AMENDMENT TO THE CALIFORNIA RULES OF COURT
Cal. R. Ct. 1.51
California Rules of Court
AMENDMENT TO THE CALIFORNIA RULES OF COURT Adopted by the Judicial Council on September 21, 2018, effective January 1, 2019 Rule 1.51. California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) 1 information form ......................................................................................................... 4 2 Rule 2.250. Construction and
definitions .................................................................. 4 3 Rule 2.251. Electronic service ................................................................................... 5 4 Rule 2.255. Contracts with electronic filing service providers and electronic filing 5 managers ..................................................................................................................... 6 6 Rule 2.257. Requirements for signatures on documents............................................ 8 7
Chapter 2. Public Access to Electronic Trial Court Records ................................... 10 8
Article 1. General Provisions ................................................................................... 10 9 Rule 2.500. Statement of purpose ............................................................................ 10 10 Rule 2.501. Application, and scope, and information to the public .......................... 12 11 Rule 2.502.
Definitions ............................................................................................. 13 12
Article 2. Public Access ........................................................................................... 14 13 Rule 2.503. Public access Application and scope ..................................................... 14 14 Rules 2.504–2.507 * * * ........................................................................................... 18 15
Article 3. Remote Access by a Party, Party’s Designee, Party’s Attorney, 16 Court-Appointed Person, or Authorized Person Working in a Legal 17 Organization or Qualified Legal Services Project .................................................... 18 18 Rule 2.515. Application and scope .......................................................................... 18 19 Rule 2.516. Remote access to extent feasible .......................................................... 19 20 Rule 2.517. Remote access by a party ..................................................................... 20 21 Rule 2.518.
Remote access by a party’s designee ................................................... 20 22 Rule 2.519. Remote access by a party’s attorney .................................................... 22 23 Rule 2.520. Remote access by persons working in the same legal organization as a 24 party’s attorney ......................................................................................................... 23 25 Rule 2.521. Remote access by a court-appointed person ......................................... 25 26 Rule 2.522.
Remote access by persons working in a qualified legal services project 27 providing brief legal services .................................................................................... 26 28 Rule 2.523. Identity verification, identity management, and user access ................ 27 29 Rule 2.524. Security of confidential information .................................................... 29 30 Rule 2.525. Searches; unauthorized access ............................................................... 29 31 Rule 2.526.
Audit trails ............................................................................................ 30 32 Rule 2.527. Additional conditions of access ............................................................ 31 33
Rule 2.528. Termination of remote access................................................................ 31 1
Article 4. Remote Access by Government Entities ................................................. 31 2 Rule 2.540. Application and scope .......................................................................... 31 3 Rule 2.541. Identity verification, identity management, and user access ................ 34 4 Rule 2.542. Security of confidential information .................................................... 35 5 Rule 2.543. Audit trails ............................................................................................ 36 6 Rule 2.544.
Additional conditions of access ............................................................ 36 7 Rule 2.545. Termination of remote access............................................................... 37 8 Rule 2.1009. Permanent medical excuse from jury service ..................................... 37 9
Article 4. Protective Orders ..................................................................................... 40 10 Rule 3.1160 3.1152. Requests for protective orders to prevent civil harassment, 11 workplace violence, private postsecondary school violence, and elder or dependent 12 adult abuse ................................................................................................................ 40 13 Rule 3.1161. Request to make minor’s information confidential in civil harassment 14 protective order proceedings ..................................................................................... 40 15 Rule 3.2300. Review under Penal Code
section 186.35 of law enforcement agency 16 denial of request to remove name from shared gang database ................................. 47 17 Rule 4.131. Probable cause determinations under
section 1368.1(a)(2) .................. 51 18 Rule 5.97. Time frames for transferring jurisdiction ............................................... 52 19 Rule 5.382. Request to make minor’s information confidential in domestic violence 20 protective order proceedings ..................................................................................... 54 21 Rule 5.526. Citation to appear; warrants of arrest; subpoenas ................................. 61 22 Rule 5.552. Confidentiality of records (§§ 827, 827.12, 828) ................................. 62 23
Chapter 7. Intercounty Transfers and Placements; Interstate Compact on the 24 Placement of Children ............................................................................................... 63 25 Rule 5.610. Transfer-out hearing ............................................................................. 63 26 Rule 5.614. Courtesy supervision (§§ 380, 755) ..................................................... 64 27 Rule 5.614. Intercounty Placements ........................................................................ 64 28 Rule 5.678.
Findings in support of detention; factors to consider; reasonable efforts; 29 detention alternatives ................................................................................................ 66 30 Rule 5.690. General conduct of disposition hearing ................................................ 69 31 Rule 5.695. Findings and orders of the court—disposition ..................................... 70 32 Rule 5.708.
General review hearing requirements ................................................... 71 33 Rule 5.764 * * * ........................................................................................................ 73 34
Chapter 13. Cases Petitioned Under Sections 601 and 602 ..................................... 73 1
Article 2. Fitness Hearings on Transfer of Jurisdiction to Criminal Court .............. 73 2 Rule 5.811. Modification to transition jurisdiction for a ward older than 17 years and 3 5 months with a petition subject to dismissal (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 450, 451, 4 727.2(i)–(j), 778; Pen. Code, § 236.14) .................................................................... 73 5 Rule 5.812.
Additional requirements for any hearing to terminate jurisdiction over 6 child in foster care and for status review or dispositional hearing for child 7 approaching majority (§§ 450, 451, 727.2(i)–(j), 778) ............................................. 78 8 Rule 5.903. Nonminor dependent status review hearing (§§ 224.1(b), 295, 366.1, 9 366.3, 366.31) ........................................................................................................... 81 10 Rule 5.906.
Request by nonminor for the juvenile court to resume jurisdiction 11 (§§ 224.1(b), 303, 388(e), 388.1) .............................................................................. 82 12 Rule 8.45. General provisions .................................................................................. 84 13 Rule 8.46. Sealed records......................................................................................... 85 14 Rule 8.47. Confidential records ............................................................................... 88 15 Rule 8.887.
Decisions .............................................................................................. 91 16 Rule 8.888. Finality and modification of decision ................................................... 92 17 Rule 8.889. Rehearing.............................................................................................. 93 18 Rule 8.935. Filing, finality, and modification of decisions; rehearing; remittitur ... 93 19 Rule 8.976. Filing, finality, and modification of decisions; remittitur .................... 94 20 Rule 8.1005.
Certification for transfer by the appellate division ............................. 95 21 Rule 10.64. Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee ............................................. 95 22 23 24
Rule 1.51. California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) 1 information form 2 3 (
a) Confidential CLETS Information form to be submitted to the court 4 5 A person requesting protective orders under Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6, 6 527.8, or 527.85; Family Code
section 6320, 6404, or 6454; Penal Code sections 7 18100–18205; or Welfare and Institutions Code
section 213.5 or 15657.03 must 8 submit to the court with the request a completed Confidential CLETS Information 9 form. 10 11 (Subd (
a) amended effective January 1, 2019.) 12 13 (b)–(e) * * * 14 15 Rule 1.51 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted effective January 1, 2011. 16 17 Rule 2.250. Construction and
definitions 18 19 (a) * * * 20 21 (
b) Definitions 22 23 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 24 25
(1) A “document” is a pleading, a paper, a declaration, an exhibit, or another 26 filing writing submitted by a party or other person, or by an agent of a party 27 or other person on the party’s or other person’s behalf. A document is also a 28 notice, order, judgment, or other issuance by the court. A document may be 29 in paper or electronic form. 30 31 (2) “Electronic service” has the same meaning as defined in Code of Civil 32 Procedure
section 1010.6 is service of a document on a party or other person 33 by either electronic transmission or electronic notification. Electronic service 34 may be performed directly by a party or other person, by an agent of a party 35 or other person, including the party’s or other person’s attorney, through an 36 electronic filing service provider, or by a court. 37 38 (3) “Electronic transmission” has the same meaning as defined in Code of Civil 39 Procedure
section 1010.6 means the transmission of a document by electronic 40 means to the electronic service address at or through which a party or other 41 person has authorized electronic service. 42 43
(4) “Electronic notification” has the same meaning as defined in Code of Civil 1 Procedure
section 1010.6 means the notification of a party or other person 2 that a document is served by sending an electronic message to the electronic 3 service address at or through which the party or other person has authorized 4 electronic service, specifying the exact name of the document served and 5 providing a hyperlink at which the served document can be viewed and 6 downloaded. 7 8 (5)–(8) * * * 9 10
(9) An “electronic filing manager” is a service that acts as an intermediary 11 between a court and various electronic filing service provider solutions 12 certified for filing into California courts. 13 14 (10) “Self-represented” means a party or other person who is unrepresented in an 15 action by an attorney and does not include an attorney appearing in an action 16 who represents himself or herself. 17 18 (Subd (
b) amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as unlettered subd effective January 19 1, 2003; previously amended and lettered effective January 1, 2011; previously amended 20 effective July 1, 2013, and January 1, 2018.) 21 22 Rule 2.250 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2050 effective January 1, 2003; 23 previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective 24 January 1, 2006, January 1, 2008, January 1, 2011, July 1, 2013, and January 1, 2018. 25 26 Rule 2.251. Electronic service 27 28 (a) * * * 29 30 (
b) Electronic service by express consent of the parties 31 32
(1) Electronic service may be established by consent. A party or other person 33 indicates that the party or other person agrees to accept electronic service by: 34 35 (
A) Serving a notice on all parties and other persons that the party or other 36 person accepts electronic service and filing the notice with the court. 37 The notice must include the electronic service address at which the 38 party or other person agrees to accept service; or 39 40 (
B) Electronically filing any document with the court. The act of electronic 41 filing is evidence that the party or other person agrees to accept service 42 at the electronic service address the party or other person has furnished 43
to the court under rule 2.256(a)(4). This subparagraph (
B) does not 1 apply to self-represented parties or other self-represented persons; they 2 must affirmatively consent to electronic service under 3 subparagraph(A). Manifesting affirmative consent through electronic 4 means with the court or the court’s electronic filing service provider, 5 and concurrently providing the party’s electronic service address with 6 that consent for the purpose of receiving electronic service. 7 8 (
C) A party or other person may manifest affirmative consent under (
B) by: 9 10 (
i) Agreeing to the terms of service agreement with an electronic 11 filing service provider, which clearly states that agreement 12 constitutes consent to receive electronic service electronically; 13 or 14 15 (ii) Filing Consent to Electronic Service and Notice of Electronic 16 Service Address (form EFS-005-CV). 17 18
(2) A party or other person that has consented to electronic service under (1) and 19 has used an electronic filing service provider to serve and file documents in a 20 case consents to service on that electronic filing service provider as the 21 designated agent for service for the party or other person in the case, until 22 such time as the party or other person designates a different agent for service. 23 24 (Subd (
b) amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as part of subd (a); previously 25 amended and relettered effective July 1, 2013; previously amended effective January 1, 26 2007, January 1, 2008, January 1, 2011, and January 1, 2018.) 27 28 (c)–(k) * * * 29 30 Rule 2.251 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2060 effective January 1, 2003; 31 previously amended and renumbered as rule 2.260 effective January 1, 2007, and as rule 2.251 32 effective January 1, 2011; previously amended effective January 1, 2008, January 1, 2009, July 1, 33 2009, January 1, 2010, July 1, 2013, January 1, 2016, January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018. 34 35 Rule 2.255.
