Fifth Appellate District
Verified judges, local rules, standing orders, and controlling division-assignment orders for Fresno County, Kern County, Kings County, Madera County, Mariposa County, Merced County, Stanislaus County, Tulare County, Tuolumne County — every entry cites its official source with a last-verified date.
Official site: https://appellate.courts.ca.gov/district-courts/5dca
196
judicial officers
369
published rules
9
counties
8
assignment orders
Rules by category
- Divisional Instructions133
- Local Rules120
- Standing Orders43
- E-Filing17
- Remote / Zoom Hearings16
- Administrative Orders15
- Mediation13
- Judge Preferences4
- + 4 more categories
Source health (18 registered)
Counties in this circuit
Controlling division-assignment orders
- Tulare County Superior Court — Judicial Assignments
- Tuolumne County Superior Court — Judicial Assignments
- Madera County Superior Court — 2026 Miscellaneous Order No. 6 – 1st Amended: Reassignment of Cases upon Disqualification of a Judge within the Juvenile Divisioneff. August 3, 2026
- Madera County Superior Court — 2026 Miscellaneous Order No. 3 – 3rd Amended: Assignment of Judges for All Purposeseff. August 3, 2026
- Madera County Superior Court — 2026 Miscellaneous Order No. 4 – 2nd Amended: Reassignment of Cases upon Disqualification of a Judge within the Criminal Divisioneff. August 3, 2026
- Tulare County Superior Court Local Rules (revised July 1, 2026) — Chapters 1 to 3: General Administration of the Court; Organization of Court; Judicial Assignments (Rules 100 to 302)eff. July 1, 2026
- Kings County Superior Court — Standing Order Misc. No. 2026-18: Reassignment of Cases Involving Disqualifications and Recusals and Non-Stipulation to Commissionerseff. May 4, 2026
- Madera County Superior Court — 2026 Miscellaneous Order No. 5: Reassignment of Cases upon Disqualification of a Judge within the Civil Divisioneff. January 2, 2026
Bench (196 judicial officers)
Magistrates, hearing officers & senior judges
Titles shown as circuit judges, county judges, and quasi-judicial officers per the official directory.
Recently verified rules
Search all rules →Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Fees
The Fifth District's Fees page: copy requests in writing; payment by cash, debit or credit card (a service fee applies), money order or check payable to Court of Appeal; oral argument video on demand free, a copy of the recording $20; archived case preparation $25 for a record of 1-5 volumes, $50 for 6-10 and $50 plus $5 per additional volume for 11 or more; certified copies $1 per certificate; electronic copies $20 per transcript and $10 per case; paper copies $0.50 per page; filings in the Court of Appeal ($390 for the first document of a party other than the appellant or petitioner; $775 for writ petitions under Government Code section 68926 and ALRB, PERB, ABC and PUC review petitions; no fee for contempt, habeas corpus, supersedeas, transfer and Workers Compensation Appeals Board petitions) and in the superior court ($775 for a civil notice of appeal or cross-appeal, payable to the Court of Appeal; no fee for criminal, juvenile or conservatorship appeals).
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Practices & Procedures
The Fifth District's Practices & Procedures page as the court posts it: the notice that the court uses TrueFiling and accepts an electronic filing in lieu of paper copies under rule 8.44; then, document by document, the time frames for filing, the electronic and paper filing procedures and the service procedure for appeals, and the statutory writ proceedings table (deadline for filing, type of ruling challenged, statutory authority).
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Electronic Filing
The Fifth District's Electronic Filing page: Local Rule 8 and Administrative Order 2023-3-10 govern; under rules 8.70 and 8.71 all filings in civil, criminal, juvenile and original proceedings are made through TrueFiling (self-represented parties may register but need not); documents must be text searchable, properly paginated and bookmarked; e-filing a civil document satisfies service on the Supreme Court under rule 8.212(c)(2), and a petition for review accepted by the Supreme Court through TrueFiling is served on the Court of Appeal notwithstanding rule 8.500(f)(1); assistance may not be available outside business hours; links to the formatting guidelines, samples and TrueFiling resources.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Administrative Order 2022-3-14: Order Substituting Video-Conferencing for In-Person Oral Argument (rescinded; in-person appearance resumed)
The court rescinds its April 13, 2020 order that suspended in-person oral argument: the option to appear in person resumes as of the May 2022 oral argument calendar, and the parties may still elect to appear via CourtCall or videoconferencing; the courtroom is open to the public with limited seating (face coverings may be required) and all sessions are live-streamed on the court's website; the court reserves the authority to modify the methods for appearances (HILL, P.J.).
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Administrative Order 2023-3-10: Order on Multiple Volume Electronic Clerk's and Reporter's Transcripts
Effective April 11, 2023, electronic clerk's and reporter's transcripts consisting of multiple volumes are submitted as a single PDF while maintaining the individual components outlined in rules 8.74 and 8.144, to comply with the 300-page per volume requirements (HILL, P.J.).
