Judicial Administration

The Work Group to Enhance Administrative Standards Addressing Bias in Court Proceedings recommends amendments to California Standards of Judicial Administration, standard 10.20 (Court’s duty to prohibit bias), to support the integrity and impartiality of the judicial system and to promote a courtroom environment free of bias or the appearance of bias. The work group was appointed by Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye to identify improvements and propose amendments to standard 10.20.

At the Judicial Council’s business meeting on August 26, 2011, the council adopted the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual (JBCM) effective October 1, 2011, the operative date of substantive requirements of the California Judicial Branch Contract Law.1 The council adopted revisions to the JBCM in December 2011, April 2012, August 2012, December 2013, June 2015, June 2016, July 2017, July 2018, September 2019, and September 2020. Additional revisions to the JBCM are proposed below in tracked changes format, and staff invites public comment regarding the proposed revisions.

This proposal would adopt an amendment to the Conflict of Interest Code for the Judicial Council of California (Code) and amend the Code to include the classification of Construction Inspector. The Construction Inspector classification performs the same duties as the Engineering Specialist and should therefore be included on the Code as a classification required to disclose its statement of economic interest. In accordance with Government Code sections 87303 and 87306, the Code must be updated “when change is necessitated by changed circumstances, including the creation of new positions”.

The chairs of the Executive and Planning Committee and the Technology Committee recommend adoption of proposed California Rules of Court, rule 10.68 to establish a data and information governance advisory committee. The committees also propose the repeal of rule 10.66 because the duties and responsibilities of the new proposed advisory body will include those of the Workload Assessment Advisory Committee established by that rule.

At the Judicial Council’s business meeting on August 26, 2011, the council adopted the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual (JBCM) effective October 1, 2011, the operative date of substantive requirements of the California Judicial Branch Contract Law. The council adopted revisions to the JBCM in December 2011, April 2012, August 2012, December 2013, June 2015, June 2016, July 2017, July 2018, September 2019, September 2020, and October 2021. Additional revisions to the JBCM are proposed below in tracked changes format, and staff invites public comment regarding the proposed revisions.

The Advisory Committee on Audits and Financial Accountability for the Judicial Branch (Audit Committee) proposes revising the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual (JBCM), in response to recommendations from the California State Auditor’s Office to add fraud reporting requirements that are substantially similar to State Administrative Manual section 20080. The Audit Committee invites public comment regarding these proposed revisions.

The Court Executives Advisory Committee proposes that the Judicial Council amend standard 2.2 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration, which gives guidance to trial courts on the types of matters that remove a case from court control for purposes of calculating computation of time. The standard calls out cases in drug diversion programs under Penal Code section 1000 et seq. but is unclear as to whether other types of diversion programs should be treated similarly.