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SAN FRANCISCO—Martin Hoshino, Administrative Director of the Judicial Council of California, was named to a newly created, national task force charged with addressing the ongoing impact that court fines, fees, and bail practices have on communities—especially the economically disadvantaged—across the United States.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye responded to a jury-service summons today and eventually was not selected. In the past, she has served on juries throughout her public service career in the judicial branch.

The Judicial Council has revised rules of court and forms to help implement a statute that expands the use of expedited jury trials in California, effective July 1.

May 9-13 is Juror Appreciation Week, but courts are making the jury system better all year with check-in kiosks, text reminders, and web-based services.

With California’s growing focus on criminal justice reform comes expanding use of reentry courts as an alternative to cycles of re-incarceration. Reentry courts, a type of collaborative justice court for individuals released from jail or prison, offer...

At its public meeting on January 19, Judicial Council members heard a report that the use of evidence-based practices in pretrial risk assessment can reduce misconduct and failure to appear rates for criminal defendants.

A recent study showed that test-jurors understood plain-language instructions better and reached a correct verdict significantly more often.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye directs immediate council action on four recommendations from the Futures Commission.

A new proposal by the Commission on the Future of California’s Court System seeks to do away with the oversized consequences of traffic tickets by making minor offenses civil violations.

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye joins Governor Brown, Senator Hertzberg and Assemblymember Bonta in a commitment to cooperate on reforms.

A workgroup established by Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye to study California’s bail system issued a slate of recommendations Tuesday, saying money bail should be replaced by a risk-based assessment and supervision program that determines whether to jail defendants before trial based on their threat to public safety and their likelihood of making a court appearance.

Learn more about the Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup's recommendations, the California bail system and other reform efforts nationwide.