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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 6 million cases—serves more than 40 million people. The state Constitution vests the judicial power of California in the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and superior courts.
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Fiscal Year 2019-2020:
Unified court system serving 40 million people
1,755 judges (authorized positions)
Approximately 450 court facilities
Filings: 5,300,000
Dispositions: 3,643,701
More data points in the Court Statistics Report
Historic Facts
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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 courtro
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The California court system consists of the local superior courts in each of California’s 58 counties, the 6 districts of the Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. Following is a summary of how judges and justices get to their positions on these courts.
SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES