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A general order of the Presiding Judge dated 06/14/2021, made under California Rules of Court, rule 10.603 and rule 1.150: absent prior written authorization of the Presiding Judge or their designee, no photographing, recording, or broadcasting by the media, attorneys, parties, or members of the public within any courthouse or court facility (courtrooms, jury assembly rooms, entrances and exits, lobby areas, hallways, stairs, elevators and business offices), except media as permitted within a courtroom by a judicial officer under rule 1.150 and areas designated as media areas, and photography from outside that does not obstruct access; recording devices turned off while transported; no recording of the interior through the windows or doors; jurors never recorded within a courthouse, judicial officers not without a court order and court employees not at all, consenting jurors and spectators only outside unless otherwise permitted by court order; cell phones and other camera-enabled devices allowed as long as the image capturing features are not activated, used, or displayed without prior written authorization; requests for any other exception, and to photograph or film unoccupied courtrooms, jury rooms or employee work areas, made in writing to the Court Executive Officer with a statement of facts; the order posted at each public entrance and on the Court's webpage, the Sheriff of Merced County serving it on apparent violators; and the penalties - termination of media coverage, contempt, confiscation of recording equipment, sanctions, and imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months or a fine of up to $1,000 under Penal Code section 166(a)(4).
California > Fifth Appellate District > Merced County > Superior Court of California, County of Merced
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF MERCED GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE IN RE: PHOTOGRAPHY, FILMING, RECORDING, AND BROADCASTING The purpose of this General Order is to protect all persons with business in the courthouses and court facilities of the Superior Court of California, County of Merced; to ensure the safe, secure, and orderly conduct of hearings, trials, and other court proceedings; facilitate the safe, secure, and efficient handling of court business; and to ensure the right to public access without undue interference or delay. This General Order is made pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 10.603, which vests in the Presiding Judge the authority to establish court policies, and rule 1.150, which governs media coverage within the courthouse and court facilities. WHEREFORE, it is ordered: I. DEFINITIONS A. For the purpose of this General Order, the term, "Court" refers to the Superior Court of California, County of Merced. B. "Media" or "media agency" and "media coverage" are defined pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 1.150. 1. "Media" and "media agency" shall mean any person or organization engaging in news gathering or reporting and includes any newspaper, radio, or television station or network, news service, magazine, trade paper, in-house publication, professional journal, or other news-reporting or news-gathering agency. 2. "Media coverage" shall mean any photographing, recording, or broadcasting of court proceedings by the media using television, radio, photographic, or recording equipment. C. “Courthouse" shall mean any building containing at least one (1) courtroom. It shall also mean that portion of a multi-purpose commercial or private building that contains at least one (1) courtroom. D. "Court facility" shall mean any building, or that portion of a multi-purpose commercial or private building, where official court business is conducted. II. PROHIBITIONS A. Absent prior written authorization of the Presiding Judge or their designee, there shall be no photographing, recording, or broadcasting by the media, attorneys, parties, or members of the public within any of its courthouses and/or court facilities, including but not limited to courtrooms, jury assembly rooms, entrances and exits, lobby areas, hallways, stairs, elevators, and business offices except: 1. Media and media agencies as permitted within a courtroom by a judicial officer pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 1.150, and those areas that may be specifically designated by the Court as media areas. 2. This order is not intended to restrict the ability to photograph, film, or broadcast from outside of any courthouse or court facility, provided such activity does not obstruct access to or from the courthouse or court facility. B. Videotaping, photography, and electronic recording devices must be turned off while they are transported within any courthouse, court facility, or courtroom. C. Videotaping, photography, and electronic recording of the interior of any courthouse, court facility, or courtroom through the windows or doors of any courthouse, court facility, or courtroom is prohibited. D. Jurors may not be videotaped, photographed, or electronically recorded within a courthouse, court facility, or courtroom at any time. Videotaping, photography, and electronic recording of any consenting juror may only take place outside of the courthouse, court facility, and courtroom unless otherwise permitted by court