Contracts with electronic filing service providers and electronic filing 36 managers 37 38 (
a) Right to contract 39 40
(1) A court may contract with one or more electronic filing service providers to 41 furnish and maintain an electronic filing system for the court. 42 43
(2) If the court contracts with an electronic filing service provider, it may require 1 electronic filers to transmit the documents to the provider. 2 3
(3) A court may contract with one or more electronic filing managers to act as an 4 intermediary between the court and electronic filing service providers. 5 6 (3)
(4) If the court contracts with an electronic service provider or the court has an 7 in-house system, the provider or system must accept filing from other 8 electronic filing service providers to the extent the provider or system is 9 compatible with them. 10 11 (Subd (
a) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 12 2007, and January 1, 2011.) 13 14 (
b) Provisions of contract 15 16
(1) The court’s contract with an electronic filing service provider may: 17 18 (
A) Allow the provider to charge electronic filers a reasonable fee in 19 addition to the court’s filing fee; 20 21 (
B) Allow the provider to make other reasonable requirements for use of 22 the electronic filing system. 23 24
(2) The court’s contract with an electronic filing service provider must comply 25 with the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure
section 1010.6. 26 27
(3) The court’s contract with an electronic filing manager must comply with the 28 requirements of Code of Civil Procedure
section 1010.6. 29 30 (Subd (
b) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 31 2018.) 32 33 (
c) Transmission of filing to court 34 35
(1) An electronic filing service provider must promptly transmit any electronic 36 filing and any applicable filing fee to the court directly or through the court’s 37 electronic filing manager. 38 39
(2) An electronic filing manager must promptly transmit an electronic filing and 40 any applicable filing fee to the court. 41 42
(Subd (
c) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 1 2011.) 2 3 (d) * * * 4 5 (
e) Ownership of information 6 7 All contracts between the court and electronic filing service providers or the court 8 and electronic filing managers must acknowledge that the court is the owner of the 9 contents of the filing system and has the exclusive right to control the system’s use. 10 11 (Subd (
e) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 12 2007.) 13 14 (
f) Establishing a filer account with an electronic filing service provider 15 16
(1) An electronic filing service provider may not require a filer to provide a 17 credit card, debit card, or bank account information to create an account with 18 the electronic filing service provider. 19 20
(2) This provision applies only to the creation of an account and not to the use of 21 an electronic filing service provider’s services. An electronic filing service 22 provider may require a filer to provide a credit card, debit card, or bank 23 account information before rendering services unless the services are within 24 the scope of a fee waiver granted by the court to the filer. 25 26 (Subd (
f) adopted effective January 1, 2019.) 27 28 Rule 2.255 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2055 effective January 1, 2003; 29 previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective 30 January 1, 2011, and January 1, 2018. 31 32 Rule 2.257. Requirements for signatures on documents 33 34 (
a) Electronic signature 35 36 An electronic signature is an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or 37 logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person 38 with the intent to sign a document or record created, generated, sent, 39 communicated, received, or stored by electronic means. 40 41 (Subd (
a) adopted effective January 1, 2019.) 42 43
(a)(
b) Documents signed under penalty of perjury 1 2 When a document to be filed electronically provides for a signature under penalty 3 of perjury of any person, the document is deemed to have been signed by that 4 person if filed electronically provided that either of the following conditions is 5 satisfied: 6 7
(1) The declarant has signed the document using an electronic signature a 8 computer or other technology, in accordance with procedures, standards, and 9 guidelines established by the Judicial Council and declares under penalty of 10 perjury under the laws of the state of California that the information 11 submitted is true and correct; or 12 13
(2) The declarant, before filing, has physically signed a printed form of the 14 document. By electronically filing the document, the electronic filer certifies 15 that the original, signed document is available for inspection and copying at 16 the request of the court or any other party. In the event this second method of 17 submitting documents electronically under penalty of perjury is used, the 18 following conditions apply: 19 20 (
A) At any time after the electronic version of the document is filed, any 21 party may serve a demand for production of the original signed 22 document. The demand must be served on all other parties but need not 23 be filed with the court. 24 25 (
B) Within five days of service of the demand under (A), the party or other 26 person on whom the demand is made must make the original signed 27 document available for inspection and copying by all other parties. 28 29 (
C) At any time after the electronic version of the document is filed, the 30 court may order the filing party or other person to produce the original 31 signed document in court for inspection and copying by the court. The 32 order must specify the date, time, and place for the production and must 33 be served on all parties. 34 35 (
D) Notwithstanding (A)–(C), local child support agencies may maintain 36 original, signed pleadings by way of an electronic copy in the statewide 37 automated child support system and must maintain them only for the 38 period of time stated in Government Code
section 68152(a). If the local 39 child support agency maintains an electronic copy of the original, 40 signed pleading in the statewide automated child support system, it may 41 destroy the paper original. 42 43
(Subd (
b) relettered and amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (a); 1 previously amended effective January 1, 2007, July 1, 2016, and January 1, 2018.) 2 3 (b)(c) * * * 4 5 (Subd (
c) relettered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (b); previously amended 6 effective January 1, 2007.) 7 8 (c)(d) * * * 9 10 (Subd (
d) relettered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (c); previously amended 11 effective January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2018.) 12 13 (d)(e) * * * 14 15 (Subd (
e) relettered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (d).) 16 17 (e)(f) * * * 18 19 (Subd (
f) relettered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (
e) effective January 1, 20 2008.) 21 22 Rule 2.257 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2057 effective January 1, 2003; 23 previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective 24 January 1, 2008, July 1, 2016, and January 1, 2018. 25 26 Advisory Committee Comment 27 28 Subdivision (a)(1). The standards and guidelines for electronic signatures that satisfy the 29 requirements for an electronic signature under penalty of perjury are contained in the Trial Court 30 Records Manual. 31 32 33
Chapter 2. Public Access to Electronic Trial Court Records 34 35
Article 1. General Provisions 36 37 Rule 2.500. Statement of purpose 38 39 (
a) Intent 40 41 The rules in this
chapter are intended to provide the public, parties, parties’ 42 attorneys, legal organizations, court-appointed persons, and government entities 43
with reasonable access to trial court records that are maintained in electronic form, 1 while protecting privacy interests. 2 3 (Subd (
a) amended effective January 1, 2019.) 4 5 (
b) Benefits of electronic access 6 7 Improved technologies provide courts with many alternatives to the historical 8 paper-based record receipt and retention process, including the creation and use of 9 court records maintained in electronic form. Providing public access to trial court 10 records that are maintained in electronic form may save the courts, and the public, 11 parties, parties’ attorneys, legal organizations, court-appointed persons, and 12 government entities time, money, and effort and encourage courts to be more 13 efficient in their operations.
Improved access to trial court records may also foster 14 in the public a more comprehensive understanding of the trial court system. 15 16 (Subd (
b) amended effective January 1, 2019.) 17 18 (
c) No creation of rights 19 20 The rules in this
chapter are not intended to give the public, parties, parties’ 21 attorneys, legal organizations, court-appointed persons, and government entities a 22 right of access to any record that they are not otherwise legally entitled to access. 23 The rules do not create any right of access to records that are sealed by court order 24 or confidential as a matter of law. 25 26 (Subd (
c) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 27 2007.) 28 29 Rule 2.500 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2070 effective July 1, 2002; 30 previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007. 31 32 33 Advisory Committee Comment 34 35 The rules in this
chapter acknowledge the benefits that electronic court records provide but 36 attempt to limit the potential for unjustified intrusions into the privacy of individuals involved in 37 litigation that can occur as a result of remote access to electronic court records. The proposed 38 rules take into account the limited resources currently available in the trial courts. It is 39 contemplated that the rules may be modified to provide greater electronic access as the courts’ 40 technical capabilities improve and with the knowledge is gained from the experience of the courts 41 in providing electronic access under these rules. 42 43
1 Rule 2.501. Application, and scope, and information to the public 2 3 (
a) Application and scope 4 5 The rules in this
chapter apply only to trial court records as defined in rule 6 2.502(3). They do not apply to statutorily mandated reporting between or within 7 government entities, or any other documents or materials that are not court records. 8 9 (Subd (
a) amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (
b) effective July 1, 2002; 10 amended and relettered effective January 1, 2007.) 11 12 (
b) Access by parties and attorneys Information to the public 13 14 The rules in this
chapter apply only to access to court records by the public. They 15 do not limit access to court records by a party to an action or proceeding, by the 16 attorney of a party, or by other persons or entities that are entitled to access by 17 statute or rule. 18 19 The website for each trial court must include a link to information that will inform 20 the public of who may access their electronic records under the rules in this
chapter 21 and under what conditions they may do so. This information will be posted publicly 22 on the California Courts website at www.courts.ca.gov. Each trial court may post 23 additional information, in plain language, as necessary to inform the public about 24 the level of access that the particular trial court is providing. 25 26 (Subd (
b) amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as subd (
c) effective July 1, 2002; 27 amended and relettered effective January 1, 2007.) 28 29 Rule 2.501 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2017 effective July 1, 2002; 30 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007. 31 32 Advisory Committee Comment 33 34 The rules on remote access do not apply beyond court records to other types of documents, 35 information, or data. Rule 2.502 defines a court record as “any document, paper, or exhibit filed 36 in an action or proceeding; any order or judgment of the court; and any item listed in Government 37 Code
section 68151(a)—excluding any reporter’s transcript for which the reporter is entitled to 38 receive a fee for any copy—that is maintained by the court in the ordinary course of the judicial 39 process. The term does not include the personal notes or preliminary memoranda of judges or 40 other judicial branch personnel, statutorily mandated reporting between government entities, 41 judicial administrative records, court case information, or compilations of data drawn from court 42 records where the compilations are not themselves contained in a court record.” (Cal. Rules of 43
Court, rule 2.502(3).) Thus, courts generate and maintain many types of information that are not 1 court records and to which access may be restricted by law. Such information is not remotely 2 accessible as court records, even to parties and their attorneys. If parties and their attorneys are 3 entitled to access to any such additional information, separate and independent grounds for that 4 access must exist. 5 6 Rule 2.502.
Definitions 7 8 As used in this chapter, the following
definitions apply: 9 10 (1) “Authorized person” means a person authorized by a legal organization, qualified 11 legal services project, or government entity to access electronic records. 12 13 (2) “Brief legal services” means legal assistance provided without, or before, becoming 14 a party’s attorney. It includes giving advice, having a consultation, performing 15 research, investigating case facts, drafting documents, and making limited third 16 party contacts on behalf of a client. 17 18 (1)(3) “Court record” is any document, paper, or exhibit filed by the parties to in an action 19 or proceeding; any order or judgment of the court; and any item listed in 20 Government Code
section 68151(a),—excluding any reporter’s transcript for which 21 the reporter is entitled to receive a fee for any copy—that is maintained by the court 22 in the ordinary course of the judicial process.
The term does not include the 23 personal notes or preliminary memoranda of judges or other judicial branch 24 personnel, statutorily mandated reporting between or within government entities, 25 judicial administrative records, court case information, or compilations of data 26 drawn from court records where the compilations are not themselves contained in a 27 court record. 28 29 (4) “Court case information” refers to data that is stored in a court’s case management 30 system or case histories.
This data supports the court’s management or tracking of 31 the action and is not part of the official court record for the case or cases. 32 33 (4)(5) “Electronic access” means computer access by electronic means to court records 34 available to the public through both public terminals at the courthouse and 35 remotely, unless otherwise specified in the rules in this chapter. 36 37 (2)(6) “Electronic record” is a computerized court record, regardless of the manner in 38 which it has been computerized that requires the use of an electronic device to 39 access.
