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Entry to court locations through the weapons-screening stations (Code of Civil Procedure sections 128 and 187) and searches of persons and belongings; who may enter without screening; armed or armored entry (Section 171b of the California Penal Code; soft body armor; peace officers on official court business); the prohibited items (firearms, knives, tools, cameras or audio recording devices unless approved under Rule of Court 1.150, and the others listed); and the Sheriff's operational control.
California > First Appellate District > Contra Costa County > Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA DATE: MARCH 16, 2026 JUDGE: HON. CHRISTOPHER R. BOWEN DEPARTMENT 1 COURT CLERK: CAROLINE RUARO UNREPORTED STANDING ORDER RE: WEAPONS SCREENING I. Entry Directives a. Pursuant to the general authority conferred upon the Court under Code of Civil Procedure sections 128 and 187, persons entering any location of the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa, in which a weapons-screening station is in use must enter through one of the security check points. Such persons may be required to pass through the weapons-screening station and/or submit to a search of their person and belongings. b. Persons entering any court location by way of a point of entry where a weapons-screening station is not in use are subject to a search of their person and belongings for concealed weapons and/or soft body armor. II. Prohibition of Entry a. Any person refusing to pass through a weapons-screening station, or refusing to submit to a search of their person and belongings, will be denied entry into the building, except for the following: i. Elected public officers (but not their deputies or assistants) under Article 6, Section 16 (a judge of a court of record) or Article 11 Section 1 (an elected county sheriff, an elected district attorney, an elected assessor, and an elected governing body) of the Constitution of California; ii. Deputies or assistants of elected office holders, appointed office holders, or employees of the County or Court who display an employment identification card or other verifiable proof of office or employment that is approved by the Contra Costa County Sheriff and acknowledged by Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office staff at the weapons-screening station; and iii. Persons issued proximity cards by the Court, the General Services Agency, and/or the County of Contra Costa who enter the court by separate entrance controlled by proximity cards. b. Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to prohibit an authorized member of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office from, in the exercise of their lawful discretion, denying entry to any person. III. Prohibition of Armed/Armored Entry a. Except for peace officers who are at a courthouse on official court business (as defined below), any person in possession of any weapon described in Section 171b of the California Penal Code, or any person in possession of any object reasonably deemed capable of being used as a deadly or dangerous weapon by the Contra Costa County Sheriff, will be denied entry into the building. Any peace officer who is not on official court business, as defined below, must surrender any weapons or return without them and may reclaim any surrendered weapons upon exit from the courthouse. b. Except for peace officers authorized by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, any person wearing soft body armor will also be denied entry into the building. c. "Official Court business" means specifically: i. Deputies and employees of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and any officer or deputy of a law enforcement agency who is present at the request of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office to provide mutual aid and/or assist with security; ii. Other peace officers present at the courthouse to testify in a case, to be designated at any proceeding as an “investigating officer”, to meet with employees of the District Attorney's Office in their official capacity, to accompany or provide transportation for a witness or other person associated with a case, to obtain a paper or hard copy warrant, to perform a records check, or to make a criminal arrest pursuant to a warrant; or iii. District Attorney investigators who are present in their professional capacity. IV. Other Prohibited Items a. Except as otherwise provided herein, all persons are prohibited from entering a courthouse or facility with any prohibited item. Examples of prohibited items include, but are not limited to: i. Firearms/Ammunition ii. Knives (pocket knife, belt buckle knife, etc.) iii. Metal Knuckles iv. Chains, including wallet chains v. Tools (hammer, screwdriver, wrench, etc.) vi. Pepper spray, mace or tear gas vii. Cutting instruments (Scissors, letter opener, box cutter, hatchet, sword, etc.) viii. Handcuffs/handcuff keys ix. Syringes (other than for medical use) x. Knitting needles, sewing needles, large safety pins xi. Glass Containers, ice picks, corkscrews and metal eating utensils xii. Lighters, torches, flammable liquids xiii. Chemicals/Fertilizers that are corrosive or flammable xiv. Explosives xv. Skateboards, golf clubs, and bats xvi. Alcohol xvii. Illegal drugs or paraphernalia xviii. Laser Pointers xix. Graffiti tools – markers, paint, etching tools, etc. xx. Large poster board sheets or signs xxi. Cameras or audio recording devices, unless the camera or recording device is approved for use under Rule of Court 1.150, or by the court’s ADA Coordinator, Presiding Judge, or designee. b. Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to prohibit an authorized member of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office from, in the exercise of their lawful discretion, prohibiting an item from being brought into the courthouse if they reasonably suspect the item may compromise the security of the building or the safety of the court and court staff, other court users, or the general public. V. Operational Control a. All weapons-screening station operations shall be under the direction of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: March 16, 2026 HON. CHRISTOPHER R. BOWEN Presiding Judge of the Superior Court Contra Costa County
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA DATE: MARCH 16, 2026 JUDGE: HON. CHRISTOPHER R. BOWEN DEPARTMENT 1 COURT CLERK: CAROLINE RUARO UNREPORTED STANDING ORDER RE: WEAPONS SCREENING I. Entry Directives a. Pursuant to the general authority conferred upon the Court under Code of Civil Procedure sections 128 and 187, persons entering any location of the Superi
Reviewer note: Transcribed 2026-10-08 (California T4 Contra Costa build 2026-10-08) by eye from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-contra-costa/docs/general/combined-standing-orders-8-11-2026.pdf (the court's “Appendix A: Standing Orders”, “Revised August 11, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 14177357 bytes, sha256 50e61603361f0c413700512b6bb1a4d78d849a061bcc1e6d3ec3dcb30fda7c49; 48 pages, scanned) - Standing Order 4.4, PDF pages 44 to 46: read on the page images rendered at 200 dpi, each doubtful mark on a crop at 400 dpi; checked against three machine readings never published (RapidOCR on each whole page, the file's own text layer where a page has one, RapidOCR on each printed line): every 6-word window of the transcription looked up and each span no reading holds read again on the page image (vision/check-log.md). The compilation's label, the clerk's filed stamps, the signatures and the pleading paper's line numbers are not part of the text; the transcription's closing note, which describes them, is not published. Review note: The apostrophes are carded as printed (curly except in "Sheriff's Office to provide" and "District Attorney's"); "Article 11 Section 1" and "Section 171b" are so printed.
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.