Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.545 · Article 1. General Provisions
Definitions
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
In this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) A "petition for writ of habeas corpus" is the petitioner's initial filing that commences a proceeding.
(2) An "order to show cause" is an order directing the respondent to file a return. The order to show cause is issued if the petitioner has made a prima facie showing that he or she is entitled to relief; it does not grant the relief requested. An order to show cause may also be referred to as "granting the writ."
(3) The "return" is the respondent's statement of reasons that the court should not grant the relief requested by the petitioner.
(4) The "denial" is the petitioner's pleading in response to the return. The denial may be also referred to as the "traverse."
(5) An "evidentiary hearing" is a hearing held by the trial court to resolve contested factual issues.
(6) An "order on writ of habeas corpus" is the court's order granting or denying the relief sought by the petitioner.
(7) The definitions in rule 8.601 also apply to this chapter.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 4.545 adopted effective April 25, 2019.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/four/rule4_545
- Text hash
- sha256 8902000350b0aa390605c4d6da5c80698f1702e37cb41e6199d3e6a5e8723550
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
California Rules of Court
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.