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Fourth Appellate District (Circuit 4) · official circuit site ✓
Preview of 25 instruments. All 139 county-scoped rules → search all three layers.
Judge Carmen R. Luege's policies for Department C16 (Central Justice Center): continuances (no telephone continuances; one law-and-motion continuance by written stipulation; trial continuances under Code of Civil Procedure section 595.2); remote and in-person proceedings under Local Rule 375 (settlement conferences remote at 8:30 a.m., evidentiary proceedings in person) and media and public access; calendar (trials Monday through Wednesday; settlement conferences Thursday 8:30 a.m.; Friday 8:30 a.m. conferences and prove-ups and 10:00 a.m. law and motion; ex parte applications Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1:30 p.m.); ex parte procedures (reservation and notice by 10:00 a.m. the court day before; papers by noon; oppositions by 4:00 p.m.); law and motion and tentative rulings; and trial procedures.
Judge Yolanda V. Torres's general policies and procedures for Department C15 (Central Justice Center): remote versus in-person proceedings; calendar (order to show cause hearings, case management conferences, post-arbitration and review hearings Monday 8:45 a.m.; settlement conferences Friday 9:00 a.m.; default prove-ups Friday 10:00 a.m.; law and motion Monday 1:45 p.m.; trials Tuesday through Thursday; ex parte applications Tuesday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. on reservation by 10:00 a.m. the day before); general procedures; ex parte applications; law and motion; and trial procedures (issue conference and statement of compliance, motions in limine, jury selection, exhibits and demonstratives, depositions, witnesses, stipulations, jury instructions), with the department's conduct-in-trials rules and trial forms.
Judge Kimberly A. Knill's policies for Department C31 (Central Justice Center): schedule (trials Monday through Wednesday; settlement conferences Friday 9:00 a.m.; ex parte Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m.; motions Friday 10:00 a.m.; case management conferences Thursday 1:30 p.m.; trial call Friday 11:30 a.m.); motions and tentative rulings; discovery motions (meet and confer first); ex parte applications (notice by 10:00 a.m. and filing by noon the court day before); stipulations; the Department C31 Pretrial Order (a pretrial checklist tied to Local Rule 317); and the department's Standing Order re: Artificial Intelligence of August 10, 2026: counsel and self-represented parties must personally confirm the accuracy of research done with generative AI, bear responsibility for all statements in their filings, and may be sanctioned or referred for failing to verify citations.
In the Appellate Division, counsel and self-represented parties are responsible for complete and accurate representations of the record, procedural history and authorities; generative AI is not prohibited, but its user must personally confirm the accuracy of research done with it and bears responsibility for every statement in a filing; users must comply with protective orders and ethical obligations; failure to verify citations may bring sanctions or State Bar discipline.
Judge Lindsey E. Martínez's policies for Department C24 (Central Justice Center), which encourages remote appearances: schedule (trials Tuesday through Thursday; settlement conferences Friday 9:00 a.m.; ex parte Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m.; motions Monday 1:30 p.m.; case management and order to show cause hearings Monday 8:45 a.m.; trial call Monday 9:30 a.m.); case management statements; motions and tentative rulings; ex parte reservations by 10:00 a.m. the court day before; stipulations; and the Department C24 Pretrial Order (exhibits for bench trials through the Electronic Evidence Portal; a pretrial checklist tied to Local Rule 317; exhibit notebooks, motions in limine, jury selection and instructions, special verdict forms and courtroom expectations), ordered August 5, 2026.
Judge Thomas J. Lo's general policies and procedures for Department C44 (Central Justice Center): calendar (order to show cause, case management, post-arbitration, review and default prove-up hearings Friday 8:30 a.m.; settlement conferences Friday 9:00 a.m.; law and motion Thursday 8:30 a.m.; trials Monday through Wednesday 8:30 a.m.; ex parte Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m. on reservation by 10:00 a.m. the day before), the Local Rule 315 meet and confer, case management and settlement conferences, continuances; ex parte applications (papers by noon the business day before; content under rules 3.1200–3.1207); law and motion; and trial procedures, with the department's conduct-in-trials rules and trial forms.