order. E. Videotaping, photography, and electronic recording of any consenting spectator or other member of the public may only take place outside of the courthouse, court facility, and courtroom unless otherwise permitted by court order. F. Judicial officers of the Superior Court of California for the County of Merced may not be videotaped, photographed, or electronically recorded within a courthouse, court facility, or courtroom without a court order. G. Employees of the Superior Court of California for the County of Merced may not be videotaped, photographed, or electronically recorded within a courthouse, court facility, or courtroom. H. Cell phones or other camera-enabled devices and devices that capture digital images, such as watches, PDAs, tablets, iPads, and iPods, may be brought into a courthouse, court facility, or courtroom, as long as the image capturing features are not activated, used, or displayed without the prior written authorization of the Court. III. EXCEPTIONS A. This General Order is not intended to interfere with or restrict the rights of the media to request permission from a judicial officer to allow media coverage within a particular courtroom, nor to interfere with the authority of each judicial officer to rule on requests pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 1.150. B. Requests for any other exception to this General Order must be submitted to the Court Executive Officer for the consideration of the Presiding Judge or their designee. All such requests shall be made in writing and shall include a statement of facts in support of the request. C. Requests to photograph or film unoccupied or unused courtrooms, jury rooms, or employee work areas must be submitted to the Court Executive Officer. All such requests shall be made in writing and shall include a statement of facts in support of the request. IV. SEVERABILITY Should any provision of this General Order be held invalid, the validity of the other provisions of this General Order shall not be affected. V. NOTICE It is ordered that this General Order shall be posted at each public entrance to a courthouse and on the Court's webpage. The Sheriff of Merced County and their deputies are directed to serve a copy of this General Order on any person or organization who appears to be in violation thereof, to advise the person or organization of the apparent violation, and to immediately notify Court Executive Officer and Presiding Judge to determine what, if any, action should be taken to address the apparent violation of court order. VI. PENALTIES A. A violation of this General Order may be the basis for an Order terminating further media coverage; a citation for contempt; confiscation of recording equipment, including but not limited to, cell phones, tablets or other camera-enabled devices, and other devices that capture digital images; and/or an order imposing monetary or other sanctions. B. A violation of this General Order may also result in imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, or by a fine of up to $1,000, or by both, pursuant to Penal Code section 166(a)(4). This order is effective immediately. Date: 06/14/2021 HON. DONALD J. PROIETTI Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF MERCED GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE IN RE: PHOTOGRAPHY, FILMING, RECORDING, AND BROADCASTING The purpose of this General Order is to protect all persons with business in the courthouses and court facilities of the Superior Court of California, County of Merced; to ensure the safe, secure, and orderly conduct of hearings, tr
Reviewer note: Transcribed 2026-10-15 (California T4 Merced build 2026-10-15) by eye from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-merced/docs/general/general-order-photography-filming-ada-comp.pdf (1003459 bytes, sha256 5f37b899501f144489e36bdb1faa27ce23a6189ec8ac250f0ccf865da6e90172; 4 pages, each covered by a scanned page image; a machine reading laid with the images (invisible) - not the card's source): read on the page images rendered at 200 dpi (vision/img/gpf-p01.png to gpf-p04.png) and checked against a RapidOCR reading of the images (at 200 dpi) and the file's own text layer for the same pages, never published: of the transcription's 1052 words, 15 6-word windows were not found in a reading, in 3 spans - 3 spans split into consecutive pieces each found (a page break, a letterhead or signature block the readings interleave, or the readings' line order) (vision/check-log.txt; evidence/vision-check-2026-10-15.log, evidence/vision-explain-2026-10-15.log). Not part of the text: the pleading paper's line numbers 1 to 28 in the left margin of every page, each page's footer (the page number and the footer title “General Order: Photography, Filming, Recording, and Broadcasting”), the handwritten signature above the printed name and title, and the rules and borders. The date 06/14/2021 is typed. The transcription's closing note, which describes the pages, is not published. Review note: The order's date line prints 06/14/2021, typed. Rule 2.1 (carded with Rules 2 to 2.6) likewise prohibits photographing and recording in any court facility absent written order from the Presiding Judge; the Administrative and Media Requests page (carded) links this order with the media request standing orders.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.