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What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. Categories : California superior courts Nonpartisan judicial elections State trial court overviews. Voter information What's on my ballot? Where do I vote? How do I register to vote? How do I request a ballot? It also conducts studies. New policies are established after the courts have had many opportunities for comment.
The Chief Justice is the leader of the Judicial Council. The Administrative Office of the Courts serves as the staff agency to the Council. More information on the Judicial Council can be found on the California Courts website.
Educators looking for information about the judicial branch may also be interested in Civics Education information on the California Courts website. The Judiciary is another word for the court system. It is one of 3 branches in our government. The other two are the Legislative and Executive branches. The California and U. Constitutions and laws guarantee you certain rights, including the right to:.
If you choose not to hire a lawyer, you must do all the legal research, prepare your documents, file and serve your documents, and present evidence. You must learn about and follow the laws and court rules, just as if you had a lawyer. The Court must treat all people equally and impartially. The judge, the court personnel or the lawyers for any other person or agency cannot help you. There are many different kinds of cases in Civil Court. The Civil Court deals with things like car accidents, and contract disputes.
There are other kinds of cases in Civil Court, too. The Self-Help section of this website has information on the most common kinds of civil cases. For more detailed information, you can click on the topic that interests you. Prefiling starts when you get hurt.
There are a lot of things to do to get ready before you file a lawsuit. Filing starts when you fill out your papers to start a court action. After you file your papers, you have to wait for the other person to default or answer. Discovery starts 30 days after the other person answers. This is when you and the other person exchange information and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Pretrial starts about 90 days before your trial, if you are unable to settle your case,.
This is when you get ready for the trial. You must make decisions, like if you need an expert witness, and have settlement conferences with the judge. Trial Your trial can last 1 day or many months.
It depends on how complicated the case is. Post-Trial means after the trial. You can appeal or collect your judgment. You have to know the laws and court procedures. You could lose your rights. Only the State — not another person or agency — can charge you with a criminal violation. To learn more about how criminal cases are processed, see the Criminal Self-Help section of this website. There are 3 different kinds of criminal cases: infraction, misdemeanors and felonies.
An infraction is a minor violation. Some traffic violations are infractions. A misdemeanor is a more serious crime that can be punished by up to 1 year in jail. Click to learn more about misdemeanors. A felony is the most serious kind of crime. If you are found guilty, you can be sent to state prison or receive the death penalty. Click to learn more about felonies. Here is a flow chart that shows how criminal cases move through the court system. Both criminal and civil cases can be appealed.
If the Appellate Court finds the Superior Court made an error, it can reverse the decision or send it back to the Trial Court for further action. To learn more about appeals, read the information above on Appellate Courts. Here is a flow chart that shows how criminal and civil cases are appealed.
So far we've been talking about State courts. But, there are also Federal courts that handle federal cases that take place in California. The Federal courts are similar in structure to State courts in California. For more information about Federal courts, visit the U. Courts Federal Judiciary website. The California Supreme Court is the state's highest court. It has authority to review decisions of the Courts of Appeal and its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.
The Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and six associate justices who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The California Courts of Appeals are California's intermediate courts of appellate review. The California Legislature apportions the number of judges for each district. In , California unified their superior and municipal courts into a single superior court with jurisdiction over all case types.
Each of California's 58 counties has one Superior Court which are considered courts of general jurisdiction. The California Legislature determines the number of judges in each court who serve six-year terms and are elected by county voters on a nonpartisan ballot at a general election.
Superior courts have trial jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases. Official California court rules are no longer published in print.
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