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Rule 16: criminal cases assigned to one Judge for all purposes, from arraignment on the complaint through trial and sentencing, the assigned judge reflected on the first paper filed (16(A)); a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed only with a complete copy (16(B)); discovery under Penal Code Sections 1054-1054.9 (16(C)); a list of CALCRIM instructions filed on the first day of trial (16(D)); the Felony Bail Schedule the Judges adopt, accessed at www.merced.courts.ca.gov (16(E)); a notice of motion under Penal Code Section 1538.5 listing the evidence, the theories and the authorities (16(F)); pretrial motions served and filed at least ten (10) court days, opposition five (5) court days and reply two (2) court days before the hearing, proof of service filed five (5) court days before, a memorandum of no more than fifteen (15) pages unless an ex-parte application to exceed it is filed two (2) days before, sanctions, and a courtesy copy to the court (16(G)); a defendant in custody suitably dressed for trial (16(H)); a subsequent motion for release on own recognizance or bail modification disclosing the prior motion (16(I)); a transcript of a sound recording served at least ten (10) court days before a felony trial and three (3) court days before a misdemeanor trial, differing versions not resolved by the parties alerted to the Judge at the trial readiness conference, certified transcripts, and the party's own technical assistance or the Court's form at least two (2) Court days before (16(J)); permission before dangerous, hazardous, large or bulky exhibits are brought into the courthouse, exhibits sealed and tagged, firearms secured by a nylon tie or trigger guard, and cash identified by denomination (16(K)); inmate pass requests on the Court's form (16(L)); no exhibit destroyed before the final determination of the action, the parties noticed not less than fifteen (15) days before a disposition, and exhibits returned to the District Attorney or to the Sheriff (16(M)); case calendar requests in person at the Clerk's office and a $75.00 fee if the defendant fails to appear on the date requested (16(N)); exhibits of more than one page numbered sequentially or Bates labeled (16(O)); and written pre-approval for court funding of an expert, investigator or other ancillary services, on a declaration stating the service, a curriculum vitae, prior approvals, the hourly rate, the total amount sought, the case's history and why the funds are reasonably necessary (16(P))
California > Fifth Appellate District > Merced County > Superior Court of California, County of Merced
RULE 16: CRIMINAL RULES A. Direct Calendaring of Criminal Cases The Court maintains a direct calendar system with cases assigned to one Judge for all purposes. Assignment to a Judge for all purposes means assignment for all proceedings in the matter from arraignment on the complaint through trial and sentencing. The assigned judge will be reflected on the first paper filed in any action. The Presiding Judge, Assistant Presiding Judge, Criminal Department Presiding Judge, or designee may assign and re-assign cases to other courtrooms. Any judicial officer sitting in Los Banos is a designee authorized to re-assign cases to other Judges for all purposes. (Eff. 1/1/13; Rev. 7/1/23) B. Writ of Habeas Corpus The Clerk shall not file any petition for writ of habeas corpus that is not accompanied by a complete copy including any exhibits, attachments or other materials sent with the original. All the papers shall be returned to the petitioner with the admonition to comply with this rule if the petition is resubmitted. (Eff. 7/1/04) C. Discovery All parties shall comply with Penal Code Sections 1054-1054.9. (Eff. 7/1/04) D. Jury Instructions Counsel shall file, on the first day of trial, a list of CALCRIM (latest edition) instructions requested. If any proposed additional instructions are requested, they shall be submitted in writing with authorities placed at the top of the writing. Proposed pattern jury instructions which have been modified by a party, shall clearly indicate any proposed change. (Eff. 7/1/04; Rev. 1/1/13; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19) E. Felony Bail Schedule The Judges shall adopt a Felony Bail Schedule for use by the Court and Merced County law enforcement agencies and can be accessed at www.merced.courts.ca.gov. (Eff. 7/1/04; Rev. 1/1/17; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19) F. Notice of Motion The notice of motion designating a motion pursuant to Penal Code Section 1538.5 shall specifically describe and list the evidence which is the subject of the motion to suppress; and shall specifically state the theory or theories which shall be relied upon and urged for the suppression of evidence; and cite the specific authority or authorities which will be offered in support of the theory or theories upon which suppression of the evidence is urged. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19) G. Filing of Motions 1. Unless otherwise ordered or specifically provided by law, all pretrial motions, accompanied by a memorandum, must be served and filed at least ten (10) court days, all papers opposing the motion at least five (5) court days, and all reply papers at least two (2) court days before the time appointed for hearing. Proof of service of the moving papers must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the time appointed for hearing. 2. The court may consider the failure without good cause of the moving party to serve and file a memorandum within the time permitted as an admission that the motion is without merit. 3. Motions shall contain a notice of motion, the motion itself, a declaration or affidavit in support thereof and a memorandum of points and authorities. 4. Each paragraph of any declaration shall be numbered sequentially. The original and all copies of exhibits and attachments shall be tabbed and shall be referred into the pleadings or papers by tab identification. 5. A memorandum of points and authorities shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages, excluding exhibits, declarations or attachments. Any party may file an ex-parte, application with the court scheduled to hear the motion, requesting to exceed the fifteen (15) page limitation, two (2) days before the motion is to be filed or response due. Such written request must set forth good cause why the fifteen (15) page limit needs to be exceeded. A memorandum that exceeds 15 pages must include a table of contents, a table of authorities and opening summary of argument. A written notice of the ex-parte application must be served on the other party. 6. Sanctions-The court may impose sanctions for failure to comply with rules pertaining to criminal law and motion which may include, but not limited to: monetary sanctions, refusal to hear the motion, continuance, exclusion of evidence, issue preclusion, or any other relief or sanction the Court deems appropriate. 7. Courtesy Copies. A courtesy copy of any Motion, Opposition, Reply or Exhibits shall be provided to the court in which a hearing was set at the time of the filing. (Eff. 1/1/09; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19. 7/1/24, 7/1/25) H. Defendant’s Clothing The attorney representing a defendant in the custody of the Sheriff in a criminal matter shall make timely and appropriate arrangements to ensure that the defendant is suitably dressed for trial before the case is assigned to a trial courtroom. (Eff. 1/1/09; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19) I. Motions Made for Release on Own Recognizance or Bail Modification When a motion for release on own recognizance or bail modification has been made to the Court, and granted in whole or in part, or granted conditionally or with limiting terms, and a subsequent motion is made by the same party in the same case for a similar order upon materially changed circumstances, the subsequent motion shall be accompanied by a disclosure that: a. A prior motion has been made, b. When and to what Judge it was made, c. What the nature of the motion was, d. What order or decision was made thereon, and e. What materially changed circumstances are claimed to be shown. Any order made on subsequent applications failing to comply with these requirements may be vacated or set aside on ex parte application or on the Court’s own motion at any time. (Eff. 1/1/09; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19) J. Sound Recordings to Be Offered as Evidence at Trial 1. Any party intending to offer a sound recording in evidence at a trial on a felony shall prepare a transcript of the sound recording at least ten (10) court days before trial and serve such transcript and a copy of the recording on all other parties. Any party disputing the accuracy of the transcript shall prepare his own transcripts of the sound recording identifying the disputed portions and serve that transcript on all other parties no later than three (3) court days before trial. When disputed, the parties shall meet and confer in a good faith effort to resolve their differences. 2. Any party intending to offer a sound recording in evidence at a trial on a misdemeanor shall prepare a transcript of the sound recording at least three (3) court days before trial and serve such transcript and a copy of the recording on all other parties. Any party disputing the accuracy of the transcript shall prepare his own transcripts of the sound recording identifying the disputed portions and serve that transcript on all other parties no later than one (1) court day before trial. 