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Scheduling - law and motion heard as designated by the Assigned Judge, courtesy copies, matters resolved or dropped, appendices of authorities (5.1); the Order of Examination Calendar - representation of a corporation, a judgment debtor's failure to appear, service of warrants, in-custody judgment debtors, warrant of attachment and contempt of court hearings (5.2); continuances by stipulation and the dropping of law and motion matters, filed by 4:00 p.m. at least three (3) court days before the hearing (5.3); the meet and confer conference (5.4); hearings, tentative rulings issued by 2:00 p.m. on the court day before each law and motion calendar, and oral argument (5.5); ex parte applications under California Rules of Court, Rules 3.1200 et seq. (5.6); transcripts and administrative records (5.7); and orders after hearing or upon ex parte motion, with protective orders and orders to consolidate (5.8).
California > First Appellate District > Sonoma County > Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma
RULE 5 RULES APPLICABLE TO CIVIL LAW AND MOTION PROCEEDINGS 5.1 SCHEDULING A. Civil law and motion matters will be heard at such times and places as designated by the Assigned Judge. The calendar will include all civil law and motion matters except DMV Writs of Mandate, Unlawful Detainer matters (see these rules, Rule 2.2D), Orders of Examination (see these rules, Rule 5.2), and Orders to Show Cause for Injunctions Prohibiting Harassment, which will be heard in other courtrooms as designated by the Presiding and/or Supervising Judge. B. All civil law and motion matters will be scheduled for a hearing date, time, and location at the Clerk’s Office upon filing all moving papers and payment of any applicable fees. C. Parties shall deliver courtesy copies of all documents filed in connection with a law and motion proceeding directly into the drop box for the department hearing the matter. Courtesy copies do not need to be file endorsed. D. If any matter scheduled on the law and motion calendar is resolved, dismissed, settled or becomes moot for any reason, the moving party shall immediately notify the judicial assistant for the Assigned Judge if the motion is to be dropped from the law and motion calendar. Said notification may be made by telephone, followed by a letter of confirmation. E. When a party is required to provide an appendix of authorities other than California cases, statutes, constitutional provisions, or state or local rules pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1113(i)(1), the appendix shall be lodged electronically or in the Clerk’s office. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 1/1/2006, 7/1/2007, 7/1/2008, 1/1/2013, 7/1/2014, 7/1/18; 7/1/19, 1/1/2020; Rev. and renumbered 1/1/2021, Rev. 7/1/2024, 1/1/2025) 5.2 ORDER OF EXAMINATION CALENDAR A. The Order of Examination Calendar will be heard as designated by the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division. Hearing dates will be designated by the department assigned to hear the matter and indicated when the order is returned to the applicant for service; the court cannot accommodate requests for specific dates. No tentative rulings will be made available for matters on this calendar. B. Representation of Corporation Corporations in civil actions must be represented by legal counsel at the order of examination hearing. C. Judgment Debtor’s Failure to Appear If the party named in the Application and Order for Appearance and Examination fails to appear at the time and place specified in the order, and proper proof of service of the order has been filed with the clerk, a warrant for the arrest of the party may issue. The judgment creditor must prepare a declaration and warrant for the judge’s signature. Such declaration and warrant must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office within six (6) months of the issuance order. A new Order of Examination will be required if the warrant is not issued within the six (6) months’ time period. Subsequent warrants must be accompanied by an original declaration. D. Service of Warrants All warrants must be served by the Sheriff’s Department. E. In-Custody Judgment Debtors The Sheriff’s Office will notify the Clerk’s Office if the judgment debtor is taken into custody. Upon receipt of this notification, the Clerk’s Office will arrange a bail hearing date on the next misdemeanor calendar in the Criminal Division. Within their discretion, the judge presiding at the misdemeanor calendar hearing shall effect the release of the judgment debtor upon the condition that they appear at a designated Order of Examination Calendar in the future. The clerk shall give notice to the judgment creditor of the date, time, and location of that hearing by mailing a copy of the minute order of the bail hearing. F. Warrant of Attachment/Contempt of Court Hearings A fine will be ordered upon the court’s finding of contempt for failure to appear at the Order of Examination. When bail has been posted by the judgment debtor, the fine will be deducted from the bail. The balance of the bail will be returned to the judgment debtor unless the parties stipulate or the court enters a turnover order transferring all or part of the bail to the judgment creditor or another third party. Bail posted by an individual other than the judgment debtor will be returned to the depositor and the judgment debtor will be ordered to pay the contempt fine to the court. Failure to pay said fine may subject the judgment debtor to further sanctions. