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Court security: the Sheriff is the court security officer; everyone entering a court facility must submit to weapons screening; no one may possess a firearm, knife, tear gas, taser, stun gun, ammunition or other dangerous weapon in a courthouse, with listed exemptions for on-duty peace officers, evidence weapons, licensed judicial officers and court employees' pepper spray. In effect for 2026.
California > Fourth Appellate District > San Diego County > Superior Court of California, County of San Diego
[File stamp: FILED, Clerk of the Superior Court, DEC 31 2025, By: G. Arce-Barraza, Deputy] THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO IN RE COURT SECURITY GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 010126-01 THIS COURT FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (“Sheriff”) is designated as the Court Security Officer in San Diego. Thus, the Sheriff is charged with assuring the security of facilities within which the courts of this county conduct official business. The Sheriff utilizes weapons screening measures, including metal detection and x-ray equipment. The Sheriff has confiscated prohibited materials as a result of these security measures. Judicial notice is taken of the increasing acts of violence that occur within the courthouses in this country, state and county, and to their occupants. Thus, there is a clear need to protect the courts and those within it from a danger of violence. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all persons entering or otherwise present in any facilities within which courts conduct official business shall submit to any request by the Sheriff, or other authorized security personnel, to participate in a weapons screening process involving metal detection and x-ray equipment. The Sheriff shall post signage clearly visible to the public before entry into any facility at which weapons screening is utilized that metal detection and x-ray screening is in place, and advising that individuals may choose not to enter the facility rather than submit to the weapons screening process. The Sheriff, or other authorized security personnel, is authorized to inspect any item that is otherwise lawful to possess to determine whether it poses a danger to the security of the courthouse, and if so, may forbid possession of it in the facility by allowing the individual who possesses it to remove it from the building. The Sheriff, or other authorized security personnel, is also authorized to confiscate all ammunition. The Sheriff, or other authorized security personnel, is vested with the discretion to exempt from the screening process all judicial officers, all court and county employees, San Diego City and Deputy City Attorneys, and peace officers on official business who display current, valid, photographic identification. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no person shall possess within a courthouse facility a firearm, knife, tear gas, taser, stun gun, ammunition, or other dangerous or deadly weapon or material, as listed or defined, inter alia, in Penal Code sections 171b, 244.5, 17240, and 17250 (“Weapon” or “Weapons”). This prohibition shall be enforced without regard to whether the individual possesses a valid license or permit for the Weapon. The following individuals are exempt from this prohibition: • An on-duty peace officer, either in uniform or, if not in uniform, presenting identification to security staff, who is attending to law enforcement business at the courthouse facility. Security personnel may verify the identity of any officer by requesting proper identification. If the identity of an officer cannot be verified through identification carried by the officer or through reasonable efforts by security personnel, this exemption shall not apply. In addition, this exemption shall not apply to any peace officer while he or she is in the courthouse on personal business, such as appearing as a party to or witness in an action pending before the court, or service of jury duty; • When a Weapon is evidence in a case and an individual, who is authorized by the state to do so, is delivering it to the court, and the Weapon is properly secured to prevent accidental discharge or release; • Judicial officers who possess a valid license to carry a concealed weapon; • Court employees who are working in the Central Courthouse or Hall of Justice, but only with regard to pepper spray, provided the court employee is otherwise permitted to possess such pepper spray pursuant to applicable law, including, but not limited to, Penal Code section 22810. This exemption shall not apply to any court employee while he or she is in the courthouse on personal business, such as appearing as a party to or a witness in an action pending before the court. Disobedience of this order is punishable as a contempt of court and under the general laws of the State of California. Nothing in this order is intended to nor shall diminish the legal and lawful authority of (1) the Sheriff as a peace officer; or (2) an individual judicial officer’s right to control the order in his or her courtroom by further restricting the possession of Weapons in his or her courtroom. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 128). Disobedience of this order is punishable as a contempt of court and under the general laws of the State of California. This order shall become effective on January 1, 2026, and expire on December 31, 2026, unless otherwise ordered by this court. Service of this order is ordered on the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: December 31, 2025 [signature] HONORABLE MAUREEN F. HALLAHAN PRESIDING JUDGE
[File stamp: FILED, Clerk of the Superior Court, DEC 31 2025, By: G. Arce-Barraza, Deputy] THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO IN RE COURT SECURITY GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 010126-01 THIS COURT FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (“Sheriff”) is designated as the Court Security Officer in San Diego. Thus, th
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-28 (California T3 San Diego build) from BenchPath custody ca/t3/ca-san-diego/go/general_order_010126-01.pdf (209889 bytes, sha256 320dd21650401ad3953c19cdc4540c77f01de1326d1bccfd18c33135ce3c0e81; 4 pages) - the court's own posted PDF, a scan with no usable text layer: transcribed from the rendered page images, every page read against the image; a machine reading (RapidOCR) was used only as a second reader for a word-level diff; every quotation mark, apostrophe, dash and section sign checked in full-resolution crops; pleading line numbers and “///” fill marks omitted; the file stamp and signature bracketed. Printed irregularities are kept as printed.
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.