3. In the event that the differing versions cannot be resolved by the parties, they shall alert the Judge assigned to the hearing or trial at the trial readiness conference to reserve an appropriate amount of time in the assigned trial Court to settle the dispute before requesting a jury panel. 4. Nothing herein is intended to contravene the applicable rules of discovery or valid claims of confidentiality provided by law. If a party is entitled to maintain the confidentiality of a sound recording and chooses to do so until trial, a proposed settled transcript shall be lodged with the Court when the sound recording is marked for identification. The opposing party shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to listen to the sound recording, prepare a proposed transcript and lodge objections before the sound recording is received as evidence. 5. Each transcript shall be certified by the person preparing it. In the event the sound recording is in a language other than English, the certification shall also include a certification by the person translating the sound recording. 6. The propounding party shall prepare a sufficient number of copies of the transcript for distribution as ordered by the Court. 7. Any party intending to electronically present an exhibit at trial shall procure their own technical assistance for such a presentation. If the Court’s technical assistance is to be requested, each party making such a request must comport with the Court’s procedures, including but not limited to submitting the request on the Court’s form at least two (2) Court days prior to the scheduled presentation date. See rule 2.5 for court procedure. Local Form #MSC-AD- 011, Court Audio-Video Equipment Request Form can be obtained on our website at www.merced.courts.ca.gov. (Eff. 1/1/09; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19; Rev. 1/1/10, 1/1/19, 1/1/20) K. Dangerous, Large, or Bulky Exhibits 1. Permission from the Judge assigned to the hearing or trial must be obtained before a party may bring dangerous, hazardous, large or bulky exhibits into the courthouse. If possible, the party should substitute a photograph, technical report, or dummy object for proposed exhibits which are either: a. Inherently dangerous, such as: (1) Firearms; (2) Any type of explosive powder; (3) Explosive chemicals, toluene, ethane; (4) Explosive devices, such as grenades or pipe bombs; (5) Flammable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, paint thinner, ethyl-ether; (6) Canisters containing tear gas, mace; (7) Rags which have been soaked with flammable liquids; (8) Liquid drugs such as phencyclidine (PCP), methamphetamine, corrosive liquids, pyrrolidine, morpholine, or piperidine; (9) Samples of any bodily fluids, liquid or dried; or (10) Controlled or toxic substances; (11) Corrosive or radioactive substance. (12) Large and cumbersome, such as a ladder, sewer pipe, or automobile chassis. 2. If a party believes the exhibit should be brought into the courtroom without substitution, an application for permission must be made in writing and describe the materials to be brought into the courtroom and the reason a substitution should not be made. The option of viewing the materials at another location may be considered by the Court. (Refer to rule 2.3 for required written statement). 3. Evidence received in any case shall be limited to those items required in the case and shall be retained by the Court for the minimum time required by law, unless good cause is shown to retain the evidence for a longer period of time. 4. No exhibits shall be accepted by the Clerk or exhibits custodian unless: a. All containers of controlled substances are securely sealed and protected against breakage to safeguard Court personnel, so that the contents cannot be spilled and odors cannot be emitted; b. All containers of liquid substances, including bodily fluids, are securely sealed and protected against breakage to safeguard Court personnel, so personnel are not exposed to the contents and odors; c. All objects containing bodily fluids or dangerous, controlled or toxic substances (e.g., bloody shirt, gasoline-soaked rag, etc.) are placed in containers that are securely sealed and protected against breakage so that odors cannot be emitted and Court personnel are safeguarded; d. All firearms are secured by a nylon tie or trigger guard, and have been examined by the bailiff to determine that they have been rendered inoperable; e. All sharp objects, such as hypodermic needles, knives, and glass, are placed in containers that are securely sealed and protected against breakage, which will safeguard personnel; f. All containers with liquid substances are clearly marked and identified as to type and amount; g. All containers of controlled substances are clearly marked, identified, weighed, and sealed; h. All cash is specifically identified, whether individually or packaged, as to the total amount and number of each denomination. 