Judge R. Shawn Nelson's general policies and procedures for Department C10 (Central Justice Center): calendar (order to show cause hearings, case management conferences and review hearings Thursday 9:00 a.m.; settlement conferences Friday 8:30 a.m.; default prove-ups Thursday 10:00 a.m.; law and motion Thursday 1:30 p.m. by online reservation; trials Monday through Wednesday; ex parte applications Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m. on reservation by noon the day before); general procedures (the civil rules, civility, court reporters, the Local Rule 315 meet and confer, case management and settlement conferences, continuances); ex parte applications; law and motion; and trial procedures, with the department's conduct-in-trials rules and trial forms.
Judge Ebrahim Baytieh's revised pretrial orders for Department CM05 (Costa Mesa Justice Complex): expectations of counsel and self-represented parties (civility, with authorities); pretrial documents and deliveries to the clerk (a joint witness list with time estimates and the other joint lists); motions in limine; in-person trials; witnesses; objections; interruptions and discussions during trial; exhibits; transcripts; trial schedule and time estimates; consequences of noncompliance.
The protocol for the Civil Unlimited courtrooms piloting the Electronic Evidence Portal for court and jury trials (Departments C15, C16, C24, C25 and C27; the trial judge may excuse its use for good cause): exhibit number ranges agreed at the Local Rule 317 issue conference; exhibits uploaded and shared through the portal's Virtual Viewing Room no later than 14 days before trial (impeachment exhibits may be uploaded as confidential); the final set by noon the Wednesday before trial; counsel display exhibits on court laptops; and each department's Electronic Evidence Order and Stipulation.
Judge Megan Wagner's pretrial orders for Department CM06 (Costa Mesa Justice Complex): expectations of counsel and self-represented parties; the trial schedule (Monday and Wednesday all day, Thursday and Friday mornings) and time estimates; motions in limine and oppositions; in-person trials; exhibits through the Electronic Evidence Portal; witnesses; objections; interruptions during trial; transcripts of recordings offered in evidence; deposition transcripts; consequences of noncompliance.
Commissioner Sharon M. Anderson's pretrial orders for Department CM08 (Costa Mesa Justice Complex): expectations of counsel and self-represented parties (the Orange County Bar Association Civility Guidelines); pretrial documents under Local Rule 317 and joint exhibit, witness, stipulated-fact and controverted-issue lists delivered to the clerk; motions in limine; in-person trials; witnesses; objections; interruptions and discussions during trial; exhibits; transcripts; deposition transcripts; trial schedule and time estimates; consequences of noncompliance.
On request of an attorney of the Orange County Public Defender's Office, the Probation Department must release the names and locations of the minors specified, and Public Defender attorneys must be admitted to Juvenile Hall and the other Probation institutions to meet with and interview those minors in an unmonitored booth without further order; the order does not expire absent further order.
The order governing the Orange County CASA program, superseding all prior CASA orders: CASA personnel and appointed advocates may inspect juvenile case files (section 827(a)(1)(Q)) with copies kept in the clerk's office; CASA family connections work for dependents in foster care; Probation must give CASA access to information on and visitation with youth for whom CASA is appointed; limits on disclosing a child's dependent, ward or foster care status; and notice to CASA.
For the Orange County Public Defender's Office, the Law Offices of Harold LaFlamme, Juvenile Defenders and the Law Office of Linh Redhead: to identify conflicts of interest at the earliest opportunity, including before initial detention hearings, their attorneys may access the Social Services Agency reports on the juvenile division's SharePoint site; once appointed without a conflict, counsel may retrieve the case documents there; the reports are confidential (Welfare and Institutions Code section 827; Local Rule 903.1) and may not be disclosed, except the existence of a conflict, without further order.
Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 318.5, the court requests County Counsel to appear and participate in dependency proceedings on behalf of the Social Services Agency, without compelling representation where County Counsel declares a conflict or cannot act; the order does not expire absent further order.
