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Verified judges, local rules, standing orders, and controlling division-assignment orders for Monterey County, San Benito County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County — every entry cites its official source with a last-verified date.
Official site: https://appellate.courts.ca.gov/district-courts/6dca
117
judicial officers
119
published rules
4
counties
1
assignment orders
Titles shown as circuit judges, county judges, and quasi-judicial officers per the official directory.
The court's weekly calendar schedule effective 7/1/2026: Department 1, Hon. J. Omar Rodriguez (Presiding Judge) - Monday conflict hearings (every other week), probate, adoptions, CARE Court and juvenile dependency (W&I 300), Tuesday restraining order hearings, Wednesday family law, Thursday 1:30pm civil unlimited case management conferences and law & motion, Friday bench trials; Department 2, Commissioner Page B. Galloway - Monday traffic trials and traffic walk-ins, Tuesday pre-trial conferences (as needed), Thursday child support (every other week), Friday settlement conferences and small claims, limited civil and unlawful detainer; Department 3, Hon. Patrick K. Palacios (Assistant Presiding Judge) - the early resolution, trial readiness and conflict calendars and juvenile justice (W&I 602) on Mondays, pre-trial conferences, collaborative courts, arraignments, the felony criminal calendars, preliminary hearings, bench trials, contested hearings, motions and last dayers. The posted case calendars are prepared seven to ten days before an appearance and may change.
Juvenile Dependency cases, including transfer in cases, are heard on Monday mornings beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1, and Juvenile Delinquency cases on Monday afternoons beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 3, at 450 Fourth Street, Hollister; juvenile cases are strictly confidential - no information is given on the phone, and parties must present identification. With information on the dependency and juvenile justice proceedings.
All hearings are held in person. Civil: a party may request to appear remotely by filing the Notice of Remote Appearance (RA-010) under Code of Civil Procedure 367.75, with the Order of Notice of Remote Appearance (RA-020); requests are reviewed hearing by hearing only, a request for the entirety of a case is rejected, and an opposition is filed on RA-015. Criminal: attorneys may request to appear remotely on the Request for Remote Appearance: Criminal local form (SB-CR-12), in accordance with Local Rule 14.3, granted on a limited basis and hearing by hearing; and steps for preparing for a remote court proceeding.
For all criminal filings, filers request access to the court's SharePoint filing system by an electronic form (in accordance with Rule 10.13, which makes electronic filing mandatory starting January 1st, 2023), receive an email and open the San Benito Filings link to file; the step-by-step instructions are How to File in SharePoint; filers should review the documents the Court returns after filing.
The court's procedure (6/4/2021) for petitions under AB1950, handled without placing the matters on calendar: felony petitions by Probation in mass (eligibility within 30 days, service on the District Attorney and Defense Attorney) and by the defendant or attorney, and misdemeanor petitions by the defense attorney in mass and by the defendant; the Court holds each petition for 10 calendar days for a written objection by the District Attorney, submits it to a judicial officer on the 11th day if none is filed, or places the matter on calendar within 10 calendar days of an objection; and an Order after Hearing states the new expiration date of probation.
The court's guidelines for media coverage of court proceedings consistent with California Rules of Court, Rule 1.150: one or two media requests and orders per case for each media agency, coverage only on written order of the judge, an order for the initial hearing extending to subsequent hearings; requests on Judicial Council form MC-500 with a proposed order on form MC-510, filed at least five (5) court days before the proceeding, by email to media@sanbenitocourt.org or at the Clerk's Office / Attorney Service window; the clerk's review, filing and forwarding to the judge and the conformed order presented to the bailiff; and the exception for a case set less than five (5) days in advance.
The court's instructions for filing in SharePoint: navigating to the system from the invitation email; scanning and naming documents with the exact document name and case number; creating an upload - the File Type, the Title formatted with the case caption, a new upload for each party, the Date of Hearing, the Filing Type and Case type, attachments, and no edits after saving; subsequent uploads; the View Status tiles; the “Completed”, “Rejected” and “Incomplete” notifications (the court no longer provides conformed copies); and, for incomplete uploads, a new upload labeled as a subsequent filing.
