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Chapter 2 (Administrative and General Matters; Rules 2.0 to 2.21): court administration by the judges (Rule 2.0); the selection of a Presiding Judge and Assistant Presiding Judge for two consecutive calendar years (Rule 2.1); the Court Executive Officer (Rule 2.2); the court's divisions (Rule 2.3); sessions in El Centro (at the Main Courthouse or the Wake Courthouse) or at Winterhaven (Rule 2.4); Departments 1 to 9 in the Main Courthouse and 10 to 13 in the Wake Courthouse (Rule 2.5); clerk's offices; intra-county venue and filing (Rule 2.7); conformed pleadings; security screening and weapons in court buildings (Rule 2.10); complaints against subordinate judicial officers; attendance and conduct at court proceedings, with sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure section 177.5 (Rule 2.12); compliance with the rules (Rule 2.13); limits on electronic and photographic equipment (Rule 2.15); administrative recordings (Rule 2.16); a judicial vacation day (Rule 2.17); mandatory electronic filing in civil, probate, family law, family support, small claims and adoption cases and permissive electronic submission in juvenile and criminal cases (Rule 2.18); electronic delivery of court documents (Rule 2.20); and remote appearances: registration on the court's website no less than 5 business days before the hearing, the $25 late registration fee, participant identification and the conditions of appearing remotely (Rule 2.21).
California > Fourth Appellate District > Imperial County > Superior Court of California, County of Imperial
Chapter 2 Administrative and General Matters Rule 2.0 Court Administration All judges participate in court policy-making by means of regularly scheduled meetings of the entire membership of the judiciary and pursuant to established internal governance and administrative protocols. By majority vote, the judges may adopt standing orders, protocols, policy statements, executive orders and administrative directives, which need not be incorporated in these rules. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.1 Presiding Judge and Assistant Presiding Judge At a meeting of all the judges held not later than December 31st of every odd-numbered year, a Presiding Judge (“PJ”) and Assistant Presiding Judge (“APJ”) shall be selected as described in the Court’s governance and administrative protocols. Each judge selected shall serve for a term of two consecutive calendar years. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.2 Court Executive Officer The administrative functions of the Court shall be under the direction of the Court Executive Officer (“CEO”), who shall be selected by, and serve at the pleasure of, the judges. In addition to the duties set forth in California Rule of Court (CRC) 10.610, the CEO serves as clerk of the court and jury commissioner. The CEO shall perform such other duties as directed by the presiding judge, and has the authority to establish other necessary offices to meet the needs of the court. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.3 Court Divisions (a) Criminal Division Six judges shall be assigned to preside over the criminal division, which includes both misdemeanors and felonies. Four judges shall be assigned to the El Centro Wake location and two shall be assigned to the El Centro Main location. The judges in the criminal division shall, at a meeting held not later than December 31st of each year, designate a supervising judge of the criminal division (“SCJ”) to preside over the felony master calendar department. The PJ may, but need not, serve as SCJ. (b) Civil Division Two judges shall be assigned to preside over the civil division at the El Centro Main Court and shall hear trials, law and motion, conservatorship, and probate. (c) Family and Juvenile Division Two judges and one part-time AB1058 commissioner shall be assigned to the family and juvenile divisions, and shall hear matters as assigned by the Juvenile Presiding Judge. (d) Infractions An appointed referee shall preside over infraction cases at the El Centro Main and Winterhaven Courthouses. (e) Small Claims An appointed referee shall hear small claims cases at designated times at the El Centro Main and Winterhaven Courthouses. (f) Appellate Judges of the appellate division of the Court are designated by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. In addition to appeals specified elsewhere by statute or rule, the appellate division has jurisdiction over matters as required by these rules. (g) Juvenile Infractions. An appointed referee shall preside over infraction cases at the El Centro Main Courthouse. [Adopted July 1, 2007, subd (d) amended 01/01/10, subd (g) adopted 01/01/10, subd (c)(g) amended 01/01/12, subd (a)(d)(e) amended 01/01/14, subd (d)(g) amended 01/01/20, subd (a)(b)(d)(e)(g) amended 01/01/24] Rule 2.4 Sessions of the Court Sessions of the Court shall be held at the Main Courthouse in El Centro, (939 W. Main Street, El Centro), the Wake Courthouse in El Centro (650 Wake Avenue, El Centro) and Winterhaven (2124 Winterhaven Drive, Winterhaven). [Adopted July 1, 2007, amended 01/01/10, 01/01/12, 01/01/14, 07/01/19, amended 01/01/24] Rule 2.5 Departments of the Courts The departments in the Main Courthouse in El Centro are designated: Dept. 1, Dept. 2, Dept. 3, Dept. 4, Dept. 5, Dept. 6, Dept. 7, Dept. 8, and Dept. 9. The departments in the Wake Courthouse in El Centro are designated: Dept. 10, Dept. 11, Dept. 12, and Dept. 13. The department in Winterhaven is designated: Winterhaven. [Adopted July 1, 2007, amended 01/01/10, 01/01/14, 01/01/20, 01/01/24] Rule 2.6 Clerk’s Offices A clerk’s office shall be located at the El Centro