California. The official Codes are maintained by the California Office of Legislative Counsel for the Legislature ...

§ 68070 One of the Judicial Council's most well-known functions is promulgating a huge number of standard court forms for use in California judicial proceedings, such as Form TR-130, the standard "Notice to Appear" form used by practically all California law enforcement agencies to write traffic citations.

Composition

The Judicial Council is composed of 21 voting members: * The Chief Justice * 14 judicial officers appointed by the Chief Justice (1 associate justice of the Supreme Court, 3 justices of the Courts of Appeal, 10

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

judges) * 4 attorney members appointed by the

State Bar A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent the attorneys practicing law in a particular U.S. state. Their functions differ from state to state, but often include administration of the state bar examination fo ...

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

* 1 member from each house of the

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

The California Constitution requires that the council also have two non-voting members who are court administrators. The Administrative Director is a non-voting member who serves as Secretary, and the Chief Justice can also appoint further advisory (non-voting) members.

Staff

The Judicial Council's staff of approximately 800 is responsible for implementing council policies and supporting the day-to-day operations of the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, and the superior courts. The staff maintains a headquarters office in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

where the Judicial Council regularly meets, as well as a branch in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. The staff has also created a centralized datacenter for the court system, the California Court Technology Center, which is operated under contract by

Siemens IT Solutions and Services Atos Information Technology Incorporated is a service provider which is owned by Atos. Atos Information Technology Incorporated provides a wide range of information technology services such as consulting, systems integration, and IT management. At ...

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

References

External links

Official website
__NOTOC__ {{Authority control California law California state courts 1926 in law 1926 establishments in California Court administration

Rules

Composition

Staff

See also

References

External links