The term includes both a document record that has been filed electronically 40 and an electronic copy or version of a record that was filed in paper form. The term 41 does not include a court record that is maintained only on microfiche, paper, or any 42 other medium that can be read without the use of an electronic device. 43
1 (7) “Government entity” means a legal entity organized to carry on some function of 2 the State of California or a political subdivision of the State of California. 3 Government entity also means a federally recognized Indian tribe or a reservation, 4 department, subdivision, or court of a federally recognized Indian tribe. 5 6 (8) “Legal organization” means a licensed attorney or group of attorneys, nonprofit 7 legal aid organization, government legal office, in-house legal office of a 8 nongovernmental organization, or legal program organized to provide for indigent 9 criminal, civil, or juvenile law representation. 10 11 (9) “Party” means a plaintiff, defendant, cross-complainant, cross-defendant, 12 petitioner, respondent, intervenor, objector, or anyone expressly defined by statute 13 as a party in a court case. 14 15 (10) “Person” means a natural human being. 16 17 (3)(11) “The public” means an individual a person, a group, or an entity, including print 18 or electronic media, or the representative of an individual, a group, or an entity 19 regardless of any legal or other interest in a particular court record. 20 21 (12) “Qualified legal services project” has the same meaning under the rules of this 22
chapter as in Business and Professions Code
section 6213(a). 23 24 (13) “Remote access” means electronic access from a location other than a public 25 terminal at the courthouse. 26 27 (14) “User” means an individual person, a group, or an entity that accesses electronic 28 records. 29 30 Rule 2.502 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 2072 effective 31 July 1, 2002; previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007. 32 33
Article 2. Public Access 34 35 Rule 2.503. Public access Application and scope 36 37 (
a) General right of access by the public 38 39
(1) All electronic records must be made reasonably available to the public in 40 some form, whether in electronic or in paper form, except those that are 41 sealed by court order or made confidential by law. 42 43
(2) The rules in this
article apply only to access to electronic records by the 1 public. 2 3 (
b) Electronic access required to extent feasible 4 5 A court that maintains the following records in electronic form must provide 6 electronic access to them, both remotely and at the courthouse, to the extent it is 7 feasible to do so: 8 9
(1) Registers of actions (as defined in Gov. Code, § 69845), calendars, and 10 indexes in all cases; and 11 12
(2) All court records in civil cases, except those listed in (c)(1)–(9)(11). 13 14 (
c) Courthouse electronic access only 15 16 A court that maintains the following records in electronic form must provide 17 electronic access to them at the courthouse, to the extent it is feasible to do so, but 18 may not provide public remote electronic access to these records only to the records 19 governed by (b): 20 21
(1) Records in a proceeding under the Family Code, including proceedings for 22 dissolution, legal separation, and nullity of marriage; child and spousal 23 support proceedings; child custody proceedings; and domestic violence 24 prevention proceedings; 25 26
(2) Records in a juvenile court proceeding; 27 28
(3) Records in a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding; 29 30
(4) Records in a mental health proceeding; 31 32
(5) Records in a criminal proceeding; 33 34
(6) Records in proceedings to compromise the claims of a minor or a person with 35 a disability; 36 37 (7)
(6) Records in a civil harassment proceeding under Code of Civil Procedure 38
section 527.6; 39 40 (8)
(7) Records in a workplace violence prevention proceeding under Code of Civil 41 Procedure
section 527.8; 42 43
(9) (8) Records in a private postsecondary school violence prevention proceeding 1 under Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.85; 2 3 (10)(9)Records in an elder or dependent adult abuse prevention proceeding under 4 Welfare and Institutions Code
section 15657.03; and 5 6
(10) Records in proceedings to compromise the claims of a minor or a person with 7 a disability. 8 9
(11) Records in a gun violence prevention proceeding under Penal Code sections 10 18100–18205. 11 12 (d) * * * 13 14 (
e) Remote electronic access allowed in extraordinary criminal cases 15 16 Notwithstanding (c)(5), the presiding judge of the court, or a judge assigned by the 17 presiding judge, may exercise discretion, subject to (e)(1), to permit remote 18 electronic access by the public to all or a portion of the public court records in an 19 individual criminal case if (1) the number of requests for access to documents in 20 the case is extraordinarily high and (2) responding to those requests would 21 significantly burden the operations of the court. An individualized determination 22 must be made in each case in which such remote electronic access is provided. 23 24
(1) In exercising discretion under (e), the judge should consider the relevant 25 factors, such as: 26 27 (A) * * * 28 29 (
B) The benefits to and burdens on the parties in allowing remote electronic 30 access, including possible impacts on jury selection; and 31 32 (C) * * * 33 34
(2) The court should, to the extent feasible, redact the following information 35 from records to which it allows remote access under (e): driver license 36 numbers; dates of birth; social security numbers; Criminal Identification and 37 Information and National Crime Information numbers; addresses and phone 38 numbers of parties, victims, witnesses, and court personnel; medical or 39 psychiatric information; financial information; account numbers; and other 40 personal identifying information. The court may order any party who files a 41 document containing such information to provide the court with both an 42 original unredacted version of the document for filing in the court file and a 43
redacted version of the document for remote electronic access. No juror 1 names or other juror identifying information may be provided by remote 2 electronic access. This subdivision does not apply to any document in the 3 original court file; it applies only to documents that are available by remote 4 electronic access. 5 6
(3) Five days’ notice must be provided to the parties and the public before the 7 court makes a determination to provide remote electronic access under this 8 rule. Notice to the public may be accomplished by posting notice on the 9 court’s Web site website. Any person may file comments with the court for 10 consideration, but no hearing is required. 11 12
(4) The court’s order permitting remote electronic access must specify which 13 court records will be available by remote electronic access and what 14 categories of information are to be redacted. The court is not required to 15 make findings of fact.
The court’s order must be posted on the court’s Web 16 site website and a copy sent to the Judicial Council. 17 18 (f)–(i) * * * 19 20 Advisory Committee Comment 21 22 The rule allows a level of access by the public to all electronic records that is at least equivalent 23 to the access that is available for paper records and, for some types of records, is much greater. At 24 the same time, it seeks to protect legitimate privacy concerns. 25 26 Subdivision (c).
This subdivision excludes certain records (those other than the register, calendar, 27 and indexes) in specified types of cases (notably criminal, juvenile, and family court matters) 28 from public remote electronic access. The committee recognized that while these case records are 29 public records and should remain available at the courthouse, either in paper or electronic form, 30 they often contain sensitive personal information. The court should not publish that information 31 over the Internet.
However, the committee also recognized that the use of the Internet may be 32 appropriate in certain criminal cases of extraordinary public interest where information regarding 33 a case will be widely disseminated through the media. In such cases, posting of selected 34 nonconfidential court records, redacted where necessary to protect the privacy of the participants, 35 may provide more timely and accurate information regarding the court proceedings, and may 36 relieve substantial burdens on court staff in responding to individual requests for documents and 37 information.
Thus, under subdivision (e), if the presiding judge makes individualized 38 determinations in a specific case, certain records in criminal cases may be made available over 39 the Internet. 40 41 Subdivisions (
f) and (g). These subdivisions limit electronic access to records (other than the 42 register, calendars, or indexes) to a case-by-case basis and prohibit bulk distribution of those 43
records. These limitations are based on the qualitative difference between obtaining information 1 from a specific case file and obtaining bulk information that may be manipulated to compile 2 personal information culled from any document, paper, or exhibit filed in a lawsuit.
This type of 3 aggregate information may be exploited for commercial or other purposes unrelated to the 4 operations of the courts, at the expense of privacy rights of individuals. 5 6 Courts must send a copy of the order permitting remote electronic access in extraordinary 7 criminal cases to: Criminal Justice Services, Judicial Council of California, 455 Golden Gate 8 Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3688. 9 10 11 Rules 2.504–2.507 * * * 12 13
Article 3. Remote Access by a Party, Party’s Designee, Party’s Attorney, 14 Court-Appointed Person, or Authorized Person Working in a Legal 15 Organization or Qualified Legal Services Project 16 17 Rule 2.515. Application and scope 18 19 (
a) No limitation on access to electronic records available under
article 2 20 21 The rules in this
article do not limit remote access to electronic records available 22 under
article 2. These rules govern access to electronic records where remote 23 access by the public is not allowed. 24 25 (
b) Who may access 26 27 The rules in this
article apply to remote access to electronic records by: 28 29
(1) A person who is a party; 30 31
(2) A designee of a person who is a party; 32 33
(3) A party’s attorney; 34 35
(4) An authorized person working in the same legal organization as a party’s 36 attorney; 37 38
(5) An authorized person working in a qualified legal services project providing 39 brief legal services; and 40 41
(6) A court-appointed person. 42 43
Rule 2.515 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 1 2 Advisory Committee Comment 3 4
Article 2 allows remote access in most civil cases, and the rules in
article 3 are not intended to 5 limit that access. Rather, the
article 3 rules allow broader remote access—by parties, parties’ 6 designees, parties’ attorneys, authorized persons working in legal organizations, authorized 7 persons working in a qualified legal services project providing brief services, and court-appointed 8 persons—to those electronic records where remote access by the public is not allowed. 9 10 Under the rules in
article 3, a party, a party’s attorney, an authorized person working in the same 11 legal organization as a party’s attorney, or a person appointed by the court in the proceeding 12 basically has the same level of access to electronic records remotely that he or she would have if 13 he or she were to seek to inspect the records in person at the courthouse.
Thus, if he or she is 14 legally entitled to inspect certain records at the courthouse, that person could view the same 15 records remotely; on the other hand, if he or she is restricted from inspecting certain court records 16 at the courthouse (e.g., because the records are confidential or sealed), that person would not be 17 permitted to view the records remotely. In some types of cases, such as unlimited civil cases, the 18 access available to parties and their attorneys is generally similar to the public’s but in other types 19 of cases, such as juvenile cases, it is much more extensive (see Cal.
Rules of Court, rule 5.552). 20 21 For authorized persons working in a qualified legal services program, the rule contemplates 22 services offered in high-volume environments on an ad hoc basis. There are some limitations on 23 access under the rule for qualified legal services projects. When an attorney at a qualified legal 24 services project becomes a party’s attorney and offers services beyond the scope contemplated 25 under this rule, the access rules for a party’s attorney would apply. 26 27 Rule 2.516.
