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Temporary Judge Program

Overview

Temporary Judges can serve as Judicial Officers at the Superior Court.

Under California Rules of Court, qualified and experienced attorneys may volunteer their time to serve as part of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara's Temporary Judge Program. Temporary Judges are appointed and serve at the discretion of the Court. The Presiding Judge's letter of invitation to the Bay Area legal community provides information about the Court's Temporary Judge Program. The Court continuously recruits temporary judges. For more information, click to see the Court's Temporary Judge Program Brochure.

Program Details

  • Experience:
    • Attorneys who have been members of the California State Bar for at least ten years
  • Conditions for appointment:
    • Is a member of the State Bar in good standing with no disciplinary action pending;
    • Has not pled guilty or no contest to a felony, and has not been convicted of a felony that has not been reversed;
    • Has satisfied the education and training requirements below;
    • Has satisfied all other general and specific conditions the Court may establish for appointment.
  • Training requirements:
    • Before Appointment (completion within three previous years)
      • Bench Conduct and Demeanor
      • Judicial Ethics for Temporary Judges
      • Substantive Training
        • For traffic: three hours
        • For small claims: five hours
        • For civil, probate and family: proof of three hours of coursework in each of these three areas in which the temporary judge serves
    • Continuing Education Requirement (required every three years, covering the same subjects and of the same duration as prescribed in Rule 2.812(c))
      • Bench Conduct and Demeanor
      • Judicial Ethics
      • a course in each substantive area (small claims, traffic, civil, probate or family) in which the temporary judge serves

    A temporary judge becomes inactive if they allow the training qualifications to lapse or do not volunteer to conduct court proceedings within a one-year period. The Temporary Judge Administrator will give an inactive temporary judge notice of their status as inactive, and if the temporary judge responds that they wish to remain active, they will have 30 days to comply and update the records. An inactive temporary judge must re-apply to the Court to become a temporary judge.

Click the links below to access and submit these web forms.
Note: the forms must be completed and submitted ONLINE.

  • Local training:

    Mandatory courses, as well as substantive classes, are offered by the Superior Court in Santa Clara County at various times during the year, as part of the Temporary Judge Program. Local courses may qualify for MCLE credit. Locally provided training materials are available for download here.

    Course Name Date Check-in Time Class Time Location RSVP Course Materials
    Bench Conduct and Demeanor for Temporary Judges August 19, 2024 1:15 p.m. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. Zoom Register Online Flyer

    • Bench Conduct and Demeanor:

      The Bench Conduct and Demeanor training class must be taken in person and be taught by a qualified judicial officer. The training class materials used for this course can be accessed here. MCLE credits will be provided to attendees at no cost.

      Prior to attending the mandatory Bench Conduct and Demeanor class, interested applicants must complete two short exercises entitled Self-Monitor Scale and Implicit Association Test. These exercises can be found in the Bench Conduct for Temporary Judges online course materials on the Judicial Council Education site. These exercises are for self-evaluation - it is not necessary to save or bring results to class.

    • Judicial Ethics:

      Mandatory Judicial Ethics courses are available on-line: Judicial Council Temporary Judge Resources website. Upon completion of the course, please enter your name and the date, print out the certificate of completion, and email it to the Temporary Judge Administrator at TJP@scscourt.org. Local classroom training may also be available - please check back later.

  • Substantive Training Resources:

    The court intends that, for temporary judges serving in the civil, probate and family divisions, the initial and continuing substantive training may be satisfied by appropriate courses taken to fulfill the State Bar’s MCLE requirements.

    The Judicial Council Temporary Judge Resources website provides mandatory and subject-area (Civil, DV, Ethics, Family, Juvenile, Small Claims, Traffic) substantive online courses, publications, and participatory materials developed by the Education Division/California Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER), for use by judges, commissioners, and referees. Online courses may qualify for MCLE credit.

  • Training verification:

    To verify Judicial Council online course completion and to maintain good standing with the local Temporary Judges Program, please fill out the Certificate of Completion at the end of each course, and email a copy to TJP@scscourt.org.

View Training Materials

If you have a complaint about a Court-appointed Temporary Judge, please print the complaint form and send the completed form to Temporary Judge Administrator at the address on the bottom of the form, or email it to TJP@scscourt.org.

To contact the Temporary Judge Administrator with questions, to obtain eligibility information, or for general information about the program, please email TJP@scscourt.org.

To submit feedback to the Court about your experience with a certified temporary judge, please submit a confidential questionnaire by clicking here.

Certified temporary judges may also contact the scheduling contact directly for the division(s) in which they serve to inquire about assignments. The division specific contact information can be found here.

The following linked documents provide help for Temporary Judges when parking at our courthouses. Also, see the section below on commute alternatives.

For Temporary Judges interested in occasional or regular alternatives to driving and parking, please see the following links. Note - the 511.org  website provides help with traffic/travel planning as well as extensive information on commute alternatives and benefits.