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Chapter 11 (Rule 2.180): remote appearances under Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75 and California Rule of Court, rule 3.672 - the notice requirements, the general provisions, and remote hearings in domestic violence and gun violence restraining order matters (Family Code §6308(b), Penal Code § 18123(b)).
California > First Appellate District > Contra Costa County > Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa
Chapter 11. Remote Appearances Rule 2.180. Remote Appearances (a) This Local Rule is adopted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75 and California Rule of Court, rule 3.672. Requirements for notice are set forth in Rule 3.672 and below. The subsection concerning remote hearings in domestic violence and gun violence restraining order matters is adopted pursuant to Family Code §6308(b) and Penal Code § 18123(b). Where they conflict, these rules supersede other previously-enacted rules, emergency rules, or directives concerning remote appearances. This rule does not apply to remote appearances covered by Code of Civil Procedure section 367.76. (b) General Provisions Regarding Remote Appearances (1) The Court has uses Zoom (audio and video) as its sole remote appearance platform. (2) Remote appearances in contested hearings, excluding those described in subsection (c), shall be by video. Audio-only appearances shall not be permitted for such hearings unless specifically permitted by the judicial officer. (3) A remote hearing is subject to all laws governing confidentiality, photographing and recordings of proceedings in a courtroom. No one appearing remotely may record, photograph or reproduce any hearing, or any part of a hearing, including any screenshots. Any person who violates this provision shall be subject to all sanctions provided under the law for a like action in an in-person hearing. (4) A judicial officer may order that a specific hearing be conducted by remote appearance. If that hearing is an evidentiary hearing or trial, parties objecting to the remote hearing shall file their objection as provided in Rule 3.672(h). (5) In any hearing not specifically set by the court to be conducted by remote appearance, a party who has failed to provide a notice of remote appearance may appear remotely upon a judicial officer’s finding under Rule 3.672(j)(2) of good cause, unforeseen circumstances, or that the remote appearance would promote access to justice. (6) A judicial officer may elect to terminate a remote hearing and continue the matter to a later in-person appearance should the judicial officer find that any of the criteria of Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75(b) and/or Rule of Court 3.672(d) are met. (c) Civil Case Management, Law & Motion, and Ex Parte Hearings; Short-Cause Family Matters (1) Parties in civil case management, civil law and motion, civil ex parte (not including domestic violence restraining orders), and short-cause family law matters may stipulate either orally or in writing to waive notice of other parties’ remote appearance. (2) The Court waives notice of parties appearing remotely for these matters. Parties do not need to file a Notice of Remote Appearance, but must serve the notice as set forth in Rule 3.672 unless the parties have stipulated to waive notice. (d) Civil Evidentiary Hearings, Settlement Conferences, and Trials (1) For evidentiary hearings, settlement conferences, and bench or jury trials, parties must appear in person unless the Court has granted prior express written authorization for a remote appearance. (2) The time frames and procedures for remote appearance requests and oppositions are set forth in Rule 3.672(h). (3) Courtesy copies of any requests or oppositions shall be filed with the department. (4) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require personal appearance of an expert witness unless the judicial officer has previously found good cause for the expert witness to appear in person. (e) Probate Matters (1) For probate hearings other than evidentiary hearings, settlement conferences, and trials, parties may stipulate either orally or in writing to waive notice of other parties’ remote appearance. (2) The Court waives notice of parties appearing remotely for these matters. Parties do not need to file a Notice of Remote Appearance, but must serve the notice as set forth in Rule 3.672 unless the parties have stipulated to waive notice. (3) For evidentiary hearings, settlement conferences, and trials, the provisions of subsection (d) shall apply. (f) Juvenile Dependency Matters. (1) The provisions of Rule 3.672(i) shall apply to Juvenile Dependency matters. (2) All confidentiality requirements applicable to in-person Juvenile Dependency proceedings shall apply equally to remote hearings. In the event the Court cannot ensure that a remote appearance will have the privacy and security necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the proceeding, the judicial officer may order any person to appear in-person, and may elect to terminate a remote hearing and continue the matter for a later in-person appearance. (g) Special Rules for Domestic Violence and Gun Violence Restraining Orders (1) Instructions for remote appearances in domestic violence and gun violence restraining order hearings will be posted to the Court’s restraining order webpage: https://www.cc-courts.org/restraining-orders/restraining-orders.aspx. (2) The Court designates the departmental phone number for the department hearing each respective order as the phone number for the public to call to obtain assistance regarding a remote appearance. The designated departmental phone numbers will be posted on the restraining order webpage above. These phone numbers will be staffed from 30 minutes prior to the start of the court session at which the hearing will take place and during that court session. (Rule 2.180 revised effective 1/1/25)
Chapter 11. Remote Appearances Rule 2.180. Remote Appearances (a) This Local Rule is adopted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75 and California Rule of Court, rule 3.672. Requirements for notice are set forth in Rule 3.672 and below. The subsection concerning remote hearings in domestic violence and gun violence restraining order matters is adopted pursuant to Family Code §6308(b) a
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 Contra Costa build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-contra-costa/docs/general/july-2026-local-rules-final_0.pdf (the court's rule book, “Local Rules of Court Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 24267831 bytes, sha256 580a7d67b663a29aea78edf6b7d0fffb19be65430ad0770cad9f8cb543be811e; 274 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over the rules (PDF pages 17 to 191): each page's running header (“Local Rules of the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa”) and footer (a rule of underscores, “Local Court Rules – Effective July 1, 2026” and “Page N of 201”) removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; Title One's heading and its first chapter heading set on their own lines, eleven rule citations the reflow broke at a line end rejoined, and six tables printed without rules set one row a line - Rule 2.40's attorney fee schedule, two cells of Guideline Attachment 1's commission chart, Attachment 2's attorney rates, Attachment 3's time summary and Attachment 4(a)'s probate calendars (18 whitespace-only fixes); Rule 2.160's local fees and the commission chart's header cells and sixth row, which the reflow read across, set as printed (three same-character fixes); the sixth row's number, in page 180's bottom band, kept (the composer's bottom_band_numbers option); no struck character (the strike report); the rules cut at the chapter headings, which reassemble them (Title Six is “Reserved”: its heading alone); proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the table of rule effective dates, the table of contents, the list of local court forms, the index and Appendix A (the standing orders as revised May 15, 2026, superseded by the compilation revised August 11, 2026) belong to no chapter.
3 verbatim requirements on remote appearances in CALEB S. JOHNSTON's division.
6 verbatim requirements on remote appearances in MICHAEL G. KAPLAN's division.