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The appointment of a Superior Court Commissioner by majority vote of the judges under Government Code § 71622 (12.1); the commissioner's general authority (12.2); assignments as temporary judge - trials and hearings, preliminary matters, orders to show cause and temporary restraining orders, ex parte motions, appraisers in family law matters, bonds and undertakings, settlement conferences in civil cases, oaths and depositions, bail and own-recognizance releases, default and uncontested dissolution orders and judgments, paternity and support actions (12.3); and duties as commissioner - juvenile court referee, probate commissioner, taking evidence and reporting findings (12.4).
California > First Appellate District > Sonoma County > Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma
RULE 12 SUPERIOR COURT COMMISSIONER 12.1 APPOINTMENT Pursuant to Government Code § 71622, the judges of the Superior Court, by majority vote, shall appoint a Superior Court Commissioner. Any commissioner so appointed shall possess the qualifications set forth in California Rules of Court, Rule 10.701, shall hold office at the pleasure of the Superior Court, and shall not engage in the private practice of law except as authorized by California Rules of Court, Rule 10.702. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2006, 1/1/2007) 12.2 GENERAL AUTHORITY The court commissioner shall perform the duties and shall have the powers prescribed by Section 22 of Article VI of the California Constitution, Code of Civil Procedure § 259, Family Code § 4251 and Government Code §§ 71622 and 72190. The Presiding Judge shall assign to the commissioner such matters as the needs of the court may require. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2006, 1/1/2014) 12.3 ASSIGNMENTS AS TEMPORARY JUDGE Unless otherwise expressly specified, the commissioner, without further order of the court, shall act as a temporary judge with respect to any and all actions, causes or proceedings whether civil, criminal or juvenile in nature and whether regularly or specially assigned to the commissioner or to the department in which the commissioner is sitting. Such duties and powers include, but are not limited to, the following: A. Conduct the trial or hearing of assigned actions, causes and proceedings, whether or not contested. B. Hear and determine preliminary matters, including motions, demurrers and other applications on the civil and criminal law and motion calendars. C. Approve and issue orders to show cause, temporary restraining orders and other temporary orders and orders shortening time. D. Hear and determine ex parte motions for orders, alternative writs and writs of habeas corpus. E. Appoint appraisers in family law matters. F. Take and approve bonds and undertakings and determine objections to the bonds or undertakings. G. Conduct settlement conferences in civil cases and make orders, including sanctions, in respect to such conferences. H. Administer oaths and affirmations, and takes depositions, affidavits and declarations, including the examination of judgment debtors. I. Set bail and approve and order releases on one's own recognizance. J. Review orders and judgments in default and uncontested dissolution, nullity, and legal separation cases for the commissioner’s approval, rejection, or change. K. Hear actions to establish paternity and to establish or enforce child and spousal support pursuant to subdivision (a) of § 4251 of the Family Code. L. Otherwise exercise the powers, duties and functions of a Superior Court judge. 12.4 DUTIES AS COMMISSIONER If unable to act as a temporary judge in any matter, the commissioner is authorized to perform the following functions without further order or assignment: A. Serve as a juvenile court referee. B. Act as a probate commissioner. C. Take evidence and make and report findings thereon as to any matter of fact upon which information may be required by the court pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure §259(b). D. Take evidence and make and report findings and conclusions thereon to the court for approval, rejection or change on preliminary matters, including, without limitation: Motions or applications for the temporary custody or support of children or for temporary spousal support, costs and attorneys' fees in family law cases and proceedings; and issues of fact in contempt proceedings in cases for legal separation, nullity or dissolution of marriage (family law cases). E. Take evidence and determine all uncontested or default actions and proceedings other than actions for legal separations, nullity or dissolution of marriage. F. Otherwise exercise the powers and duties of a court commissioner or referee authorized by law. (Eff. 1/1/1997, Rev. 7/1/2006, 7/1/2011)
RULE 12 SUPERIOR COURT COMMISSIONER 12.1 APPOINTMENT Pursuant to Government Code § 71622, the judges of the Superior Court, by majority vote, shall appoint a Superior Court Commissioner. Any commissioner so appointed shall possess the qualifications set forth in California Rules of Court, Rule 10.701, shall hold office at the pleasure of the Superior Court, and shall not engage in the private prac
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 Sonoma build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-sonoma/docs/local-rules/local-rules-working-jul-2026-new-address-update.pdf (the court's rule book, “Local Rules of Court Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 1515969 bytes, sha256 e3a9b3a99af553adf4c33851ccbc58bbbfb1020ec74e105c1225b9e6d076c102; 204 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over Rules 1 to 21 (PDF pages 8 to 189), each rule composed alone from its first page to the page before the next rule's: each page's running header (“SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SONOMA”, two rules of underscores and the page number) removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; eight breaks the reflow made before a citation or history note's “Rule N.N” at a line start rejoined and eleven paragraph, heading, history and list-line breaks it ran together set back (19 whitespace-only fixes, build/book-fixes.json; the vertical-gap audit finds no joined break left); four struck characters (tracked deletions on PDF pages 70, 98, 176 and 184; the strike report) left out; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the list of the court's judicial officers, the table of contents, the index, the forms listings and the list of currently effective rules belong to no rule.
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.