The Orange County Health Care Agency is authorized to perform non-invasive, non-investigatory medical and nursing assessments of minors taken into temporary custody by the Social Services Agency or the Probation Department, to determine emergency medical needs including contagious diseases (a comprehensive health assessment, laboratory tests, prophylactic immunizations, mental health and dental assessments) and to provide emergency medical, mental health and dental treatment those assessments show to be necessary.
Every Miscellaneous Juvenile Court Policy Order executed before May 20, 2026 is rescinded; notwithstanding Local Rule 900.1.3, this order does not expire absent further order.
The court's procedural guidelines for military diversion under Penal Code section 1001.80 (felonies eligible since January 1, 2025, with the listed exclusions): motions filed by email to mdmotions@occourts.org; hearings on the second through fifth Tuesdays, presumed non-evidentiary; oppositions five and replies two court days before the hearing; companion cases; placement in the program and monitoring of performance; and, on successful completion, dismissal of the charges with the arrest deemed never to have occurred (subject to the peace-officer application exception), with local program contacts.
The court's procedural guidelines for mental health diversion: the statutory criteria of Penal Code section 1001.36; motions with a proposed treatment plan, filed electronically by email to MentalHealthDiversion@occourts.org; eligibility hearings; companion cases; placement in treatment and monitoring, with progress review hearings Thursdays 8:30 a.m. in Department CCB1 and progress reports filed by the Monday before; unsatisfactory performance; and dismissal on satisfactory completion.
Judge Richard Y. Lee's policies for Department W15 (West Justice Center): remote video hearings for law-and-motion and non-law-and-motion matters when appropriate; non-law-and-motion hearings Thursday 1:30 p.m.; law and motion Thursday 1:30 p.m. by online reservation; jury and court trials Monday through Wednesday 9:00 a.m. under the separate standing order on trials; ex parte Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m. on telephonic reservation by noon the court day before; electronic signatures by all parties.
Judge Bradley Erdosi's pretrial order for all cases assigned to him (Department C27): the department's policies apply; expectations of counsel and self-represented parties (the Orange County Bar Association Civility Guidelines); pretrial documents filed at least five court days before trial and a joint trial notebook delivered three court days before trial; motions in limine exchanged by the Local Rule 317 issue conference; in-person trials; witnesses and interpreters; objections without speaking; and exhibits uploaded to the Electronic Evidence Portal within three days of the Rule 317 conference.
Judge Erin Rowe's trial expectations and pretrial orders for Department CM03 (Costa Mesa Justice Complex): expectations of counsel and self-represented parties (the Orange County Bar Association Civility Guidelines); pretrial documents filed five court days before trial under Local Rule 317, and joint exhibit, witness, stipulated-fact and controverted-issue lists delivered by the Monday before trial; motions in limine; in-person trials; witnesses; objections; exhibits; transcripts; deposition transcripts; trial schedule and time estimates; consequences of noncompliance.
Judge Andre De La Cruz's policies for Department CM02 (Costa Mesa Justice Complex), the civil discovery department: law and motion (discovery matters) Thursday 9:00 a.m. by online reservation; informal discovery conferences Monday through Wednesday 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on one joint letter brief; courtesy copies not needed; jury and court trials and ex parte applications remain before the inventory judge.
The trial standing order issued in every case assigned to Judge Julianne S. Bancroft and set for trial (Department N14): civility and professionalism; continuances (disfavored; stipulations not effective until ordered); exhibits; objections; the Local Rule 317 issue conference; in limine motions; jury instructions and special verdict forms; the jury selection method and limits on attorney voir dire; witnesses and scheduling; and other issues (post-trial matters, jury fees and court reporters, multiple counsel, communication with the court, notice of the order), with the statement of compliance, procedural stipulations, joint witness and exhibit lists and exhibit tags attached.
Judge Julianne Sartain Bancroft's policies for Department N14 (North Justice Center): courtesy copies not needed; non-law-and-motion hearings Monday 1:30 p.m.; settlement conferences and judgment debtor examinations Friday 9:00 a.m.; law and motion Monday 9:00 a.m. by online reservation; jury and court trials Tuesday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. under the separate trial standing order; ex parte Monday through Thursday 1:30 p.m. on telephonic reservation by noon the day before; electronic signatures.