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2002, 7/1/2008, 7/1/2011, 1/1/2014; Rev. and renumbered 1/1/2021, 7/1/2024) 5.3 CONTINUANCES Requests for continuances by stipulation (along with the required fees) or notification of dropping of law and motion matters must be filed by the moving party with the Civil Clerk’s Office by 4:00 p.m. at least three (3) court days prior to the scheduled hearing date. The moving party must also deliver, on the day of the filing, a courtesy copy of the documents (these do not need to be file endorsed) to the respective department assigned to the matter. Only one continuance by stipulation will be granted; after that, if the case cannot proceed the court may drop the matter or require that it be re-noticed. It is the responsibility of the moving party to notify the judicial assistant for the Assigned Judge when a pending motion may be dropped due to a stipulation or for any other reason. No hearing will be automatically dropped from the calendar. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2004, 7/1/2008, 1/1/2014, 7/1/2024) 5.4 MEET AND CONFER CONFERENCE A. Prior to the hearing date on all motions, the moving party must make a reasonable and good faith attempt to informally resolve the motion with the opposing party(s) or attorney(s) in person or by telephone, and in accordance with applicable law. The conference must occur not less than five (5) calendar days preceding the noticed or continued date of hearing as to all motions, except motions for summary judgment and/or motions for summary adjudication of issues. With reference to any motion for summary judgment and/or motion for summary adjudication of issues, the conference must occur not less than ten (10) calendar days preceding the noticed or continued date of hearing on such motion. B. In response, the opposing party(s) or attorney(s), during the conference, must also make a reasonable and good faith attempt to informally resolve the motion with the moving party or their attorney in person or by telephone and in accordance with applicable law. In the event the motion is not so resolved, then the moving party must file not less than two (2) court days before the hearing date a declaration pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 2016.040 setting forth facts applicable to the meet and confer conference. Orders of Examination are exempt from the requirement of this section. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2004, 7/1/2008, 1/1/2021) 5.5 HEARINGS, TENTATIVE RULINGS AND ORAL ARGUMENTS A. During the court day preceding each law and motion calendar, by 2:00 p.m., the Court will issue a tentative ruling for each matter noticed on such calendar. Tentative rulings may be obtained online between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the day before the hearing on the court’s website at www.sonoma.courts.ca.gov (Click on the “Online Services” tab on the home page, select “Tentative Rulings” in the drop-down menu, and the click on the link to “Civil”). A copy of the tentative ruling will also be posted outside the Assigned Judge’s courtroom. Where appearance has been required or invited by the court, then oral argument may be presented. Appearance is always required on small claims law and motion matters and on all claims of exemption, unless otherwise stated on the tentative ruling. B. Oral argument of all counsel and parties in any law and motion matter shall not exceed 20 minutes in length. C. When the moving party fails to appear at the date and time scheduled for a hearing, the matter may be dropped, continued or ruled upon at the discretion of the Assigned Judge with or without the request of the responding party(ies). D. Subject to the court’s discretion, a party, witness, or counsel may make telephonic or video appearances before the court as set forth in California Rules of Court, Rule 3.670. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2004, 7/1/2008; Rev. and renumbered 1/1/2021, 7/1/2024, 7/1/2026) 5.6 EX PARTE APPLICATIONS A. Each request for an ex parte application, notice, and declaration must comply with California Rules of Court, Rules 3.1200 et seq. All civil ex parte law and motion applications including applications for temporary relief, orders to show cause, orders shortening time or extending time, extraordinary writs, and other provisional remedies, except as otherwise provided, must be presented to the Assigned Judge at the times and locations as designated on the Court’s Website, the sole exception to this rule is found in Rule 17.17 herein. 