Remote access to extent feasible 28 29 To the extent feasible, a court that maintains records in electronic form must provide 30 remote access to those records to the users described in rule 2.515, subject to the 31 conditions and limitations stated in this
article and otherwise provided by law. 32 33 Rule 2.516 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 34 35 Advisory Committee Comment 36 37 This rule takes into account the limited resources currently available in some trial courts. Many 38 courts may not have the financial means, security resources, or technical capabilities necessary to 39 provide the full range of remote access to electronic records authorized by this article. When it is 40 more feasible and courts have had more experience with remote access, these rules may be 41 amended to further expand remote access. 42 43
This rule is not intended to prevent a court from moving forward with the limited remote access 1 options outlined in this rule as such access becomes feasible. For example, if it were only feasible 2 for a court to provide remote access to parties who are persons, it could proceed to provide 3 remote access to those users only. 4 5 Rule 2.517. Remote access by a party 6 7 (
a) Remote access generally permitted 8 9 A person may have remote access to electronic records in actions or proceedings in which 10 that person is a party. 11 12 (
b) Level of remote access 13 14
(1) In any action or proceeding, a party may be provided remote access to the 15 same electronic records that he or she would be legally entitled to inspect at 16 the courthouse. 17 18
(2) This rule does not limit remote access to electronic records available under 19
article 2. 20 21
(3) This rule applies only to electronic records. A person is not entitled under 22 these rules to remote access to documents, information, data, or other 23 materials created or maintained by the courts that are not electronic records. 24 25 Rule 2.517 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 26 27 Advisory Committee Comment 28 29 Because this rule permits remote access only by a party who is a person (defined under rule 2.501 30 as a natural human being), remote access would not apply to parties that are organizations, which 31 would need to gain remote access under the party’s attorney rule or, for certain government 32 entities with respect to specified electronic records, the rules in
article 4. 33 34 A party who is a person would need to have the legal capacity to agree to the terms and 35 conditions of a court’s remote access user agreement before using a system of remote access. The 36 court could deny access or require additional information if the court knew the person seeking 37 access lacked legal capacity or appeared to lack capacity—for example, if identity verification 38 revealed the person seeking access was a minor. 39 40 Rule 2.518. Remote access by a party’s designee 41 42
(
a) Remote access generally permitted 1 2 A person who is a party in an action or proceeding may designate other persons to 3 have remote access to electronic records in that action or proceeding. 4 5 (
b) Level of remote access 6 7
(1) Except for criminal electronic records, juvenile justice electronic records, and 8 child welfare electronic records, a party’s designee may have the same access 9 to a party’s electronic records that a member of the public would be entitled 10 to if he or she were to inspect the party’s court records at the courthouse. A 11 party’s designee is not permitted remote access to criminal electronic records, 12 juvenile justice electronic records, and child welfare electronic records. 13 14
(2) A party may limit the access to be afforded a designee to specific cases. 15 16
(3) A party may limit the access to be afforded a designee to a specific period of 17 time. 18 19
(4) A party may modify or revoke a designee’s level of access at any time. 20 21 (
c) Terms of access 22 23
(1) A party’s designee may access electronic records only for the purpose of 24 assisting the party or the party’s attorney in the action or proceeding. 25 26
(2) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained remotely under the 27 rules in this
article is strictly prohibited. 28 29
(3) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to 30 the records obtained under this article. 31 32
(4) Party designees must comply with any other terms of remote access required 33 by the court. 34 35
(5) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, 36 including termination of access. 37 38 Advisory Committee Comment 39 40 A party must be a natural human being with the legal capacity to agree to the terms and 41 conditions of a user agreement with the court to authorize designees for remote access. Under rule 42 2.501, for purposes of the rules, “person” refers to natural human beings Accordingly, the party’s 43
designee rule would not apply to parties that are organizations, which would need to gain remote 1 access under the party’s attorney rule or, for certain government entities with respect to specified 2 electronic records, under the rules in
article 4. 3 4 Rule 2.518 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 5 6 Rule 2.519. Remote access by a party’s attorney 7 8 (
a) Remote access generally permitted 9 10
(1) A party’s attorney may have remote access to electronic records in the party’s 11 actions or proceedings under this rule or under rule 2.518. If a party’s 12 attorney gains remote access under rule 2.518, the requirements of rule 2.519 13 do not apply. 14 15
(2) If a court notifies an attorney of the court’s intention to appoint the attorney 16 to represent a party in a criminal, juvenile justice, child welfare, family law, 17 or probate proceeding, the court may grant remote access to that attorney 18 before an order of appointment is issued by the court. 19 20 (
b) Level of remote access 21 22 A party’s attorney may be provided remote access to the same electronic records in 23 the party’s actions or proceedings that the party’s attorney would be legally entitled 24 to view at the courthouse. 25 26 (
c) Terms of remote access applicable to an attorney who is not the attorney of 27 record 28 29 An attorney who represents a party, but who is not the party’s attorney of record in 30 the party’s actions or proceedings, may remotely access the party’s electronic 31 records, provided that the attorney: 32 33
(1) Obtains the party’s consent to remotely access the party’s electronic records; 34 and 35 36
(2) Represents to the court in the remote access system that he or she has 37 obtained the party’s consent to remotely access the party’s electronic records. 38 39 (
d) Terms of remote access applicable to all attorneys 40 41
(1) A party’s attorney may remotely access the electronic records only for the 42 purpose of assisting the party with the party’s court matter. 43
(2) A party’s attorney may not distribute for sale any electronic records obtained 2 remotely under the rules in this article. Such sale is strictly prohibited. 3 4
(3) A party’s attorney must comply with any other terms of remote access 5 required by the court. 6 7
(4) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, 8 including termination of access. 9 10 Advisory Committee Comment 11 12 Subdivision (c). An attorney of record will be known to the court for purposes of remote access. 13 However, a person may engage an attorney other than the attorney of record for assistance in an 14 action or proceeding in which the person is a party.
For example, a party may engage an attorney 15 to (1) prepare legal documents but not appear in the party’s action (e.g., provide limited-scope 16 representation); (2) assist the party with dismissal or sealing of a criminal record when the 17 attorney did not represent the party in the criminal proceeding; or (3) represent the party in an 18 appellate matter when the attorney did not represent the party in the trial court.
Subdivision (c) 19 provides a mechanism for an attorney not of record to be known to the court for purposes of 20 remote access. 21 22 Because the level of remote access is limited to the same court records that an attorney would be 23 entitled to access if he or she were to appear at the courthouse, an attorney providing undisclosed 24 representation would only be able to remotely access electronic records that the public could 25 access at the courthouse. The rule essentially removes the step of the attorney having to go to the 26 courthouse. 27 28 Rule 2.519 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 29 30 Rule 2.520.
Remote access by persons working in the same legal organization as a 31 party’s attorney 32 33 (
a) Application and scope 34 35
(1) This rule applies when a party’s attorney is assisted by others working in the 36 same legal organization. 37 38 (2) “Working in the same legal organization” under this rule includes partners, 39 associates, employees, volunteers, and contractors. 40 41
(3) This rule does not apply when a person working in the same legal 1 organization as a party’s attorney gains remote access to records as a party’s 2 designee under rule 2.518. 3 4 (
b) Designation and certification 5 6
(1) A party’s attorney may designate that other persons working in the same 7 legal organization as the party’s attorney have remote access. 8 9
(2) A party’s attorney must certify that the other persons authorized for remote 10 access are working in the same legal organization as the party’s attorney and 11 are assisting the party’s attorney in the action or proceeding. 12 13 (
c) Level of remote access 14 15
(1) Persons designated by a party’s attorney under (
b) must be provided access to 16 the same electronic records as the party. 17 18
(2) Notwithstanding (b), when a court designates a legal organization to 19 represent parties in criminal, juvenile, family, or probate proceedings, the 20 court may grant remote access to a person working in the organization who 21 assigns cases to attorneys working in that legal organization. 22 23 (
d) Terms of remote access 24 25
(1) Persons working in a legal organization may remotely access electronic 26 records only for purposes of assigning or assisting a party’s attorney. 27 28
(2) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained remotely under the 29 rules in this
article is strictly prohibited. 30 31
(3) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to 32 the records obtained under this article. 33 34
(4) Persons working in a legal organization must comply with any other terms of 35 remote access required by the court. 36 37
(5) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, 38 including termination of access. 39 40 Rule 2.520 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 41 42 Advisory Committee Comment 43
1 Subdivision (b). The designation and certification outlined in this subdivision need only be done 2 once and can be done at the time the attorney establishes his or her remote access account with 3 the court. 4 5 6 Rule 2.521. Remote access by a court-appointed person 7 8 (
a) Remote access generally permitted 9 10
(1) A court may grant a court-appointed person remote access to electronic 11 records in any action or proceeding in which the person has been appointed 12 by the court. 13 14
(2) Court-appointed persons include an attorney appointed to represent a minor 15 child under Family Code
section 3150; a Court Appointed Special Advocate 16 volunteer in a juvenile proceeding; an attorney appointed under Probate Code 17
section 1470, 1471, or 1474; an investigator appointed under Probate Code 18
section 1454; a probate referee designated under Probate Code
section 8920; 19 a fiduciary, as defined in Probate Code
section 39; an attorney appointed 20 under Welfare and Institutions Code
section 5365; or a guardian ad litem 21 appointed under Code of Civil Procedure
section 372 or Probate Code
section 22 1003. 23 24 (
b) Level of remote access 25 26 A court-appointed person may be provided with the same level of remote access to 27 electronic records as the court-appointed person would be legally entitled to if he or 28 she were to appear at the courthouse to inspect the court records. 29 30 (
c) Terms of remote access 31 32
(1) A court-appointed person may remotely access electronic records only for 33 purposes of fulfilling the responsibilities for which he or she was appointed. 34 35
(2) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained remotely under the 36 rules in this
article is strictly prohibited. 37 38
(3) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to 39 the records obtained under this article. 40 41
(4) A court-appointed person must comply with any other terms of remote access 42 required by the court. 43
(5) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, 2 including termination of access. 3 4 Rule 2.521 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 5 6 Rule 2.522. Remote access by persons working in a qualified legal services project 7 providing brief legal services 8 9 (
a) Application and scope 10 11
(1) This rule applies to qualified legal services projects as defined in Business 12 and Professions Code
section 6213(a). 13 14 (2) “Working in a qualified legal services project” under this rule includes 15 attorneys, employees, and volunteers. 16 17
(3) This rule does not apply to a person working in or otherwise associated with 18 a qualified legal services project who gains remote access to court records as 19 a party’s designee under rule 2.518. 20 21 (
b) Designation and certification 22 23
(1) A qualified legal services project may designate persons working in the 24 qualified legal services project who provide brief legal services, as defined in 25 rule 2.501, to have remote access. 26 27
(2) The qualified legal services project must certify that the authorized persons 28 work in their organization. 29 30 (
c) Level of remote access 31 32 Authorized persons may be provided remote access to the same electronic records 33 that the authorized person would be legally entitled to inspect at the courthouse. 34 35 (
d) Terms of remote access 36 37
(1) Qualified legal services projects must obtain the party’s consent to remotely 38 access the party’s electronic records. 39 40
(2) Authorized persons must represent to the court in the remote access system 41 that the qualified legal services project has obtained the party’s consent to 42 remotely access the party’s electronic records. 43
(3) Qualified legal services projects providing services under this rule may 2 remotely access electronic records only to provide brief legal services. 3 4
(4) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained under the rules in this 5
article is strictly prohibited. 6 7
(5) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to 8 electronic records obtained under this article. 9 10
(6) Qualified legal services projects must comply with any other terms of remote 11 access required by the court. 12 13
(7) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, 14 including termination of access. 15 16 Rule 2.522 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 17 18 Advisory Committee Comment 19 20 The rule does not prescribe any particular method for capturing the designation and certification 21 of persons working in a qualified legal services project. Courts and qualified legal services 22 projects have flexibility to determine what method would work for both entities.
For example, the 23 information could be captured in a remote access system if an organizational-level account could 24 be established, or the information could be captured in a written agreement between the court and 25 the qualified legal services project. 26 27 The rule does not prescribe any particular method for a qualified legal services project to 28 document the consent it obtained to access a person’s electronic records.
