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Statewide emergency actions and updates on county court services and operations here.

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News Release - May 12, 2020

Council to Hold Regular Business Meeting May 15

Meeting agenda and council reports are online, and a link to a live audiocast of the meeting will be on the California Courts website on the day of the meeting.

Judicial Council

Meeting information

Judicial Council

News Release - September 3, 2020

Chief Justice Appoints New Judicial Council Members

Council is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice

Judicial Council

Appointments

News Release - May 15, 2020

Judicial Council Hears Report on State Budget Proposal’s Impact to Judicial Branch

At its May 15 teleconference meeting, the council received reports on potential reductions to judicial branch funding, as well as planning efforts to restore court access and services restricted due to COVID-19 pandemic.

News Release - July 28, 2017

Council Approves Changes to Trial Court Funding

At its July 27-28 business meeting, the Judicial Council approved changes to the way it determines how the state’s 58 trial courts are funded.

Meeting agenda and reports

Resource Assessment Study

Trial Court Funding Allocations

Budget Change Proposals

Judicial Council

Budget

Judge Lorna Alksne, chair of the council's Workload Assessment Advisory Committee, helped explain how the judicial branch weighs the number and type of cases handled when determining a court’s workload.

News Release - March 1, 2017

California Bench Continues to Grow More Diverse 11th Annual Survey Indicates

Diversity on the California bench has slowly but steadily increased, according to a legislatively mandated annual report released today by the Judicial Council.

Judiciary Demographic Data

Judicial Council

News Release - April 15, 2016

Council Facilitates Juvenile System Reforms

SAN FRANCISCO—At its public meeting on April 15, the Judicial Council changed court rules and forms to implement reforms targeting those coming to family and juvenile courts. One action dealt with the implementation of a new law that changes the...

Judicial Council

Judicial Council Meeting Information

Civics

Pretrial

Judicial Council

High school senior Christian Nuñez, who didn’t know English when he emigrated to the United States at age 14, spoke about learning about the Bill of Rights on the first day of his U.S. history class. View on YouTube

News Release - October 1, 2021

Council Supports Efforts to Continue Modernizing Courts

Funding for remote video, online services, and other technology projects improves services and helps limit the impact of pandemic on court users

Judicial Council

Meeting information

Judicial Council

Judicial Council Meeting

Technology

Judicial Council members attending Oct. 1 meeting remotely - new members raise their hands to take the oath of service

News Release - July 9, 2021

Council Approves Funding Allocation for Trial Courts

Also hears from pandemic workgroup that remote technology is crucial to providing access to courts

Judicial Council

Meeting information

Judicial Council

Judicial Council Meeting

Budget

Access

News Release - March 15, 2019

Report: Video Remote Interpreting Effective for Court Users with Limited English Skills

At its March 15 business meeting, the Judicial Council approved recommendations for updating guidelines for video remote interpreting (VRI) and voted to have its staff coordinate a new VRI program for the judicial branch.

Judicial Council

Meeting information

Strategic Plan for Language Access in the California Courts

Interpreter

Language Access

Judicial Council

event - July 9, 2021

Judicial Council Meeting

Update: Meeting Videocast

Feature - December 20, 2021

2021 Year in Review: Judicial Council of California

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge the state’s ability to ensure access to justice for the citizens of California. But like the previous year, California’s Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and the Judicial Council supported the courts as they remained flexible and innovative to ensure the justice system was open and vital services remained accessible to the public.