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Electronically imaged court records in the adoption court departments: the electronic file is the official record; paper filings are destroyed after 30 days; original documents are lodged in advance of hearings; access after finalization is by petition (SDSC Form JUV-236); only the register of actions is viewable remotely. 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 PROCEDURES REGARDING ELECTRONICALLY IMAGED COURT RECORDS AND ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS IN ADOPTION COURT DEPARTMENTS GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 010126-27 THIS COURT FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: I. IMAGING ADOPTION COURT PROGRAM In 2020, the San Diego Superior Court (“court”) began an Imaging Program in the Adoption Court Departments (“Imaging Program”) designed to reduce paper filings and storage and facilitate electronic access to adoption court files. As part of the Imaging Program, beginning January 2, 2020, the court began scanning all newly filed papers in adoption cases. All adoption cases filed after this date are part of the Imaging Program. The imaged documents are stored in an electronic court file. II. ELECTRONIC COURT FILE IN IMAGED CASES - 0FFICIAL COURT RECORD Pursuant to Government Code section 68150 and California Rules of Court ("CRC"), rule 2.504, the electronic court file in Imaging Program cases is certified as the official record of the court. The paper filings that are imaged and stored electronically will be physically stored by the court for 30 days after filing, after which time they will be shredded and recycled. During this 30-day period, these documents will not be stored in a manner that will allow a party or a party’s attorney to access them. Parties should not attach any original documents to pleadings filed with the court. Any original documents necessary for an adoption hearing shall be lodged in advance of the applicable hearing pursuant to CRC, rule 3.1302(b). III. ACCESS TO OFFICIAL COURT FILE AND COURT D0CUMENTS Persons who are authorized by law to view or access adoption file records before the adoption is finalized may request printouts from the electronic file to the same extent they would be authorized to access and view a paper court file. After an adoption has been finalized, persons who wish to request copies of documents from the adoption file must file with the court a Petition for Birth Record Information (San Diego Superior Court Form [“SDSC Form”] #JUV-236). Copying and certification fees may apply. (See SDSC Form #ADM-001 [Fee Schedule].) Court documents from cases within the Imaging Program are not available in electronic format for viewing and printing remotely due to the prohibition of that type of access set forth in CRC, rule 2.503(b). Only the adoption case Register of Actions (“ROA") will be available for viewing remotely. The ROA can be accessed by visiting the court's website at www.sdcourt.ca.gov. This order shall become effective on January 1, 2026, and expire on December 31, 2026, unless otherwise ordered by this court. 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 PROCEDURES REGARDING ELECTRONICALLY IMAGED COURT RECORDS AND ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDS IN ADOPTION COURT DEPARTMENTS GENERAL ORDER OF THE PRESIDING DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 010126-27 THIS COURT FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: I. IMAGIN
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-28 (California T3 San Diego build) from BenchPath custody ca/t3/ca-san-diego/go/general_order_010126-27.pdf (103317 bytes, sha256 ba5f2ae86548c44cf3802b4326f14f9a01a85aa7d3538119f246d2ca94d0dee4; 2 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. The order prints “0FFICIAL” and “D0CUMENTS” with the digit zero in its section II and III headings. 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.