Qualified legal services 29 projects have flexibility to adapt the requirement to their regular processes for making records. 30 For example, the qualified legal services project could obtain a signed consent form for its 31 records or could obtain consent over the phone and make an entry to that effect in its records, or 32 the court and the qualified legal services project could enter into an agreement to describe how 33 consent will be obtained and recorded. 34 35 Rule 2.523. Identity verification, identity management, and user access 36 37 (
a) Identity verification required 38 39 Except for remote access provided to a party’s designee under rule 2.518, before 40 allowing a person who is eligible under the rules in
article 3 to have remote access 41 to electronic records, a court must verify the identity of the person seeking access. 42 43
(
b) Responsibilities of the court 1 2 A court that allows persons eligible under the rules in
article 3 to have remote 3 access to electronic records must have an identity verification method that verifies 4 the identity of, and provides a unique credential to, each person who is permitted 5 remote access to the electronic records. The court may authorize remote access by a 6 person only if that person’s identity has been verified, the person accesses records 7 using the credential provided to that individual, and the person complies with the 8 terms and conditions of access, as prescribed by the court. 9 10 (
c) Responsibilities of persons accessing records 11 12 A person eligible to be given remote access to electronic records under the rules in 13
article 3 may be given such access only if that person: 14 15
(1) Provides the court with all information it directs in order to identify the 16 person to be a user; 17 18
(2) Consents to all conditions for remote access required under
article 3 and by 19 the court; and 20 21
(3) Is authorized by the court to have remote access to electronic records. 22 23 (
d) Responsibilities of the legal organizations or qualified legal services projects 24 25
(1) If a person is accessing electronic records on behalf of a legal organization or 26 qualified legal services project, the organization or project must approve 27 granting access to that person, verify the person’s identity, and provide the 28 court with all the information it directs in order to authorize that person to 29 have access to electronic records. 30 31
(2) If a person accessing electronic records on behalf of a legal organization or 32 qualified legal services project leaves his or her position or for any other 33 reason is no longer entitled to access, the organization or project must 34 immediately notify the court so that it can terminate the person’s access. 35 36 (
e) Vendor contracts, statewide master agreements, and identity and access 37 management systems 38 39 A court may enter into a contract with a vendor to provide identity verification, 40 identity management, or user access services. Alternatively, courts may use a 41 statewide identity verification, identity management, or access management 42 system, if available, or a statewide master agreement for such systems, if available. 43
1 Rule 2.523 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 2 3 Advisory Committee Comment 4 5 Subdivisions (
a) and (d). A court may verify user identities under (
a) by obtaining a 6 representation from a legal organization or qualified legal services project that the legal 7 organization or qualified legal services project has verified the user identities under (d). No 8 additional verification steps are required on the part of the court. 9 10 11 Rule 2.524. Security of confidential information 12 13 (
a) Secure access and encryption required 14 15 If any information in an electronic record that is confidential by law or sealed by 16 court order may lawfully be provided remotely to a person or organization 17 described in rule 2.515, any remote access to the confidential information must be 18 provided through a secure platform and any electronic transmission of the 19 information must be encrypted. 20 21 (
b) Vendor contracts and statewide master agreements 22 23 A court may enter into a contract with a vendor to provide secure access and 24 encryption services. Alternatively, if a statewide master agreement is available for 25 secure access and encryption services, courts may use that master agreement. 26 27 Rule 2.524 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 28 29 Advisory Committee Comment 30 31 This rule describes security and encryption requirements; levels of access are provided for in 32 rules 2.517–2.522. 33 34 Rule 2.525. Searches; unauthorized access 35 36 (
a) Searches by case number or caption 37 38 A user authorized under this
article to remotely access a party’s electronic records 39 may search for the records by case number or case caption. 40 41 (
b) Access level 42 43
A court providing remote access to electronic records under this
article must ensure 1 that authorized users are able to access the electronic records only at the access 2 levels provided in this article. 3 4 (
c) Unauthorized access 5 6 If a user gains access to an electronic record that he or she is not authorized to 7 access under this article, the user must: 8 9
(1) Report the unauthorized access to the court as directed by the court for that 10 purpose; 11 12
(2) Destroy all copies, in any form, of the record; and 13 14
(3) Delete from his or her web browser history all information that identifies the 15 record. 16 17 Rule 2.525 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 18 19 Rule 2.526. Audit trails 20 21 (
a) Ability to generate audit trails 22 23 The court should have the ability to generate an audit trail that contains one or more 24 of the following elements: what electronic record was remotely accessed, when it 25 was remotely accessed, who remotely accessed it, and under whose authority the 26 user gained access. 27 28 (
b) Limited audit trails available to authorized users 29 30
(1) A court providing remote access to electronic records under this
article 31 should make limited audit trails available to authorized users under this 32 article. 33 34
(2) A limited audit trail should identify the user who remotely accessed 35 electronic records in a particular case, but must not identify which specific 36 electronic records were accessed. 37 38 Rule 2.526 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 39 40 Advisory Committee Comment 41
1 The audit trail is a tool to assist the courts and users in identifying and investigating any potential 2 issues or misuse of remote access. The user’s view of the audit trail is limited to protect sensitive 3 information. 4 5 To facilitate the use of existing remote access systems, rule 2.526 is currently not mandatory, but 6 may be amended to be mandatory in the future. 7 8 9 Rule 2.527.
Additional conditions of access 10 11 To the extent consistent with these rules and other applicable law, a court must impose 12 reasonable conditions on remote access to preserve the integrity of its records, prevent the 13 unauthorized use of information, and limit possible legal liability. The court may choose 14 to require each user to submit a signed, written agreement enumerating those conditions 15 before it permits that user to remotely access electronic records.
The agreements may 16 define the terms of access, provide for compliance audits, specify the scope of liability, 17 and provide for sanctions for misuse up to and including termination of remote access. 18 19 Rule 2.527 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 20 21 Rule 2.528. Termination of remote access 22 23 (
a) Remote access is a privilege 24 25 Remote access to electronic records under this
article is a privilege and not a right. 26 27 (
b) Termination by court 28 29 A court that provides remote access may, at any time and for any reason, terminate 30 the permission granted to any person eligible under the rules in
article 3 to remotely 31 access electronic records. 32 33 Rule 2.528 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 34 35
Article 4. Remote Access by Government Entities 36 37 Rule 2.540. Application and scope 38 39 (
a) Applicability to government entities 40 41 The rules in this
article provide for remote access to electronic records by 42 government entities described in (b). The access allowed under these rules is in 43
addition to any access these entities or authorized persons working for such entities 1 may have under the rules in articles 2 and 3. 2 3 (
b) Level of remote access 4 5
(1) A court may provide authorized persons from government entities with 6 remote access to electronic records as follows: 7 8 (
A) Office of the Attorney General: criminal electronic records and juvenile 9 justice electronic records. 10 11 (
B) California Department of Child Support Services: family electronic 12 records, child welfare electronic records, and parentage electronic 13 records. 14 15 (
C) Office of a district attorney: criminal electronic records and juvenile 16 justice electronic records. 17 18 (
D) Office of a public defender: criminal electronic records and juvenile 19 justice electronic records. 20 21 (
E) Office of a county counsel: criminal electronic records, mental health 22 electronic records, child welfare electronic records, and probate 23 electronic records. 24 25 (
F) Office of a city attorney: criminal electronic records, juvenile justice 26 electronic records, and child welfare electronic records. 27 28 (
G) County department of probation: criminal electronic records, juvenile 29 justice electronic records, and child welfare electronic records. 30 31 (
H) County sheriff’s department: criminal electronic records and juvenile 32 justice electronic records. 33 34 (
I) Local police department: criminal electronic records and juvenile 35 justice electronic records. 36 37 (
J) Local child support agency: family electronic records, child welfare 38 electronic records, and parentage electronic records. 39 40 (
K) County child welfare agency: child welfare electronic records. 41 42
(
L) County public guardian: criminal electronic records, mental health 1 electronic records, and probate electronic records. 2 3 (
M) County agency designated by the board of supervisors to provide 4 conservatorship investigation under
chapter 3 of the Lanterman-Petris -5 Short Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5350–5372): criminal electronic 6 records, mental health electronic records, and probate electronic 7 records. 8 9 (
N) Federally recognized Indian tribe (including any reservation, 10 department, subdivision, or court of the tribe) with concurrent 11 jurisdiction: child welfare electronic records, family electronic records, 12 juvenile justice electronic records, and probate electronic records. 13 14 (
O) For good cause, a court may grant remote access to electronic records 15 in particular case types to government entities beyond those listed in 16 (b)(1)(A)–(N). For purposes of this rule, “good cause” means that the 17 government entity requires access to the electronic records in order to 18 adequately perform its statutory duties or fulfill its responsibilities in 19 litigation. 20 21 (
P) All other remote access for government entities is governed by articles 22 2 and 3. 23 24
(2) Subject to (b)(1), the court may provide a government entity with the same 25 level of remote access to electronic records as the government entity would 26 be legally entitled to if a person working for the government entity were to 27 appear at the courthouse to inspect court records in that case type. If a court 28 record is confidential by law or sealed by court order and a person working 29 for the government entity would not be legally entitled to inspect the court 30 record at the courthouse, the court may not provide the government entity 31 with remote access to the confidential or sealed electronic record. 32 33
(3) This rule applies only to electronic records. A government entity is not 34 entitled under these rules to remote access to any documents, information, 35 data, or other types of materials created or maintained by the courts that are 36 not electronic records. 37 38 (
c) Terms of remote access 39 40
(1) Government entities may remotely access electronic records only to perform 41 official duties and for legitimate governmental purposes. 42 43
(2) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained remotely under the 1 rules in this
article is strictly prohibited. 2 3
(3) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to 4 electronic records obtained under this article. 5 6
(4) Government entities must comply with any other terms of remote access 7 required by the court. 8 9
(5) Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the imposition of 10 sanctions, including termination of access. 11 12 Rule 2.540 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 13 14 Advisory Committee Comment 15 16 The rule does not restrict courts to providing remote access only to local government entities in 17 the same county in which the court is situated. For example, a court in one county could allow 18 remote access to electronic records by a local child support agency in a different county. 19 20 Subdivision (b)(3).
As to the applicability of the rules on remote access only to electronic 21 records, see the advisory committee comment to rule 2.501. 22 23 24 Rule 2.541. Identity verification, identity management, and user access 25 26 (
a) Identity verification required 27 28 Before allowing a person or entity eligible under the rules in
article 4 to have 29 remote access to electronic records, a court must verify the identity of the person 30 seeking access. 31 32 (
b) Responsibilities of the courts 33 34 A court that allows persons eligible under the rules in
article 4 to have remote 35 access to electronic records must have an identity verification method that verifies 36 the identity of, and provides a unique credential to, each person who is permitted 37 remote access to the electronic records. The court may authorize remote access by a 38 person only if that person’s identity has been verified, the person accesses records 39 using the name and password provided to that individual, and the person complies 40 with the terms and conditions of access, as prescribed by the court. 41 42
(
c) Responsibilities of persons accessing records 1 2 A person eligible to remotely access electronic records under the rules in
article 4 3 may be given such access only if that person: 4 5
(1) Provides the court with all of the information it needs to identify the person 6 to be a user; 7 8
(2) Consents to all conditions for remote access required by
article 4 and the 9 court; and 10 11
(3) Is authorized by the court to have remote access to electronic records. 12 13 (
d) Responsibilities of government entities 14 15
(1) If a person is accessing electronic records on behalf of a government entity, 16 the government entity must approve granting access to that person, verify the 17 person’s identity, and provide the court with all the information it needs to 18 authorize that person to have access to electronic records. 19 20
(2) If a person accessing electronic records on behalf of a government entity 21 leaves his or her position or for any other reason is no longer entitled to 22 access, the government entity must immediately notify the court so that the 23 court can terminate the person’s access. 24 25 (
e) Vendor contracts, statewide master agreements, and identity and access 26 management systems 27 28 A court may enter into a contract with a vendor to provide identity verification, 29 identity management, or user access services. Alternatively, courts may use a 30 statewide identity verification, identity management, or access management 31 system, if available, or a statewide master agreement for such systems, if available. 32 33 Rule 2.541 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 34 35 Rule 2.542. Security of confidential information 36 37 (
a) Secure access and encryption required 38 39 If any information in an electronic record that is confidential by law or sealed by 40 court order may lawfully be provided remotely to a government entity, any remote 41 access to the confidential information must be provided through a secure platform, 42 and any electronic transmission of the information must be encrypted. 43
1 (
b) Vendor contracts and statewide master agreements 2 3 A court may enter into a contract with a vendor to provide secure access and 4 encryption services. Alternatively, if a statewide master agreement is available for 5 secure access and encryption services, courts may use that master agreement. 6 7 Rule 2.542 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 8 9 Rule 2.543. Audit trails 10 11 (
a) Ability to generate audit trails 12 13 The court should have the ability to generate an audit trail that contains one or more 14 of the following elements: what electronic record was remotely accessed, when it 15 was accessed, who accessed it, and under whose authority the user gained access. 16 17 (
b) Audit trails available to government entity 18 19
(1) A court providing remote access to electronic records under this
article 20 should make limited audit trails available to authorized users of the 21 government entity. 22 23
(2) A limited audit trail should identify the user who remotely accessed 24 electronic records in a particular case, but must not identify which specific 25 electronic records were accessed. 26 27 Rule 2.543 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 28 29 Advisory Committee Comment 30 31 The audit trail is a tool to assist the courts and users in identifying and investigating any potential 32 issues or misuse of remote access.