Main, El Centro Wake, and Winterhaven Courthouses. [Adopted July 1, 2007, amended 01/01/09, 01/01/14, 01/01/20, 01/01/24] Rule 2.7 Intra-County Venue and Filing (a) For purposes of intra-county venue, the County of Imperial is divided into El Centro (Main), El Centro (Wake) and Winterhaven venues. (b) Limited Civil Cases. All papers for a limited civil case may be filed in the El Centro (Main) courthouse. All limited civil matters are heard in El Centro (Main) Courthouse. (c) Small Claims Cases. Plaintiff’s Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court and the Defendant’s Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court for a small claims case may be filed in the El Centro (Main) and Winterhaven Courthouses. (d) All Other Civil Filings. All papers in general or unlimited civil, family law, probate cases and appeals shall be filed in the clerk’s office in the El Centro (Main) Courthouse. [Adopted July 1, 2007, subd (a)(b)(c), amended (b)(c), subd (d) Adopted 01/01/09, amended (b)(c) 01/01/10, subd (b)(d) amended 01/01/12, subd (a)(b)(c) amended 01/01/14, amended 01/01/24] Rule 2.8 [Repealed] [Adopted July 1, 2007, repealed 01/01/24] Rule 2.9 Conformed Pleadings When an original document is filed, the court will conform two copies thereof at no charge. If conformed copies are to be returned by mail or messenger, a stamped, self-addressed envelope or messenger slip must be submitted. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.10 Court Security (a) Upon entering any Court building, all persons, and their belongings will be screened and inspected for weapons. Unless required by law, a person may refuse to submit to screening and inspection, in which case he or she shall immediately leave the court building. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law, no person may possess any object that could be construed as a weapon while in a Court building, including, but not limited to: guns, knives, tools, sharp objects or pepper spray. If these items are found at the Court screening stations, the screened individual has the choice of (1) taking it outside the building; or (2) having the security personnel confiscate the item. Except as provided in (d) below, security staff will not temporarily hold the item for any person. However, except as provided below, bailiffs, correctional officers and law enforcement officers employed by a federal, state, county or local jurisdiction, and court security personnel may possess weapons while in the course and scope of their official duties. (c) A person authorized to possess a weapon pursuant to section (b) hereof shall not possess said weapon while in a Court building if he/she or a member of his/her immediate family or someone with whom he/she has a close relationship is a party to a pending proceeding to be heard that day. (d) Persons prohibited from possessing weapons pursuant to section (c) hereof shall, upon first entering the Court, immediately declare to the security officer, the fact of his or her possession of such weapon and shall then surrender such weapon for safekeeping. (e) Any violation of this rule may be punished as contempt, and may result in imprisonment, a fine, or both. (f) Except by specific permission first obtained from a judge, bailiff, or other designated court personnel, no person shall be or remain in any area or any department restricted to the exclusive occupancy of court personnel or judicial officers. This includes clerk offices, judicial chambers, hallways leading to judicial chambers or court staff workspaces, sally ports/holding cells, and/or administrative offices. [Adopted July 1, 2007, subd (b) amended 01/01/17, subd (f) adopted January 1, 2017] Rule 2.11 Subordinate Judicial Officer Complaints Investigation of complaints against commissioners and other subordinate judicial officers shall follow the procedures in CRC 10.703 as well as internal court governance procedures and administrative protocols. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.12 Attendance and Conduct at Court Proceedings (a) Attorneys and self-represented litigants are required to promptly appear at all proceedings. (b) If an attorney or self-represented litigant will be late or will not appear at any calendared proceeding, the attorney shall telephone the department in which the proceeding is set, prior to the time set for the appearance, and advise the clerk or bailiff that the attorney or litigant will be late or will not be present. Failure to so advise the clerk or bailiff may subject the violator to sanctions pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 177.5. The telephone advisement referred to in subdivision (b) of this rule does not excuse an attorney’s failure to timely appear at a calendared proceeding. (c) No person shall appear in Court barefoot, shirtless, wearing a tank top, wearing sunglasses, wearing clothing with obscenities, or dress in any manner reflecting poorly upon the dignity of the Court and its decorum. The bailiffs of the Court may remove any person violating this rule. (d) Cellular phones and electronic devices are not to be utilized in the courtroom galleries to avoid disruption of the proceedings. [Adopted July 1, 2007, subd (c) and (d) adopted January 1, 2017] Rule 2.13 Compliance with Rules If counsel, a party represented by counsel, or a self-represented party, fails to comply with any requirements of these Local Rules, the Court, on motion of a party or on its own motion, may strike out all, or any part of any pleading of that party, or dismiss the action or proceeding, or any part thereof, or enter a judgment by default against that party, or impose other penalties of a lesser nature as otherwise provided by law, and