Search results

The Judicial Council presented the 2019 Distinguished Service Awards on Nov 14 in San Francisco. The prestigious Aranda Access to Justice Award was also presented in partnership with the California Lawyers Association and the California Judges Association.

A Q&A with Steve Binder, a 2018 Distinguished Service Award recipient from San Diego whose innovative court model started a nationwide movement.

On May 14-18, courts celebrated the single largest cohort of court users in the nation—citizens appearing for jury duty.

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

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 meeting this week, the Judicial Council heard from the Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup, approved legislative priorities, received an update on court innovation grants, and more.

At its Jan. 17 meeting, the Judicial Council will receive a final report on a three-year grant for 39 collaborative courts and pretrial programs that tracked retention, recidivism, and failure to appear rates for participating defendants.

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.

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.

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.

In 2018, a number of new laws were created in the hope of expanding the rights of Californians through the court system.