The user’s view of the audit trail is limited to protect sensitive 33 information. 34 35 To facilitate the use of existing remote access systems, rule 2.526 is currently not mandatory, but 36 may be amended to be mandatory in the future. 37 38 39 Rule 2.544. Additional conditions of access 40 41 To the extent consistent with these rules and other applicable law, a court must impose 42 reasonable conditions on remote access to preserve the integrity of its records, prevent the 43
unauthorized use of information, and limit possible legal liability. The court may choose 1 to require each user to submit a signed, written agreement enumerating those conditions 2 before it permits that user to access electronic records remotely. The agreements may 3 define the terms of access, provide for compliance audits, specify the scope of liability, 4 and provide for sanctions for misuse up to and including termination of remote access. 5 6 Rule 2.544 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 7 8 Rule 2.545. Termination of remote access 9 10 (
a) Remote access is a privilege 11 12 Remote access to electronic records under this
article is a privilege and not a right. 13 14 (
b) Termination by court 15 16 A court that provides remote access may, at any time and for any reason, terminate 17 the permission granted to any person or entity eligible under the rules in
article 4 to 18 remotely access electronic records 19 20 Rule 2.545 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 21 22 Rule 2.1009. Permanent medical excuse from jury service 23 24 (
a) Definitions 25 26 As used in this rule: 27 28 (1) “Applicant” means a “person with a disability” or their authorized 29 representative. 30 31 (2) “Authorized representative” means a conservator, agent under a power of 32 attorney (attorney-in-fact), or any other individual designated by the person 33 with a disability. 34 35 (3) “Capable of performing jury service” means a person can pay attention to 36 evidence, testimony, and other court proceedings for up to six hours per day, 37 with a lunch break and short breaks in the morning and afternoon, with or 38 without disability-related accommodations, including auxiliary aids and 39 services. 40 41 (4) “Health care provider” means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, podiatrist, 42 dentist, chiropractor, clinical psychologist, optometrist, nurse practitioner, 43
nurse-midwife, clinical social worker, therapist, physician’s assistant, 1 Christian Science Practitioner, or any other medical provider, facility, or 2 organization that is authorized and performing within the scope of the 3 practice of their profession in accordance with state or federal law and 4 regulations. 5 6 (5) “Permanent medical excuse” means a release from jury service granted by the 7 jury commissioner to a person with a disability whose condition is unlikely to 8 resolve and who, with or without disability-related accommodations, 9 including auxiliary aids or services, is not capable of performing jury service. 10 11 (6) “Person with a disability” means an individual covered by Civil Code
section 12 51 et seq., the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et 13 seq.), or other applicable state and federal laws. This definition includes a 14 person who has a physical or mental medical condition that limits one or 15 more of the major life activities, has a record of such a condition, or is 16 regarded as having such a condition. 17 18 (
b) Policy 19 20
(1) This rule is intended to allow a person with a disability whose condition is 21 unlikely to resolve and who is unable for the foreseeable future to serve as a 22 juror to seek a permanent medical excuse from jury service. This rule does 23 not impose limitations on or invalidate the remedies, rights, and procedures 24 accorded to persons with disabilities under state or federal law. 25 26
(2) It is the policy of the courts of this state to ensure that persons with 27 disabilities have equal and full access to the judicial system, including the 28 opportunity to serve as jurors. No eligible jurors who can perform jury 29 service, with or without disability-related accommodations, including 30 auxiliary aids or services, may be excused from jury service due solely to 31 their disability. 32 33 (
c) Process for requesting permanent medical excuse 34 35 The process for requesting a permanent medical excuse from jury service is as 36 follows: 37 38
(1) An applicant must submit to the jury commissioner a written request for 39 permanent medical excuse with a supporting letter, memo, or note from a 40 treating health care provider. The supporting letter, memo, or note must be on 41 the treating health care provider’s letterhead, state that the person has a 42
permanent disability that makes the person incapable of performing jury 1 service, and be signed by the provider. 2 3
(2) The applicant must submit the request and supporting letter, memo, or note to 4 the jury commissioner on or before the date the person is required to appear 5 for jury service. 6 7
(3) In the case of an incomplete application, the jury commissioner may require 8 the applicant to furnish additional information in support of the request for 9 permanent medical excuse. 10 11
(4) The jury commissioner must keep confidential all information concerning the 12 request for permanent medical excuse, including any accompanying request 13 for disability-related accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, 14 unless the applicant waives confidentiality in writing or the law requires 15 disclosure. The applicant’s identity and confidential information may not be 16 disclosed to the public but may be disclosed to court officials and personnel 17 involved in the permanent medical excuse process.
Confidential information 18 includes all medical information pertaining to the applicant, and all oral or 19 written communication from the applicant concerning the request for 20 permanent medical excuse. 21 22 (
d) Response to request 23 24 The jury commissioner must respond to a request for a permanent medical excuse 25 from jury service as follows: 26 27
(1) The jury commissioner must promptly inform the applicant in writing of the 28 determination to grant or deny a permanent medical excuse request. 29 30
(2) If the request is granted, the jury commissioner must remove the person from 31 the rolls of potential jurors as soon as it is practicable to do so. 32 33
(3) If the request is denied, the jury commissioner must provide the applicant a 34 written response with the reason for the denial. 35 36 (
e) Denial of request 37 38 Only when the jury commissioner determines the applicant failed to satisfy the 39 requirements of this rule may the jury commissioner deny the permanent medical 40 excuse request. 41 42
(
f) Right to reapply 1 2 A person whose request for permanent medical excuse is denied may reapply at any 3 time after receipt of the jury commissioner’s denial by following the process in (c). 4 5 (
g) Reinstatement 6 7 A person who has received a permanent medical excuse from jury service under 8 this rule may be reinstated to the rolls of potential jurors at any time by filing a 9 signed, written request with the jury commissioner that the permanent medical 10 excuse be withdrawn. 11 12 Rule 2.1009 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 13 14
Article 4. Protective Orders 15 16 Rule 3.1160 3.1152. Requests for protective orders to prevent civil harassment, 17 workplace violence, private postsecondary school violence, and elder or 18 dependent adult abuse 19 20 (a)–(e) * * * 21 22 Rule 3.1160 renumbered effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 363 effective January 1, 23 1984; previously amended effective January 1, 1993, July 1, 1995, January 1, 2000, January 1, 24 2002, and January 1, 2012; previously amended and renumbered as rule 3.1152 effective 25 January 1, 2007. 26 27 Rule 3.1161. Request to make minor’s information confidential in civil harassment 28 protective order proceedings 29 30 (
a) Application of rule 31 32 This rule applies to requests and orders made under Code of Civil Procedure 33
section 527.6(
v) to keep a minor’s information confidential in a civil harassment 34 protective order proceeding. 35 36 Wherever used in this rule, “legal guardian” means either parent if both parents 37 have legal custody, or the parent or person having legal custody, or the guardian, of 38 a minor. 39 40 (
b) Information that may be made confidential 41 42 The information that may be made confidential includes: 43
(1) The minor’s name; 2 3
(2) The minor’s address; 4 5
(3) The circumstances surrounding the protective order with respect to the minor. 6 These include the allegations in the Request for Civil Harassment Retraining 7 Orders (form CH-100) that involve conduct directed, in whole or in part, 8 toward the minor; and 9 10
(4) Any other information that the minor or legal guardian believes should be 11 confidential. 12 13 (
c) Requests for confidentiality 14 15
(1) Person making request 16 17 A request for confidentiality may be made by a minor or legal guardian. 18 19
(2) Number of minors 20 21 A request for confidentiality by a legal guardian may be made for more than 22 one minor. “Minor,” as used in this rule, refers to all minors for whom a 23 request for confidentiality is made. 24 25 (
d) Procedures for making request 26 27
(1) Timing of requests 28 29 A request for confidentiality may be made at any time during the case. 30 31
(2) Submission of request 32 33 The person submitting a request must complete and file Request to Keep 34 Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH-160), a confidential form. 35 36
(3) Ruling on request 37 38 (
A) Ruling on request without notice 39 40 The court must determine whether to grant a request for confidentiality 41 without requiring that any notice of the request be given to the other 42
party, or both parties if the minor is not a party in the proceeding. No 1 adversarial hearing is to be held. 2 3 (
B) Request for confidentiality submitted at the same time as a request for 4 restraining orders 5 6 If a request for confidentiality is submitted at the same time as a request 7 for restraining orders, the court must consider both requests consistent 8 with Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(
e) and must consider and 9 rule on the request for confidentiality before the request for restraining 10 order is filed. 11 12 Documents submitted with the restraining order request must not be 13 filed until after the court has ruled on the request for confidentiality and 14 must be consistent with (
C) below. 15 16 (
C) Withdrawal of request for restraining order 17 18 If a request for confidentiality under (
B) made by the person asking for 19 the restraining order is denied and the requester seeks to withdraw the 20 request for restraining orders, all of the following apply: 21 22 (
i) The court must not file the request for restraining order and the 23 accompanying proposed order forms and must return the 24 documents to the requester personally, destroy the documents, 25 or delete the documents from any electronic files; 26 27 (ii) The order denying confidentiality must be filed and maintained 28 in a public file; and 29 30 (iii) The request for confidentiality must be filed and maintained in a 31 confidential file. 32 33
(4) Need for additional facts 34 35 If the court finds that the request for confidentiality is insufficiently specific 36 to meet the requirements under Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(v)(2) 37 for granting the request, the court may take testimony from the minor, or 38 legal guardian, the person requesting a protective order, or other competent 39 witness, in a closed hearing in order to determine if there are additional facts 40 that would support granting the request. 41 42
(
e) Orders on request for confidentiality 1 2
(1) Rulings 3 4 The court may grant the entire request, deny the entire request, or partially 5 grant the request for confidentiality. 6 7
(2) Order granting request for confidentiality 8 9 (
A) Applicability 10 11 An order made under Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(
v) applies 12 in this case and in any other civil case to all registers of actions, indexes, 13 court calendars, pleadings, discovery documents, and other documents 14 filed or served in the action, and at hearings, trial, and other court 15 proceedings that are open to the public. 16 17 (
B) Minor’s name 18 19 If the court grants a request for confidentiality of the minor’s name and: 20 21 (
i) If the minor is a party to the action, the court must use the initials 22 of the minor or other initials, at the discretion of the court. In 23 addition, the court must use only initials to identify both parties 24 to the action if using the other party’s name would likely reveal 25 the identity of the minor. 26 27 (ii) If the minor is not a party to the action, the court must not include 28 any information that would likely reveal the identity of the minor, 29 including whether the minor lives with the person making the 30 request for confidentiality. 31 32 (
C) Circumstances surrounding protective order (statements related to 33 minor) 34 35 If the court grants a request for confidentiality, the order must 36 specifically identify the information about the minor in Request for Civil 37 Harassment Restraining Orders (form CH-100) and any other 38 applicable document that must be kept confidential. Information about 39 the minor ordered confidential by the court must not be made available 40 to the public. 41 42 (
D) Service 43
1 The other party, or both parties if the person making the request for 2 confidentiality is not a party to the action, must be served with a copy of 3 the Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH-160), 4 Order on Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH -5 165) and Notice of Order Protecting Information of Minor (form CH-6 170), redacted if required under (f)(4). 7 8
(3) Order denying request for confidentiality 9 10 (
A) The order denying confidentiality must be filed and maintained in a 11 public file. The request for confidentiality must be filed and maintained 12 in a confidential file. 13 14 (