may order that party, or his or her counsel, to pay to the moving party, the reasonable expenses in making the motion, including reasonable attorney fees. [Adopted July 1, 2007] Rule 2.14 [Repealed] [Adopted July 1, 2008, repealed 01/01/17] Rule 2.15 Limitations on Electronic and Photographic Equipment in Courthouses a) No one except authorized court and court security personnel may activate any camera, microphone, recorder, or broadcasting device for the purpose of photographing, recording, or broadcasting in or into any courtroom or courthouse in Imperial County where the court conducts business, including all entrances, exits, hallways, elevators and business offices, except as permitted by California Rule of Court 1.150 or as permitted by this order or other order of a judge as set forth herein. b) Any device that appears capable of photographing, recording, or broadcasting is subject to temporary confiscation. c) Law enforcement personnel with body-worn cameras shall not activate the recording function of the cameras unless involved in law enforcement activities in the courthouse. For purposes of this paragraph, “law enforcement activities” does not include being present in connection with a pending matter as a witness or to assist the prosecution. d) Any violation of this Local Rule or an order made under this Local Rule, or of California Rule of Court, Rule 1.150, is an unlawful interference with the court proceedings and may be the basis for an order terminating media coverage, a citation for contempt of court, or an order imposing monetary or other sanctions as provided by law. [Adopted January 1, 2013, amended 01/01/14, 01/01/22] Rule 2.16 Administrative Recordings The Court electronically records some court proceedings, which are used by the Court for administrative purposes only. Any request for a copy of an administrative recording must be made by noticed motion scheduled before the Presiding Judge. [Adopted January 1, 2017] Rule 2.17 Definition of a Judicial Vacation Day Pursuant to Rule 10.603(c)(2)(E) of the California Rules of Court, the Presiding Judge of each Court is required to allow the judges of that court vacation days according to their number of years of service. Rule 10.603(c)(2)(H) requires each court to define a vacation day, for purposes of the above entitlement. A “day of vacation” for a judge of the court shall be defined as an approved absence for one full business day. [Adopted July 1, 2018] Rule 2.18 Mandatory Electronic Filing & Permissive Electronic Submission of Court Documents Beginning January 1, 2022, electronic filing of Court documents will be mandatory for the following case types: 1) Civil Unlimited 2) Civil Limited 3) Probate 4) Family Law 5) Family Support 6) Small Claims 7) Adoptions These documents include initial case filings and subsequent filings. Self-represented parties or other self-represented persons are exempt from any mandatory electronic delivery, however, are encouraged to deliver documents electronically. A list of electronic filing service providers (EFSP’s) that are accepted by Imperial Superior Court can be found on the Court’s website: https://imperial.courts.ca.gov/ The following case types are permitted to be electronically submitted via the Court’s eDelivery submission system: 1) Juvenile Delinquency 2) Juvenile Dependency 3) Misdemeanor 4) Felony Permissive electronic submission of documents can be done at https://imperial.courts.ca.gov/ All parties electronically submitting and filing documents to the Court must have all documents comply with the following formatting rules: 1) All Documents must be in standard PDF (Portable Document Format) format and viewable on any standard PDF Viewer. (i.e. Adobe Reader or Foxit PDF Reader) 2) All Documents submitted of more than 15 pages and/or containing multiple exhibits/sections must be bookmarked. (Free PDF reader software is available online with bookmarking capabilities) a. Bookmarks should be named to match the bookmarked section/exhibit. b. Examples of documents to be bookmarked include, but are not limited to, Civil Petitions with Exhibits and Motions with Exhibits. 3) Also, all documents electronically delivered must be in a text-searchable format, i.e., OCR. [Adopted July 1, 2019, amended 01/01/20, 01/01/22] Rule 2.19 [Repealed] [Adopted January 1, 2020, repealed 01/01/24] Rule 2.20 Electronic Delivery of Court Documents Documents submitted to the court electronically in all case types must be formatted so that each single, separate, and complete document or form is submitted as a single, separate, and complete electronic document. Electronic documents that consolidate multiple documents or multiple electronic documents that contain pieces of a single paper document will be rejected by the Court. Electronic documents must comply with the formatting and quality rules provided in Local Rule 2.18. [Adopted January 1, 2022] Rule 2.21 Remote Appearances (a) Compliance with California Rules of Court. Counsel or parties desiring to appear remotely must comply with the procedures set forth in the California Rules of Court. After the California Rule of Court has been followed, parties shall register on the Court’s website for the remote appearance. (b) Court-Provided Remote Appearance Service. The Court provides remote appearance services through an in-house registration portal and uses a commercial conferencing system. Registration for remote appearance can be done on the Court's website at https://imperial.courts.ca.gov/ under Online Services > Remote Appearances. (c) Contested Matters. Remote Appearances on contested matters must be video appearances. (d) Courtroom Proceedings. Hearings are conducted in open court. All persons making