Temporary Judge Program
What is a Temporary Judge?
Temporary
judges are an integral part of the court system providing a valuable
service in some of the court's busiest venues. Each
month attorneys regularly serve as temporary judges in our court. Often people experience their only "day
in court" before a temporary judge.
Need for Temporary Judges in El Dorado
The court utilizes temporary judges to hear various types of cases, including
small claims, traffic, juvenile, and probate and to act as settlement
conference judges in family and civil cases.
New Rules Governing Temporary Judges
The Judicial Council, which is the policy-making body for the
state court system charged with enacting, among other things, the
California Rules of Court, recently approved rules 2.810-2.834 (renumbered
effective 1-1-07) which govern the selection, training, appointment,
supervision, and
evaluation of court-appointed temporary judges. The
new rules result from a year-long state study which demonstrated
significant variances in the quality and quantity of training for
court-appointed temporary judges and reflected a lack of public trust
and confidence in the court’s handling of certain types of cases
in which temporary judges are frequently utilized. Those surveyed perceived procedural fairness
to be lower in traffic, family, and small claims cases compared to
other case types. To address
these concerns, the council created these rules in an effort to achieve
consistency in training and to the quality of temporary judging. Although
the new rules took effect on July 1, 2006, the court has a statutory
grace period until January 2007 to ensure that its current temporary
judges comply with the new eligibility and training requirements. Copies of the new rules regarding requirements
are attached. Click
here to see the new rules.
Applying to be a Temporary Judge
Applications
are being accepted and reviewed by the court for attorneys to
serve as a temporary judge. Click
here to access the Application. To qualify
for appointment as a temporary judge, an applicant must be an active
member of the California State Bar in good standing for at least
ten years immediately preceding appointment. The
new rules also require that applicants complete mandatory training
in bench conduct and demeanor, ethics and substantive areas, for
which MCLE credit will be provided. Click here to learn about
required training and MCLE opportunities.
Click here to access information on 'live' Bench Conduct & Demeanor
training.
Click
here to
access the on-line training courses offered by the Judicial Council.