B) Notwithstanding denial of a request to keep the minor’s address 15 confidential, the address may be confidential under other statutory 16 provisions. 17 18 (
C) Service 19 20 (
i) If a request for confidentiality is denied and the request for 21 restraining order has been withdrawn, and if no other action is 22 pending before the court in the case, then the Request to Keep 23 Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH-160) and Order on 24 Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH -25 165) must not be served on the other party, or both parties if the 26 person making the request for confidentiality is not a party to 27 the action. 28 29 (ii) If a request for confidentiality is denied and the request for 30 restraining order has not been withdrawn, or if an action 31 between the same parties is pending before the court, then the 32 Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form CH -33 160) and Order on Request to Keep Minor’s Information 34 Confidential (form CH-165) must be served on the other party, 35 or both parties if the person making the request for 36 confidentiality is not a party to the action. 37 38 (
f) Procedures to protect confidential information when request is granted 39 40
(1) If a request for confidentiality is granted in whole or in part, the court, in its 41 discretion, and taking into consideration the factors stated in (g), must ensure 42
that the order granting confidentiality is maintained in the most effective 1 manner by: 2 3 (
A) The judicial officer redacting all information to be kept confidential 4 from all applicable documents; 5 6 (
B) Ordering the requesting party or the requesting party’s attorney to 7 prepare a redacted copy of all applicable documents and submit all 8 redacted copies to the court for review and filing; or 9 10 (
C) Ordering any other procedure that facilitates the prompt and accurate 11 preparation of a redacted copy of all applicable documents in 12 compliance with the court’s order granting confidentiality, provided the 13 selected procedure is consistent with (g). 14 15
(2) The redacted copy or copies must be filed and maintained in a public file, and 16 the unredacted copy or copies must be filed and maintained in a confidential 17 file. 18 19
(3) Information that is made confidential from the public and the restrained 20 person must be filed in a confidential file accessible only to the minor or 21 minors who are subjects of the order of confidentiality, or the legal guardian 22 who requested confidentiality, law enforcement for enforcement purposes 23 only, and the court. 24 25
(4) Any information that is made confidential from the restrained person must be 26 redacted from the copy that will be served on the restrained person. 27 28 (
g) Factors in Selecting Redaction Procedures 29 30 In determining the procedure to follow under (f), the court must consider the 31 following factors: 32 33
(1) Whether the requesting party is represented by an attorney; 34 35
(2) Whether the requesting party has immediate access to a self-help center or 36 other legal assistance; 37 38
(3) Whether the requesting party is capable of preparing redacted materials 39 without assistance; 40 41
(4) Whether the redactions to the applicable documents are simple or complex; 42 and 43
(5) When applicable, whether the selected procedure will ensure that the orders 2 on the request for restraining order and the request for confidentiality are 3 issued and redacted in an expeditious and timely manner. 4 5 (
h) Sharing of information about a protected minor 6 7
(1) Sharing of information with the respondent 8 9 Information about a protected minor must be shared with the respondent only 10 as provided in Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(v)(4)(B), limited to 11 information necessary to allow the respondent to respond to the request for 12 the protective order, and to comply with the confidentiality order and the 13 protective order. 14 15
(2) Sharing of information with law enforcement 16 17 Information about a protected minor must be shared with law enforcement 18 only as provided in Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(v)(4)(A). 19 20 (
i) Protecting information in subsequent filings and other civil cases 21 22
(1) Filings made after an order granting confidentiality 23 24 (
A) A party seeking to file a document or form after an order for 25 confidentiality has been made must submit the Cover Sheet for 26 Confidential Information (form CH-175) attached to the front of the 27 document to be filed. 28 29 (
B) Upon receipt of form CH-175 with attached documents, the court must: 30 31 (
i) Order a procedure for redaction consistent with the procedures 32 stated in (f); 33 34 (ii) File the unredacted document in the confidential file pending 35 receipt of the redacted document if the redacted document is not 36 prepared on the same court day; and 37 38 (iii) File the redacted document in the public file after it has been 39 reviewed and approved by the court for accuracy. 40 41
(2) Other civil case 42 43
(
A) Information subject to an order of confidentiality issued under Code of 1 Civil Procedure
section 527.6(
v) must be kept confidential in any other 2 civil case. 3 4 (
B) The minor or person making the request for confidentiality and any 5 person who has been served with a notice of confidentiality must 6 submit a copy of the order of confidentiality (form CH-165) in any 7 other civil case involving the same parties. 8 9 Rule 3.1161 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 10 11 Advisory Committee Comment 12 13 Subdivisions (a)–(e). The process described in this rule need not be used for minors if the request 14 for confidentiality is merely to keep an address confidential and a petitioning minor has a mailing 15 address which need not be kept private that can be listed on the forms.
The restraining order 16 forms do not require the address of a nonpetitioning minor. 17 18 This rule and rule 2.551 provide a standard and procedures for courts to follow when a request is 19 made to seal a record. The standard as reflected in Code of Civil Procedure
section 527.6(v)(2) is 20 based on NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1178. The 21 standard recognizes the First Amendment right of access to documents used at trial or as a basis 22 of adjudication. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Rule 3.2300. Review under Penal Code
section 186.35 of law enforcement agency 30 denial of request to remove name from shared gang database 31 32 (a)–(c) * * * 33 34 (
d) Petition 35 36
(1) Form 37 38 (
A) Except as provided in (
i) and (ii), Request Petition for Review of Denial 39 of Request to Remove Name From Gang Database (form MC-1000) 40 must be used to seek review under Penal Code
section 186.35 of a law 41 enforcement agency’s decision denying a request to remove a person’s 42 name from a shared gang database. 43
1 (
i) A petition filed by an attorney need not be on form MC-1000. 2 For good cause the court may also accept a petition from a 3 nonattorney that is not on form MC-1000. 4 5 (ii) Any petition that is not on form MC-1000 must contain the 6 information specified in form MC-1000 and must bear the name 7 “Petition for Review of Denial of Request to Remove Name 8 From Gang Database.” 9 10 (
B) The person seeking review must attach to the petition under (
A) either: 11 12 (
i) The law enforcement agency’s written verification, if one was 13 received, of its decision denying the person’s request under Penal 14 Code
section 186.34 to remove his or her name—or, if the 15 request was filed by a parent or guardian on behalf of a child 16 under 18, the name of the child—from the shared gang database.; 17 or 18 19 (ii) If the law enforcement agency did not provide written 20 verification responding to the person’s request under Penal Code 21
section 186.34 within 30 days of submission of the request, a 22 copy of the request and written documentation submitted to the 23 law enforcement agency contesting the designation. 24 25 (2)–(5) * * * 26 27 (Subd (
d) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 28 2018.) 29 30 (
e) Record 31 32
(1) Filing 33 34 (
A) The law enforcement agency must serve the record on the person filing 35 the petition and must file the record in the superior court in which the 36 petition was filed. 37 38 (
B) The record must be served and filed within 15 days after the date the 39 petition is served on the law enforcement agency as required by 40 subdivision (d)(5) of this rule. 41 42
(
C) If the record contains any documents that are part of a juvenile case file 1 or are sealed or confidential under Welfare and Institutions Code 2
section 827 or have been sealed, the law enforcement agency must 3 include a coversheet that states “Confidential Filing – Juvenile Case 4 File Enclosed.” 5 6 (
D) The procedures set out in rules 2.550 and 2.551 apply to any record 7 sought to be filed under seal in a proceeding under this rule. 8 9
(2) Contents 10 11 The record is limited to the documents required by Penal Code
section 12 186.35(c). 13 14
(3) Format 15 16 (
A) The cover or first page of the record must: 17 18 (
i) Clearly identify it as the record in the case; 19 20 (ii) Clearly indicate if the record includes any documents that are 21 sealed or confidential under Welfare and Institutions Code 22
section 827 or have been sealed; 23 24 (iii) State the title and court number of the case; and 25 26 (iv) Include the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax 27 number (if available), e-mail address (if available), and California 28 State Bar number (if applicable) of the attorney or other person 29 filing the record on behalf of the law enforcement agency. The 30 court will use this as the name, mailing address, telephone 31 number, fax number, and e-mail address of record for the agency 32 unless the agency informs the court otherwise in writing. 33 34 (
B) All documents in the record must have a page size of 8.5 by 11 inches; 35 36 (
C) The text must be reproduced as legibly as printed matter; 37 38 (
D) The contents must be arranged chronologically; 39 40 (
E) The pages must be consecutively numbered; and 41 42
(
F) The record must be bound on the left margin stapled and two-hole 1 punched at the top of the page. 2 3
(4) Failure to file the record 4 5 If the law enforcement agency does not timely file the required record, the 6 superior court clerk must serve the law enforcement agency with a notice 7 indicating that the agency must file the record within five court days of 8 service of the clerk’s notice or the court may order the law enforcement 9 agency to remove the name of the person from the shared gang database. 10 11 (Subd (
e) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 12 2018.) 13 14 (
f) Written argument 15 16
(1) Contents 17 18 (
A) The person filing the petition may include in the petition or separately 19 serve and file a written argument about why, based on the record 20 specified in Penal Code
section 186.35(c), the law enforcement agency 21 has failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence the active gang 22 membership, associate status, or affiliate status of the person so 23 designated or to be so designated by the law enforcement agency in the 24 shared gang database. 25 26 (
B) The law enforcement agency may serve and file a written argument 27 about why, based on the record specified in Penal Code
section 28 186.35(c), it has established by clear and convincing evidence the 29 active gang membership, associate status, or affiliate status of the 30 person. 31 32 (
C) If an argument refers to something in the record, it must provide the 33 page number of the record where that thing appears or, if the record has 34 not yet been filed, the page number of the relevant document. 35 36 (
D) Except for any required attachment to a petition, when an argument is 37 included in the petition, nothing may be attached to an argument and an 38 argument must not refer to any evidence that is not in the record. 39 40
(2) Time to serve and file 41 42
Any written argument must be served and filed within 15 days after the date 1 the record is served. 2 3
(3) Format and length of argument 4 5 (
A) The cover or first page of any argument must: 6 7 (
i) Clearly identify it as the argument of the person filing the petition 8 or of the law enforcement agency; 9 10 (ii) State the title and, if assigned, court number of the case; and 11 12 (iii) Include the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax 13 number (if available), e-mail address (if available), and California 14 State Bar number (if applicable) of the attorney or other person 15 filing the argument. 16 17 (
B) An argument must not exceed 10 pages. 18 19 (
C) The pages must be consecutively numbered. 20 21 (Subd (
f) amended effective January 1, 2019; previously amended effective January 1, 22 2018.) 23 24 (g)–(i) * * * 25 26 Rule 3.2300 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted effective January 20, 2017; previously 27 amended effective January 1, 2018. 28 29 Rule 4.131. Probable cause determinations under
section 1368.1(a)(2) 30 31 (
a) Notice of a request for a determination of probable cause 32 33 The prosecuting attorney must serve and file notice of a request for a determination 34 of probable cause on the defense at least 10 court days before the time appointed 35 for the proceeding. 36 37 (
b) Judge requirement 38 39 A judge must hear the determination of probable cause unless there is a stipulation 40 by both parties to having the matter heard by a subordinate judicial officer. 41 42
(
c) Defendant need not be present 1 2 A defendant need not be present for a determination of probable cause to proceed. 3 4 (
d) Application of
section 861 5 6 The one-session requirement of
section 861 does not apply. 7 8 (
e) Transcript 9 10 A transcript of the determination of probable cause must be provided to the 11 prosecuting attorney and counsel for the defendant consistent with the manner in 12 which a transcript is provided in a preliminary examination. 13 14 Rule 4.131 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 15 16 Rule 5.97. Time frames for transferring jurisdiction 17 18 (