Chapter 10 (Rules 10.1 to 10.14): requests for copies (Rule 10.1); consolidation (Rule 10.2); the repealed facsimile rule and Rule 10.3, Responsibility for Content Generated Using Artificial Intelligence - users of generative AI remain fully responsible for the accuracy of facts and legal authorities, and misuse may result in sanctions (Rule 10.3); substitution and withdrawal of counsel (Rule 10.4); the attorney fee schedule on default judgments, $250 for the first $1,000 (Rule 10.5); family law judgments (Rule 10.6); cases removed to federal court (Rule 10.7); arbitration, an arbitrator assigned within thirty (30) calendar days (Rule 10.8); mediation (Rule 10.9); interpreters (Rule 10.10); court reporting services - the matters with an official court reporter, those without, private reporters, and fee waiver requests on FW-020 at least ten (10) calendar days ahead (Rule 10.11); tentative rulings for civil law and motion, probate and family law, available by 3:00 p.m. on the court day before the hearing (Rule 10.12); electronic filing, mandatory for covered cases beginning January 1, 2023, through an eFiling Provider, text-searchable PDF with electronic bookmarks, documents received by 11:59 p.m. deemed filed that court day (Rule 10.13); and remote appearances in civil cases on Zoom (Rule 10.14).
Chapter 9 (Rules 9.1 to 9.5): definitions (Rule 9.1); civil ex parte applications under CRC 3.1200 - 3.1207 - notice to the court on or before 10:00 a.m. the day before the 11:00 a.m. hearing, moving papers to the opposing party no later than 3:00 p.m. the day before, written opposition by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing, and matters not appropriate for ex parte relief (Rule 9.2); harassment and violence prevention proceedings, filed no later than 10:00 a.m. for the same day (Rule 9.3); probate ex parte applications, temporary conservators and guardians included (Rule 9.4); and family law ex parte applications under CRC 5.151 - 5.170, handled on the documents submitted - notice by 10:00 a.m. on the court day before, the applicant's papers and Judicial Council Form FL-303 by 3:00 p.m., orders issued by approximately 11:00 a.m., domestic violence applications filed by 10:00 a.m. for the same day, and the exclusive use of a vehicle, removal from a residence, modified orders and set-asides (Rule 9.5).
Chapter 11 (Rules 11.1 to 11.17): the family law and motion calendar and the meet and confer requirement (Rule 11.1); financial issues - a current Income and Expense Declaration and documents exchanged five (5) court days before the hearing (Rule 11.2); hearing dates, preliminary disclosures on FL-141, the calendar call and special sets over 30 minutes (Rule 11.3); motions and orders to show cause, tentative rulings and remote appearances (Rule 11.4); orders after hearing (Rule 11.5); child and spousal support (Rule 11.6); restraining orders on the CLETS form (Rule 11.8); child custody and visitation (Rule 11.9); court-appointed investigators and evaluators, the report generally due within sixty (60) court days (Rule 11.10); mediation of custody and visitation through Family Court Services (Rule 11.11); the family law facilitator (Rule 11.12); the child support commissioner (Rule 11.13); the co-parenting course, the Judicial Council's online “Parenting After Separation” (Rule 11.14); the communication protocol for domestic violence and custody orders (Rule 11.15); supervised visitation providers' FL-324(P) and FL-324(NP) declarations (Rule 11.16); and family law settlement conferences (Rule 11.17).
Chapter 1 (General Rules; Rules 1.1 to 1.9): the local rules apply to all matters filed in the court and supplement the statutes and the California Rules of Court (Rules 1.1 and 1.2); unification (Rule 1.3); abbreviations (Rule 1.4); smoking, e-cigarettes included, prohibited in all court facilities (Rule 1.5); electronic devices silenced before entering a courtroom, no photographing, recording or broadcasting without advance permission from the judge or commissioner (Rule 1.6); photographing, recording and broadcasting in the courthouse, governed by CRC 1.150, with media coverage requested on mandatory Judicial Council form MC-500 (Rule 1.7); peace officer use of body-worn cameras in the courthouse (Rule 1.8); and electronic signatures by a judge or commissioner (Rule 1.9).
Chapter 4 (Rules 4.1 to 4.3): civil cases outside the general civil definition of Local Rule 3.2, managed under CRC 3.720 - 3.771 (Rule 4.1); the at-issue memorandum filed within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days of the complaint, with available trial dates (Rule 4.2); and case management conferences on request (Rule 4.3).