Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.538 · Chapter 3. General Conduct of Juvenile Court Proceedings
Conduct of proceedings held before a referee not acting as a temporary judge
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) General conduct (§§ 248, 347, 677)
Proceedings heard by a referee not acting as a temporary judge must be conducted in the same manner as proceedings heard by a judge, except:
(1) An official court reporter or other authorized reporting procedure must record the proceedings if directed by the court; and
(2) The referee must inform the child and parent or guardian of the right to seek review by a juvenile court judge.
(b) Furnishing and serving findings and order; explanation of right to review (§§ 248, 248.5)
After each hearing before a referee, the referee must make findings and enter an order as provided elsewhere in these rules. In each case, the referee must furnish and serve the findings and order and provide an explanation of the right to review the order in accordance with sections 248 and 248.5.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2016.)
Rule 5.538 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 1416 effective January 1, 1990; previously amended and renumbered as rule 5.538 effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2016.
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/five/rule5_538
- Text hash
- sha256 ec13025992426026ab9481a8e4fdff1f9d42ee2e6cdf9b2b679e17917068f8f5
- 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
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.538. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.540Orders of referees not acting as temporary judgesPrinted as rule 5.538
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.725Selection of permanent plan (§§ 366.24, 366.26, 727.3, 727.31)Printed as rules 5.538, 5.540, and 5.542
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.406Time to appealPrinted as rule 5.538(b)(3)
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.