a) Application 19 This rule applies to family law actions or family law proceedings for which a 20 transfer of jurisdiction has been ordered under
part 2 of title 4 of the Code of Civil 21 Procedure. 22 23 (
b) Payment of fees; fee waivers 24 Responsibility for the payment of court costs and fees for the transfer of 25 jurisdiction as provided in Government Code
section 70618 is subject to the 26 following provisions: 27 28
(1) If a transfer of jurisdiction is ordered in response to a motion made under title 29 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure by a party, the responsibility for costs and 30 fees is subject to Code of Civil Procedure
section 399(a). If the fees are not 31 paid within the time specified in
section 399(a), the court may, on a duly 32 noticed motion by any party or on its own motion, dismiss the action without 33 prejudice to the cause of action. Except as provided in (e), no other action on 34 the cause may be commenced in another court before satisfaction of the 35 court’s order for fees and costs or a court-ordered waiver of such fees and 36 costs. 37 38
(2) If a transfer of jurisdiction is ordered by the court on its own motion, the 39 court must specify in its order which party is responsible for the Government 40 Code
section 70618 fees. If that party has not paid the fees within five days 41 of service of notice of the transfer order, any other party interested in the 42 action or proceeding may pay the costs and fees and the clerk must transmit 43
the case file. If the fees are not paid within the time period set forth in Code 1 of Civil Procedure
section 399, the court may, on a duly noticed motion by 2 any party or on its own motion, dismiss the action without prejudice to the 3 cause or enter such other orders as the court deems appropriate. Except as 4 provided in (e), no other action on the cause may be commenced in the 5 original court or another court before satisfaction of the court’s order for fees 6 and costs or a court-ordered waiver of such fees and costs. 7 8
(3) If the party responsible for the fees has been granted a fee waiver by the 9 sending court, the case file must be transmitted as if the fees and costs were 10 paid and the fee waiver order must be transmitted with the case file in lieu of 11 the fees and costs. If a partial fee waiver has been granted, the party 12 responsible for the fees and costs must pay the required portion of the fees 13 and costs before the case will be transmitted. In any case involving a fee 14 waiver, the court receiving the case file has the authority under Government 15 Code
section 68636 to review the party’s eligibility for a fee waiver based on 16 additional information available to the court or pursuant to a hearing at final 17 disposition of the case. 18 19
(4) At the hearing to transfer jurisdiction, the court must address any issues 20 regarding fees. If a litigant indicates they cannot afford to pay the fees, a fee 21 waiver request form should be provided by the clerk and the court should 22 promptly rule on that request. 23 24 (
c) Time frame for transfer of jurisdiction 25 After a court orders the transfer of jurisdiction over the action or proceeding, the 26 clerk must transmit the case file to the clerk of the court to which the action or 27 proceeding is transferred within five court days of the date of expiration of the 20 -28 day time period to petition for a writ of mandate. If a writ is filed, the clerk must 29 transmit the case file within five court days of the notice that the order is final. The 30 clerk must send notice stating the date of the transmittal to all parties who have 31 appeared in the action or proceeding and the court receiving the transfer. 32 33 (
d) Time frame to assume jurisdiction over transferred matter 34 Within 20 court days of the date of the transmittal, the clerk of the court receiving 35 the transferred action or proceeding must send notice to all parties who have 36 appeared in the action or proceeding and the court that ordered the transfer stating 37 the date of the filing of the case and the number assigned to the case in the court. 38 39 (
e) Emergency orders while transfer is pending 40 Until the clerk of the receiving court sends notice of the date of filing, the 41 transferring court retains jurisdiction over the matter to make orders designed to 42 prevent immediate danger or irreparable harm to a party or the children involved in 43
the matter, or immediate loss or damage to property subject to disposition in the 1 matter. When an emergency order is requested, the transferring court must send 2 notice to the receiving court that it is exercising its jurisdiction and must inform the 3 receiving court of the action taken on the request. If the court makes a new order in 4 the case, it must send a copy of the order to the receiving court if the case file has 5 already been transmitted. The transferring court retains jurisdiction over the request 6 until it takes action on it. 7 8 Rule 5.97 adopted effective January 1, 2019. 9 10 Rule 5.382.
Request to make minor’s information confidential in domestic violence 11 protective order proceedings 12 13 (
a) Application of rule 14 15 This rule applies to requests and orders made under Family Code
section 6301.5 to 16 keep a minor’s information confidential in a domestic violence protective order 17 proceeding. 18 19 Wherever used in this rule, “legal guardian” means either parent if both parents 20 have legal custody, or the parent or person having legal custody, or the guardian, of 21 a minor. 22 23 (
b) Information that may be made confidential 24 25 The information that may be made confidential includes: 26 27
(1) The minor’s name; 28 29
(2) The minor’s address; 30 31
(3) The circumstances surrounding the protective order with respect to the minor. 32 These include the allegations in the Request for Domestic Violence 33 Retraining Order (form DV-100) that involve conduct directed, in whole or 34 in part, toward the minor; and 35 36
(4) Any other information that the minor or legal guardian believes should be 37 confidential. 38 39 (
c) Requests for confidentiality 40 41
(1) Person making request 42 43
A request for confidentiality may be made by a minor or legal guardian. 1 2
(2) Number of minors 3 4 A request for confidentiality by a legal guardian may be made for more than 5 one minor. “Minor,” as used in this rule, refers to all minors for whom a 6 request for confidentiality is made. 7 8 (
d) Procedures for making request 9 10
(1) Timing of requests 11 12 A request for confidentiality may be made at any time during the case. 13 14
(2) Submission of request 15 16 The person submitting a request must complete and file Request to Keep 17 Minor’s Information Confidential (form DV-160), a confidential form. 18 19
(3) Ruling on request 20 21 (
A) Ruling on request without notice 22 23 The court must determine whether to grant a request for confidentiality 24 without requiring that any notice of the request be given to the other 25 party, or both parties if the minor is not a party in the proceeding. No 26 adversarial hearing is to be held. 27 28 (
B) Request for confidentiality submitted at the same time as a request for 29 restraining orders 30 31 If a request for confidentiality is submitted at the same time as a request 32 for restraining orders, the court must consider both requests consistent 33 with Family Code
section 6326, and must consider and rule on the 34 request for confidentiality before the request for restraining order is 35 filed. 36 37 Documents submitted with the restraining order request must not be 38 filed until after the court has ruled on the request for confidentiality and 39 must be consistent with (
C) below. 40 41 (
C) Withdrawal of request 42 43
If a request for confidentiality under (
B) made by the person asking for 1 the restraining order is denied and the requester seeks to withdraw the 2 request for restraining orders, all of the following apply: 3 4 (
i) The court must not file the request for restraining order and the 5 accompanying proposed order forms and must return the 6 documents to the requester personally, destroy the documents, or 7 delete the documents from any electronic files; 8 9 (ii) The order denying confidentiality must be filed and maintained in 10 a public file; and 11 12 (iii) The request for confidentiality must be filed and maintained in a 13 confidential file. 14 15
(4) Need for additional facts 16 17 If the court finds that the request for confidentiality is insufficiently specific 18 to meet the requirements under Family Code
section 6301.5(
b) for granting 19 the request, the court may take testimony from the minor, or legal guardian, 20 the person requesting a protective order, or other competent witness, in a 21 closed hearing in order to determine if there are additional facts that would 22 support granting the request. 23 24 (
e) Orders on request for confidentiality 25 26
(1) Rulings 27 28 The court may grant the entire request, deny the entire request, or partially 29 grant the request for confidentiality. 30 31
(2) Order granting request for confidentiality 32 33 (
A) Applicability 34 35 An order made under Family Code
section 6301.5 applies in this case 36 and in any other civil case to all registers of actions, indexes, court 37 calendars, pleadings, discovery documents, and other documents filed 38 or served in the action, and at hearings, trial, and other court 39 proceedings that are open to the public. 40 41 (
B) Minor’s name 42 43
If the court grants a request for confidentiality of the minor’s name and: 1 2 (
i) If the minor is a party to the action, the court must use the initials 3 of the minor, or other initials at the discretion of the court. In 4 addition, the court must use only initials to identify both parties 5 to the action if using the other party’s name would likely reveal 6 the identity of the minor. 7 8 (ii) If the minor is not a party to the action, the court must not include 9 any information that would likely reveal the identity of the minor, 10 including whether the minor lives with the person making the 11 request for confidentiality. 12 13 (
C) Circumstances surrounding protective order (statements related to 14 minor) 15 16 If the court grants a request for confidentiality, the order must 17 specifically identify the information about the minor in Request for 18 Domestic Violence Restraining Order (form DV-100) and any other 19 applicable document that must be kept confidential. Information about 20 the minor ordered confidential by the court must not be made available 21 to the public. 22 23 (
D) Service and copies 24 25 The other party, or both parties if the person making the request for 26 confidentiality is not a party to the action, must be served with a copy 27 of the Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order (form DV -28 160), Order on Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential 29 (form DV-165), and Notice of Order Protecting Information of Minor 30 (form DV-170), redacted if required under (f)(4). 31 32 The protected person and the person requesting confidentiality (if not 33 the protected person) must be provided up to three copies of redacted 34 and unredacted copies of any request or order form. 35 36
(3) Order denying request for confidentiality 37 38 (
A) The order denying confidentiality must be filed and maintained in a 39 public file. The request for confidentiality must be filed and maintained 40 in a confidential file. 41 42
(
B) Notwithstanding denial of a request to keep the minor’s address 1 confidential, the address may be confidential under other statutory 2 provisions 3 4 (
C) Service 5 6 (
i) If a request for confidentiality is denied and the request for 7 restraining order has been withdrawn, and if no other action is 8 pending before the court in the case, then the Request to Keep 9 Minor’s Information Confidential (form DV-160) and Order on 10 Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form DV -11 165) must not be served on the other party, or both parties if the 12 person making the request for confidentiality is not a party to the 13 action. 14 15 (ii) If a request for confidentiality is denied and the request for 16 restraining order has not been withdrawn, or if an action between 17 the same parties is pending before the court, then the Request to 18 Keep Minor’s Information Confidential (form DV-160) and 19 Order on Request to Keep Minor’s Information Confidential 20 (form DV-165) must be served on the other party, or both parties 21 if the person making the request for confidentiality is not a party 22 to the action. 23 24 (
f) Procedures to protect confidential information when order is granted 25 26
(1) If a request for confidentiality is granted in whole or in part, the court, in its 27 discretion, and taking into consideration the factors stated in (g), must ensure 28 that the order granting confidentiality is maintained in the most effective 29 manner by: 30 31 (
A) The judicial officer redacting all information to be kept confidential 32 from all applicable documents; 33 34 (
B) Ordering the requesting party or the requesting party’s attorney to 35 prepare a redacted copy of all applicable documents and submit all 36 redacted copies to the court for review and filing; or 37 38 (
C) Ordering any other procedure that facilitates the prompt and accurate 39 preparation of a redacted copy of all applicable documents in 40 compliance with the court’s order granting confidentiality, provided the 41 selected procedure is consistent with (g). 42 43
(2) The redacted copy or copies must be filed and maintained in a public file, and 1 the unredacted copy or copies must be filed and maintained in a confidential 2 file. 3 4
(3) Information that is made confidential from the public and the restrained 5 person must be filed in a confidential file accessible only to the minor or 6 minors who are subjects of the order of confidentiality, or legal guardian who 7 requested confidentiality, law enforcement for enforcement purposes only, 8 and the court. 9 10 (4)