Court Bulletin

Temporary Judge Program

Bench Conduct and Demeanor Training for Temporary Judges is being offered by Superior Court Judges. The next training sessions will occur on July 26, 2013 and October 25, 2013.

Visit the Temporary Judge Program web page for more information and to download the registration form for the training.

New Chief Probation Officer for the County of Sacramento

The Sacramento Superior Court is pleased to announce that Mr. Lee Seale is the new Chief Probation Officer for the County of Sacramento. He will begin his new job in May.

Read the news release for more information.

One Day Divorce

Sacramento Superior Court announces a new program to help cooperating couples, or single parties whose spouses have defaulted, to complete a simple divorce in one day. After the initial filing and serving of the petition, unrepresented litigants can attain a fast, affordable and most important--a fair resolution of their simple divorce.

In a time when budget cuts are forcing courts all over California to limit services to the public, judges and court professionals from the Sacramento Superior Court are leading efforts to innovate improvements to the administration of justice in Family Law.

Judge James Mize of the Sacramento Superior Court has created the first "One Day Divorce" program in the state. Family Law attorneys and law students volunteer to help litigants through the one-day process. The first step is for litigants to sit down with one or more pro tem judges who discuss the terms of the couple's proposed agreement. The next step is accomplished with help from law students and your attorney volunteers. Finally, if all the formal documents are completed and if the pro tem judges have approved the case for One Day Divorce treatment, the parties appear in the courtroom of Judge James Mize who will grant the appropriate relief. In 95% of all cases, the parties leave the courtroom with the final and formal documents in their hands and nothing else left to be done to obtain their judgment of dissolution or legal separation.

In California, 72% of family law litigants do not have lawyers. Simple divorces are complicated for self-represented litigants and, as a result, many cases languish in and congest the court system for months and even years. One of the biggest complaints about courts, and family courts in particular, is that the process takes too long to complete. The "One Day Divorce" program was created to help solve these problems.

To date, this program has only been offered as a pilot project for a limited number of litigants from court-based referrals. Since the pilot program began in December 2012, 25 cases have been successfully resolved.

Litigants participating in the program during the pilot phase had plenty to say about the experience. "I always had the feeling that the system was out to get me. Today the system was actually working for me," said Jason S., who made his first filing for divorce three years ago. Frustrated after having his paperwork rejected and not knowing how to proceed, he and his spouse discontinued the divorce process while living separate lives. Through the "One Day Divorce" program, he and his spouse spent one day in court getting the necessary assistance with their case, then left the same day with a signed judgment that meant their divorce was finalized.

Another participant, Aaron M. indicated "the lawyers made the process a lot more effective. No more time off work, back and forth to court. Just flat out GOT IT DONE." John G. commented, "This class took away my stress of dealing with this by myself. Thank you guys very much."

Based on the success of the program thus far, Judge Mize has announced that the "One Day Divorce" program will "go live" on April 12, 2013 at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. Visit the One Day Divorce Program web page for more information on how you can be a part of this history-making program.

Judge Troy L. Nunley

Sacramento Superior Court announces that Superior Court Judge Troy L. Nunley was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California. Judge Nunley was nominated by President Barack Obama in June of 2012.

Read the news release for more information.

Award of Request for Proposal for Case Management Systems

The Sacramento Superior Court is pleased to announce the award of Request for Proposal (RFP) 12-1007, the creation of three Master Service Agreements (MSA) for Case Management Systems (CMS). This RFP was initiated by the California Information Technology Managers Forum (CITMF) as a joint effort amongst the Superior Courts to leverage court resources to obtain Case Management systems.

Read the news release for more information.

Public Notice: Family Law

Read the Public Notice for changes affecting Family Law cases effective January 1, 2013.

Domestic Violence Restraining Order Workshop

Beginning September 7, 2011, the Sacramento Superior Court, in partnership with My Sister's House, will be offering a domestic violence restraining order workshop on Wednesdays at 8:45 a.m. at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. This new workshop is in addition to the domestic violence restraining order workshops already being offered on Mondays and Fridays. The Wednesday workshop will be conducted by an attorney employed by My Sister's House. A Spanish language interpreter will be present at the workshop, as is currently done in the Monday and Friday workshops.

The domestic violence restraining order workshops assist individuals in completing the required forms to apply for a domestic violence restraining order. Workshops are conducted by court paralegals or attorney volunteers. Spanish language interpreters and other volunteers are also present to assist Spanish-speaking customers complete the forms. At the conclusion of the three-hour workshop, customers are given the opportunity to file their application to receive a restraining order the same day.

Customers interested in attending the workshop must go to the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse located at 3341 Power Inn Road on the morning of the workshop. The courthouse is located near the Power Inn Light Rail station. No appointment is required to attend the workshop. Due to the high demand and space limitations, customers should plan to arrive promptly by 8:45 a.m. Bring with you any police reports related to the domestic violence and photo identification.