5. All exhibits must be individually tagged with the proper exhibit tag, properly completed, and securely attached to the exhibit. Any exhibit improperly tagged, marked, weighed, or identified will not be accepted by the Court. Unless otherwise ordered, unidentified or improperly identified liquids, containers, controlled substances, or other suspect substances shall be returned to the party offering them. 6. When a dangerous, large or bulky exhibit that has been marked and identified or received in evidence poses a security, storage or safety problem, on recommendation of the Clerk, the Court may order that all or a portion of it be returned to the party that offered it. In the case of exhibits offered by the prosecutor in a criminal case, the Court may order that the exhibits be returned to the law enforcement agency involved. The order shall require that a full and complete photographic record of the exhibit or the portion returned be substituted for the exhibit. The party who offered the exhibit shall provide the photographic record. The party or agency to whom the exhibit is returned shall be responsible for maintaining and preserving the exhibit until there is a final disposition of the action or proceeding. All exhibit tags and other identifying markings or information concerning each exhibit shall remain in place and shall not be disturbed. Each exhibit shall be maintained intact and in the same condition as during trial. In the event further proceedings of any Court having jurisdiction of the matter require the presence of the exhibit, the party or agency to whom it was returned shall promptly deliver the exhibit to the appropriate Court, with notice to all parties. (Eff. 1/1/09; Renum. 1/1/12, 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19, 1/1/20) L. Pass Request 1. The Court has approved a form for use in the courtroom whenever an inmate requests a pass from the jail. The form is available in the courtroom. 2. If the pass is requested for medical reasons, the inmate should complete a release of information form which is also available at the local jail facilities. (Eff. 1/1/09; Rev. & Renum. 1/1/12; Renum. 7/1/14, 7/1/18, 7/1/19, 1/1/20) M. Destruction of Exhibits-Criminal Matters PC 1417.1-1417.9 1. No order shall be made for the destruction of an exhibit prior to the final determination of the action or proceeding. The date when a criminal action or proceeding becomes final is as follows: a. When no notice of appeal is filed, thirty (30) days after the last day for filing notice of appeal. b. When a notice of appeal is filed, thirty (30) days after the date the clerk of the Court receives the remittitur affirming the judgment. c. When an order for a rehearing, a new trial, or other proceeding is granted and the ordered proceedings have not been commenced within one (1) year thereafter, one (1) year after the date of that order. d. In cases where the death penalty is imposed, thirty (30) days after the date of execution of sentence. e. In cases where the death penalty is imposed and the defendant dies while awaiting execution, one (1) year after the date of defendant’s death. 2. Upon the final determination of the action or proceeding the custodian of exhibits shall notice the parties of proposed exhibit destruction, and all exhibits shall be disposed of as follows: a. Pursuant to Penal Code section 1417.7, not less than fifteen (15) days before any proposed disposition of an exhibit pursuant to Section 1417.3, 1417.5, or 1417.6, the Court shall notify the District Attorney (or other prosecuting attorney), the attorney of record for each party, and each party who is not represented by counsel of the proposed disposition. b. If no party requests exhibits be returned, the Clerk of the Court shall return all exhibits both prosecution and defense to the office of the District Attorney for disposition, with the exception of any exhibits as described by Section 11474 of the Health and Safety Code c. All exhibits described by section 11474 of the Health and Safety Code shall be returned to the Office of the Sheriff of Merced County to be destroyed by order of the Court. (Eff. 1/1/12; Rev. 1/1/13; Renum. 7/1/14; Rev. 7/1/15; Renum. 7/1/18, 7/1/19, 1/1/20, Rev. 7/1/25) N. Case Calendar Requests Case calendar requests are allowed for both misdemeanor and certain felony cases and are handled in-person at the Clerk’s office. If the case has an active warrant, the defendant will be informed that the warrant will remain active and that they are subject to arrest even though a hearing date has been set. In addition, the defendant will be informed that a $75.00 fee will be imposed if the defendant fails to appear in court on the date requested. Once a fee is imposed, the defendant will not be permitted to place the case on calendar for another hearing until the fee is paid in full. (Eff. 7/1/14; Renum. 