a remote appearance must connect to the provided conference bridge fifteen (15) minutes before the calendared time of the hearing to check in with court staff. Attorneys or parties will remain on the Court' s audio/video system and hear the same business that those present in the courtroom hear. Remote participants must remain muted until their matter is called. Persons not participating remotely appear in person. All present in the courtroom will hear the discourse of those making remote appearances unless otherwise ordered by the Court. In confidential matters, waiting parties will be placed in a virtual waiting room. Remote participants are an extension of the courtroom and should therefore follow the same standard etiquette and procedures as in-person participants throughout proceedings. All applicable rules, statutes, and laws are enforceable in the same manner as if the attendee was in the courtroom. (e) Scheduling Timeliness. Remote participants shall register online no less than 5 business days before the hearing date. Same-day registration is not permitted. Registration will be considered complete once payment, if applicable, has been received. It is the responsibility of counsel or the party to obtain payment information from the Court. If an event is continued prior to the registered remote appearance date, you must register for the new appearance date through the Court’s website. The collected remote appearance fee from the original hearing date will be transferred to the new remote appearance date. (f) Late Registration Fee. Late registration fee of $25 will be imposed in addition to the standard registration fee ($25 registration fee + $25 late fee = $50). (g) Remote Appearance Conditions and Obligations. It is the sole responsibility of the Party appearing remotely, either by video or call, to ensure they have sufficient internet speed and/or connectivity as well as an appropriate location with no background noise or disruptions. By voluntarily appearing remotely, the person appearing remotely agrees to appear from a location free from distraction and other noises. Parties shall not be engaged in any other distracting activity while participating in the scheduled hearing. The Court retains the discretion, in the interest of justice, to terminate the remote appearance if there is a disruption, noise, misconduct, a communication problem, a technical problem or other issues which interfere with the proper hearing of a matter. If the party making the remote appearance is not connected at the time the Court calls the case, or if the Party has insufficient video or audio quality during the hearing, the Court, in its discretion, may take any appropriate action, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) The Court may consider alternative communication with the party who is not connected or whose connection is problematic 2) The Court may consider postponing the hearing. If the Court continues a hearing as a result of the insufficient connectivity, the party with the insufficient connectivity may be responsible for a fee and/or cost associated with the continuance 3) The Court may drop the matter from the calendar 4) In the interest of justice, the Court may proceed with the hearing and/or make a ruling in the absence of an appearance (h) Participant Identification. Parties must register using the name of the individual who will actually appear remotely. Should it be necessary to substitute this person, it is mandatory to contact the remote appearance coordinator for approval before 4:00 p.m. the day prior to the appearance. Participants may not record the proceeding or share the meeting link with any person who is not authorized by the Court to appear in the remote proceeding. [Adopted January 1, 2024, subd (d)(e) amended 07/01/26, subd (f)(g)(h) adopted 07/01/26]
Chapter 2 Administrative and General Matters Rule 2.0 Court Administration All judges participate in court policy-making by means of regularly scheduled meetings of the entire membership of the judiciary and pursuant to established internal governance and administrative protocols. By majority vote, the judges may adopt standing orders, protocols, policy statements, executive orders and administrat
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-07 (California T4 Imperial build 2026-10-07) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-imperial/docs/local-rules/local-rules-july-2026_0.pdf (3481432 bytes, sha256 33be9789b4c6df80ff4fe8db77a59afeb07f113fa7a5f10b997301762552269a; 237 pages; this chapter is pages 9 to 15) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow). The rules are printed in two columns and were read column by column (the composer's columns option; each column wraps at its own margin): the running header (Local Rules of Superior Court of California, County of Imperial) and the page numbers removed as chrome; the cover, the table of contents, the Local Forms Index, the reprinted local forms and the alphabetic index belong to no chapter card; lines reflowed into the court's paragraphs, each rule heading on its own line; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. Documented layout fixes (read on the page; the proofs hold): Rule 2.7's history note set as one paragraph. Review note: Rule 2.21 (e) (amended July 1, 2026) requires remote participants to register online no less than 5 business days before the hearing date; the Executive Order re: Implementation of AB 199 (filed July 7, 2022) and the court's Remote Appearances page set three court days for remote appearance requests in traffic and criminal cases. A review task asks which governs traffic and criminal requests.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.