1. The following matters shall be deemed excluded from the ex parte applications presented under this rule and shall be governed by other applicable sections of the Sonoma County Superior Court Rules, to wit: family law matters, domestic violence and civil harassment matters. B. Each application must include a written declaration showing that notice of the ex parte application has been given to the opposing party or counsel no later than 10:00 AM the court day before the ex parte [California Rules of Court, Rules 3.1200 - 3.1207]. The application must provide the details for the relief requested, including whether the opposing party is represented by counsel, the nature of the contact, and whether such party has agreed to the requested order or a factual showing in support of any application requested to be issued without notice. C. The following matters shall be deemed excluded from the ex parte applications presented under this rule and shall be governed by other applicable sections of the Sonoma County Superior Court Rules, to wit: family law matters, domestic violence and civil harassment matters. D. Each application must also include a declaration showing that there is a compelling need for emergency handling of the ex parte application and for the requested relief and why it should not be processed routinely by the Civil Clerk’s Office. E. If the application is opposed, the attorneys must meet and confer prior to presentation of the ex parte. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 1/1/2006, 1/1/2007, 7/1/2008, 1/1/2014, 7/1/2017; Rev. and renumbered 1/1/2021, Rev 7/1/2024) 5.7 TRANSCRIPTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS Whenever any transcript of a deposition or other testimony is an attachment, the relevant part must be highlighted in such manner that calls attention to the relevant testimony. Any administrative record filed in conjunction with a special proceeding as described in Code of Civil Procedure, Part 3, Title 1, must be thermal bound separately, along the left margin, in volumes of not more than 300 pages. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 1/1/2005, 1/1/2007, 7/1/2007, 7/1/2008) 5.8 ORDERS AFTER HEARING OR UPON EX PARTE MOTION Each proposed order must specify on the face page, immediately below the case number, the date the matter was heard and the name of the judge who presided at the hearing. It is the court’s policy not to sign proposed orders pertaining to the filing of amendments to pleadings, amended pleadings, or to the filing of cross-complaints or complaints-in-intervention, which require the clerk to remove and file the copy of the proposed pleading attached to the motion as required by California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1324. Proposed orders granting leave to file amendments to pleadings, amended pleadings, cross-complaints, or complaints-in-intervention must specify that the original of the proposed pleading will be submitted for filing following the granting of the order. A. Protective Orders (Discovery, etc.) Any language incorporated in such an order that pertains to the filing with the court of material under seal must state that the party submitting confidential material to the Court to be filed must put that material in a sealed manila envelope no smaller than 9" x 12" and no larger than 10" x 13"; that the envelope must have on its back (on the unsealed side) the warning: “CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER,” the case number and caption, and the title(s) of the paper(s) enclosed; that in parentheses beneath the title(s) of the paper(s) as they appear on the envelope, there must be a reference to the confidentiality order, by file date and title [as, for example, (FILED UNDER SEAL PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER FILED JANUARY 1, 2000)], under which the papers are submitted. These papers must then be maintained in the Court’s regular public file but in their sealed envelopes. If the papers are exhibits to a motion or other paper, the manila envelope, with the stated identifying features, must not be attached to the principal paper, but there must be reference made in the motion, memorandum of points and authorities, or declaration, as appropriate, to the confidential materials filed under seal. B. Orders to Consolidate An order on motion to consolidate must specify which case number is to be the lead case. In any instance in which the order does not specify the lead case number, the clerk must designate as the lead case the one with the lowest file number in the highest jurisdiction. (Eff. 1/1/1997; Rev. 7/1/2005, 1/1/2007, 7/1/2008, 1/1/2014, 1/1/2021)
RULE 5 RULES APPLICABLE TO CIVIL LAW AND MOTION PROCEEDINGS 5.1 SCHEDULING A. Civil law and motion matters will be heard at such times and places as designated by the Assigned Judge. The calendar will include all civil law and motion matters except DMV Writs of Mandate, Unlawful Detainer matters (see these rules, Rule 2.2D), Orders of Examination (see these rules, Rule 5.2), and Orders to Show Cau
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.