Search results

COVID-19 and Court OperationsDec. 7, 2020 Best Practices for SecurityMay 15, 2020

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.

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

The Judicial Council supports the court facilities of California's Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and trial courts by providing a broad range of services: facility planning, design and construction, facility operations management, environmental compliance and sustainability, real estate services and asset management, and emergency planning and security coordination.

Justices: 1 Chief Justice, 6 Associate Justices Filings: 6,522 in fiscal year 2020-21 59 written opinions in fiscal year 2020-21 More data points in the Court Statistics Report

Six districts, 19 divisions, 9 court locations Number of authorized justices: 106 Number of filings: 15,781 in fiscal year 2020-21 More data points in the Court Statistics Report The California Courts of Appeal are the state's intermediate courts of review. Their primary function is to ensure that the law is interpreted and applied correctly.

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

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

Collaborative justice courts have a dedicated calendar and judge to address specific types of issues California currently has more than 400 collaborative justice courts in all but three small jurisdictions Most drug court caseloads average between 75 and 100 participants while other collaborative courts tend to have smaller caseloads Collaborative justice courts, also called problem-solving courts, promote accountability for youth and adults by combining judicial supervision with services and treatment to help them address the issues that led to t

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  

The Judicial Council continues to closely monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation. Courts have been advised to follow guidance provided by the Department of Public Health, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit the spread of the virus. Updates will be communicated through local court websites as appropriate. The latest statewide judicial branch actions are updated here. For details about local court operations, visit the court's website using the Find My Court tool.

The table below shows emergency orders that have been signed by the Chief Justice. Additional emergency orders will be added once they become available.