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Fifty-two of California's 58 counties have resumed jury trials. Source: Court Service and Operations
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California Courts
Court levels: 3
Superior, also known as trial courts: 58—one in each county
Court of Appeal districts: 6
Highest court: California Supreme Court
Judicial branch budget is 1.5% of State General Fund
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Jury pay: $15/day starting with second day of service and 34 cents per mile, one way
Number of Californians summoned to jury service in fiscal year 2019–20: approximately 9 million*
Number of Californians summoned to jury service who completed service in fiscal year 2019–20: approximately 4 million*
Number of Californians sworn in to serve as jurors in fiscal year 2019–20: approximately 94,000*
* Numbers are based on data for fiscal year 2019–20, with 56 of the 58 (97%) superior courts reporting
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Court levels: 3
Trial courts: 58—one in each county
Court of Appeal districts: 6
Highest court: California Supreme Court
Judicial branch budget is 1.5% of State General Fund
The California court system—the largest in the nation, with approximately 1,800 justices and judges and 5 million cases—serves more than 39 million people. The state Constitution vests the judicial power of California in the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and superior courts.
Feature - July 14, 2017
Did you know that California was one of the first states to establish a collaborative court in the U.S.?
News Release - August 3, 2018
Recent report details the increased access to interpreters in civil cases and the additional language services provided for court users inside and outside of the courtroom.
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Fiscal Year 2020-2021:
Unified court system serving more than 39 million people
1,778 judges (authorized positions)
Approximately 450 court facilities
Filings: ≈ 4,500,000
Dispositions: ≈ 3,000,000
More data points in the Court Statistics Report
Historic Facts
News Release - December 7, 2020
Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye on Monday issued an advisory to leaders of California’s 58 county superior courts with guidance to continue to seek emergency orders if needed based on local conditions and ability to hold remote hearings or provide social distancing under state and local health rules.
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Languages and dialects spoken in California—more than 200
Percentage of Californians that speak a non-English language at home: 44%
Percentage of Californians with English-language limitations: approximately 19% (more than 7 million)
Languages certified for court interpreters: American Sign Language and 15 spoken languages—Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese
Spanish remains the most interpreted language in courtroom
Feature - July 22, 2016
California courts have resolved 132,879 delinquent infraction and misdemeanor accounts and sent 104,105 requests to the state Department of Motor Vehicles to lift holds on drivers licenses since the traffic amnesty program began in October 2015.
News Release - March 13, 2020
A statement from California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye on emergency measures being taken by California courts.
Related:
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Feature - July 27, 2017
While the model has helped equalize funding gaps across counties, chronic underfunding of the judicial branch has complicated its rollout.