7/1/18, 7/1/19, 1/1/20; Renum 7/1/25) O. Exhibits Offered for Admission into Evidence If an exhibit consists of more than one page, the exhibit shall be numbered sequentially. If the original document offered as an exhibit is not numbered sequentially, it shall be Bates labeled by the party seeking to introduce the exhibit. Every page requires an identifying mark. (Eff. 7/1/25) P. Evidence Ancillary Funding Requests Counsel requesting court funding for an expert, investigator, paralegal, law clerk, interpreter, transcription or any other ancillary services must get written pre-approval. Counsel must apply for pre-approval by submitting a declaration that includes: (Eff. 1/1/26) 1. The specific ancillary service sought; 2. A curriculum vitae for any expert, investigator, law clerk, paralegal or any other professional whose services are sought; 3. A statement specifying any and all prior approvals for ancillary funding, including the ancillary services already provided and funded; 4. The hourly rate at which services will be provided; 5. The total amount of funds sought; 6. The factual and procedural history of the case: 7. A statement explain why the funds are reasonably necessary for the defense; 8. A statement explaining that the resources obtained with the ancillary funding will lead to evidence likely to be admissible.
RULE 16: CRIMINAL RULES A. Direct Calendaring of Criminal Cases The Court maintains a direct calendar system with cases assigned to one Judge for all purposes. Assignment to a Judge for all purposes means assignment for all proceedings in the matter from arraignment on the complaint through trial and sentencing. The assigned judge will be reflected on the first paper filed in any action. The Presi
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-15 (California T4 Merced build 2026-10-15) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-merced/docs/local-rules/2026-july-local-rules.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “MERCED COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT LOCAL RULES OF COURT EFFECTIVE July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-15; 711888 bytes, sha256 2fed23656f258d9056d180aa94888ac04a69db55e60e3b6c1a7a4b601cde7fbd; 112 pages; this part PDF pages 54 to 62, page marks 54 to 62) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules (PDF pages 13 to 97) composed as one text and cut at the rule headings that open each part (“RULE 1: COURT ORGANIZATION”, “RULE 2: FILING PROCEDURES”, “RULE 3: CIVIL RULES”, “RULE 16: CRIMINAL RULES”, “RULE 17: TRAFFIC RULES”, “RULE 100: PROBATE RULES – PREFACE”, “RULE 200: ACCESS TO JUVENILE COURT RECORDS”, “RULE 400: FAMILY LAW - GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT”, “RULE 500: APPELLATE DIVISION”), each matched once as a whole line; every page's running head (“Merced Superior Court”, named) and page mark (“13 | P a g e” to “97 | P a g e”, named) removed as chrome - 170 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each rule heading and lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line; the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-15.txt) finds no struck run in the book; 1 whitespace-only fix (build/book-fixes.json: Rule 2.1's “California Rules of Court,” and “Rule 1.150.”, split where a line opens “Rule 1.150”, rejoined); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, false-break, structural-break and row-join audits (review/book-gap-audit-2026-10-15.txt, review/book-short-lines-2026-10-15.txt, review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-15.txt) list candidates read one by one (build/book_fixes.py) - the rest kept as printed; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover (PDF page 1), the judges' page (2), the summary of changes (3), the instructions (4 and 5), the contents (6 to 11), the cities and communities served (12), the list of rules and effective dates (98), the lists of approved local forms (99 to 107) and the index (108 to 112) belong to no card. Review note: Rule 16(E) has the Judges adopt a Felony Bail Schedule, accessed on the court's website. The court's Felony Bail Schedule and Misdemeanor Bail Schedule effective January 1, 2026 (23 and 6 pages) are held for the table lane - the review task asks for their reading there (the composed text of a table of this size is not a card). Rule 16(L) provides a courtroom form for an inmate's pass request; Standing Order 2020-07 (carded) stopped the approval of jail passes during the COVID-19 pandemic - the review task on that card.
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.