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 8: Electronic Filing
Electronic filing under rule 8.71 through TrueFiling, mandatory for attorneys unless exempted and voluntary for self-represented litigants: registration at tf3.truefiling.com/register with a current e-mail address (rule 8.32); searchable PDF documents of 25 MB or less, consecutively Arabic-numbered from the cover, briefs under rule 8.204 with bookmarked tables of contents and original proceedings bookmarked to each exhibit; a user ID and password is an electronic signature; appendices, agreed and settled statements (rules 8.124, 8.134, 8.137) and administrative records (rule 8.728(b)) in electronic form, with an electronic copy of any ordered reporter's transcript (rule 8.144(d)(1)); personal identifiers redacted to the last four digits (rule 1.201); sealed and confidential material under rules 8.46 and 8.47; transmissions complete before midnight; a technical failure (the system unable to accept filings for more than one hour after 12:00 noon) moves the due date to the next court day and a late filing comes with a motion to accept it as timely (rule 8.77(d)); registration is consent to service (rule 8.78(a)(2)(B)); vendor fees are recoverable costs (rule 8.278(d)(1)(D)), with fee-waiver parties and Government Code section 6103 entities exempt; exemption by motion (rule 8.71(d)) or a paper filing with a declaration where conversion is not feasible (rule 8.71(g)); noncompliance may be sanctioned.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 2: Mediation Program for Civil Appeals
The court's Judicial Mediation Program for civil appeals (other than appeals under Welfare and Institutions Code sections 300, 601 and 602 and Family Code section 7802, conservatorship and guardianship matters and the other appeals the rule lists): on a civil notice of appeal the clerk sends instructions for the nonconfidential Civil Appeal Case Screening Questionnaire, whose late return may dismiss the appeal without prejudice to reinstatement or bring sanctions; filing the notice suspends the record-designation, cost-deposit and briefing provisions of rules 8.121, 8.124 and 8.216 (not the superior court's deposit under Government Code section 68926.1 and rule 8.100(b)(2)); within 14 calendar days of the questionnaires the court says whether it selected the appeal for mediation with a sitting Justice (the suspension continues until mediation is complete; otherwise it ends, and the parties may still stipulate into the program); the parties send the Justice mediator a confidential Mediation Statement at least seven calendar days before the session with the listed contents (parties and counsel, insurance, approvals and consents needed, prior settlement efforts, Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offers, facts and law, damages, liens, attorney's fees); parties and counsel attend in person with full settlement authority; mediation communications are confidential; monetary sanctions may follow a noticed motion or the court's own motion; a mediating Justice does not sit on the merits.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 1: Augmentation of Record and Correction of Omissions from Record
Augmentation of the record: counsel do not move to augment for items omitted from the normal criminal record but notify the superior court clerk, who complies with rule 8.155(b); appellant's augmentation requests go in one motion within 40 days of the filing of the record and respondent's within 30 days of the opening brief, later motions only on good cause for the delay; a motion to augment or correct the clerk's transcript is accompanied by certified copies of the documents (or identifies them with specificity and explains the omission), submitted electronically as a separate PDF formatted under Local Rule 8, which may exceed the 300-page limit of rules 8.124(d)(1) and 8.144(c)(1) if 25 megabytes or smaller; a reporter's transcript motion identifies the portion with specificity (the reporter's name, the hearing date) and shows how it may be useful; in civil cases a motion to augment does not extend any time automatically (ask for an extension in the motion); motions are made in good faith, not for delay.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 4: Telephonic Oral Argument
Telephonic oral argument is available to all parties: a party requesting argument returns the court's questionnaire designating the time requested and the arguing attorney or self-represented litigant; the appearance process is described on the court's website; counsel or the party stays available for the scheduled time until argument is completed (an unavailable party is treated as failing to appear); a landline is encouraged and a cellular caller pauses for the Justices' questions; deviations by appointed or retained counsel require the court's express prior approval.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 7: Record Preparation in Juvenile Appeals and Writs
Record preparation in juvenile appeals and writs: in appeals under Welfare and Institutions Code sections 300, 601 and 602 and in actions to free a child from parental custody and control under Family Code section 7800 et seq., and in writ petitions under sections 366.26 and 366.28, the superior court clerk sends the original record to this court within 20 days after the notice of appeal or notice of intent by the most expeditious method, noting the sending date, with copies to counsel or any unrepresented party at the same time (rules 8.409, 8.416, 8.450 and 8.454); if the court has not received the record within 23 calendar days it orders the superior court executive officer to deliver it within 2 court days, failing which an order to show cause may issue.
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District — Local Rule 3: Writ Petitions, Supporting Records and Stay Requests
Writ petitions: every petition for an extraordinary writ other than habeas corpus carries a completed Appellate Court Writ Petition Information Sheet; a petition reviewing a trial court ruling attaches the order or judgment, all documents submitted to the trial court for and against the petitioner's position, and a transcript of the proceedings (or counsel's declaration explaining why none is needed or available and fairly summarizing the proceedings and the basis of the decision); a party who files electronically under Local Rule 8 submits no copies, a paper filer an original and one unbound copy on white paper without tabs or a red cover in lieu of rule 8.44(b)(3) and (5), and a self-represented habeas petitioner only the original; a stay request explains the urgency and the time constraints, or the stay may be summarily denied.
Mariposa County Superior Court — Public Notice: reduction in operating hours and the drop box (July 28, 2021)
Pursuant to Government Code Section 68106, 60 days’ notice of a reduction in operating hours for the public filing counters and telephones in the Clerk’s Offices: effective October 1, 2021, the operating hours for the Clerk’s Office filing counters and telephones Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., excluding holidays (the filing counters until then Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the telephone hours Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); a drop box available in the courthouse hallway to receive documents and payments outside of the Clerk’s Office operating hours - any document deposited in the drop box up to 5:00 p.m. on a court day is deemed to have been deposited for filing that day, and no cash payments are accepted via drop box; comments on the proposed reduction in hours to Court Administration by September 30, 2021.