Advisory Bodies

To provide leadership for advancing the consistent, impartial, independent, and accessible administration of justice, the Judicial Council must be aware of the issues and concerns confronting the judiciary, as well as appropriate solutions and responses. The council carries out this mission primarily through the work of its internal committees, advisory committees, and task forces. See below for more information about each of the groups.
 

For meetings subject to California Rules of Court 10.75, notices and agendas will be posted five business days before the meeting and materials for an open meeting will be posted three business days before the meeting.

Advisory Bodies Archive

Working groups and task forces appointed by the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council "sunset" after their final recommendations are presented. They are listed here for reference.

Ad Hoc Workgroup on Post-Pandemic Initiatives

In March 2021, former Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye established the Ad Hoc Workgroup on Post-Pandemic Initiatives to examine court practices adopted during the pandemic to increase access to justice, modernize services, and promote uniformity in court practices going forward. The workgroup released two interim reports on remote access to courts and improving the juror experience, drafted a remote proceedings guide for judicial officers, developed a Judicial Council policy on remote access to electronic court records, and submitted a report to the Legislature and Governor under Code of Civil Procedure section 367.9. Additionally, the workgroup referred eight concepts to Judicial Council advisory bodies, the Judicial Council staff organization, and other stakeholders for further development. The workgroup concluded and presented it's final report to council in November, 2023.

Date Established: March 2021

Sunset Date: November 2023

Advisory Committee on Financial Accountability and Efficiency for the Judicial Branch

Makes recommendations to the council on practices that will promote efficiency or improve financial accountability in the judicial branch.

Date Established: June 2010
Sunset Date: August 2017 

Appellate Caseflow Workgroup

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye established the Appellate Caseflow Workgroup to review Courts of Appeal workflow, policies, procedures, and case management processes to promote transparency, accountability, and efficiency in rendering timely judgments. In its final report, the workgroup explained that the Third District made effective changes to remedy problems, including hiring additional staff attorneys to right-size its workforce; instituting transparent monthly reporting and follow-up; more clearly identifying cases that need priority calendaring, and holding monthly meetings to report on the status of cases. The workgroup also issued 22 recommendations to help speed up the appellate process, including recommendations to expedite the record-preparation and briefing phases of the process and to improve the usefulness of statistical data for tracking case progress.

Final Report

Date Established: June 2022

Sunset Date: December 2022

Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care

Provides leadership and recommendations to improve the ability of California's state and local agencies, and the courts to help children grow up in safe, nurturing, and permanent homes through the application of reasonable efforts to prevent removal and achieve permanency; increased collaboration among courts and their partnering agencies; court reform to ensure timely hearings and fair treatment; and prioritization of children and families in the child welfare system in the allocation and administration of resources and funding.

Blue Ribbon Commission Members 

Code of Civil Procedure Section 367.9 Working Group

Purpose: To recommend a statewide framework for remote civil court proceedings that addresses equal and fair access to justice.

Date Established: 2022
Sunset Date: 2023

Commission for Impartial Courts

The Commission for Impartial Courts was formed in September 2007. In December 2009, the Commission presented its final report to the Judicial Council of actions it should take in order to safeguard the quality, impartiality, and accountability of the California judiciary for the benefit of all its citizens.

Court-Ordered Debt Task Force

Evaluate and make recommendations to the Judicial Council and the Legislature for consolidating and simplifying the imposition and distribution of the revenue derived from the debts with the goal of improving the process for those entities that benefit from the revenues.

Date Established: February 2011
Sunset Date: June 14, 2017

Domestic Violence Practice and Procedure Task Force

Makes recommendations to the Judicial Council on improving the administration of justice in domestic violence cases in the California trial courts.

Membership list

Final Report of The Domestic Violence Practice And Procedure Task Force

  1. Judicial Council Report Summary
  2. Judicial Council Report
  3. Recommended Guidelines and Practices for Improving the Administration of Justice in Domestic Violence Cases 
Elkins Family Law Task Force and Implementation Task Force

The Task Force was charged with proposing measures to improve efficiency and fairness in family law proceedings and ensure access to justice for all family law litigants.

Elkins Family Law Implementation Task Force Fact Sheet
Membership list

Futures Commission

Purpose: To study and recommend to the Chief Justice initiatives to effectively and efficiently serve California's diverse and dynamic population by enhancing access to justice.

Date Established: July 2014

Sunset Date: April 2017

News Release: Chief Justice Receives Report from Futures Commission (April 26, 2017)

From this Commission, the Futures Traffic Working Group was formed in August 2017.

Joint Working Group for California’s Language Access Plan

The Joint Working Group for California’s Language Access Plan developed a comprehensive, statewide, language access plan (LAP) for the judiciary to be able to expand meaningful access for limited-English-proficient court users.

Date Established: June 2013
Sunset Date: January 2015

Language Access Plan Implementation Task Force

The Language Access Implementation Task Force advised the Judicial Council on implementation of the 75 recommendations in the Strategic Plan for Language Access in the California Courts, in order to expand meaningful access for limited-English-proficient court users.

Date Established: March 2015
Sunset DateMarch 2019

Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court Initiative

Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court (KKIS) was an initiative launched by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in 2014 to encourage court-community based solutions addressing the issues of chronic absenteeism, truancy, and school discipline policies. 

KKIS Update January 19, 2017
The Chief Justice introduces the work of the initiative, and KKIS leaders present. View video | Report

News Release: Summit Caps Five-YEar Effort to Keep Kids in School and Out of Court (March 4, 2020)

Mental Health Issues Implementation Task Force

The Mental Health Issues Implementation Task Force was charged with identifying the recommendations under Judicial Council purview, and developed a plan for judicial branch and interbranch implementation activities to improve court, criminal justice and mental health services outcomes for adults and juvenile offenders with mental illness, ensure fair and expeditious administration of justice, and promote improved access to treatment for litigants in the justice system.

Date Established: January 1, 2012
Sunset Date: December 31, 2015

Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup

Purpose: The Chief Justice established the Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroup to provide recommendations on how courts may better identify ways to make release decisions that will treat people fairly, protect the public, and ensure court appearances. In establishing the Workgroup, the Chief Justice recognized the central role of the courts.

Date Established: October 28, 2016
Sunset Date: October 2017

Recommendations presented to the Chief Justice October 2017 | News Release

Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment Work Group

Purpose: To identify and make recommendations to the Judicial Council to improve how judicial branch entities prevent and address harassing, discriminatory, and inappropriate workplace conduct based on a protected classification.

Final Presentation January 17, 2020 (Video | Report)

Proposition 66 Rules Working Group

Purpose: Review California Rules of Court, Standards of Judicial Administration, Judicial Council forms, and other authorities to determine if modifications are needed to implement the Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 2016.

Date Established: January 16, 2018

Self-Represented Litigants Task Force

Determines the best ways to assist the growing number of Californians who need legal services but cannot afford an attorney. The task force coordinates the statewide response of the bench and bar to the needs of self-represented, or pro per, parties and helps share information about model pro per programs; implements a statewide action plan for serving self-represented litigants; develops resources for services for self-represented litigants, particularly activities in the statewide action plan that require significant funding; and makes recommendations to the Judicial Council, the State Bar, and other appropriate institutions about additional measures that should be considered to improve court services for self-represented parties.
 

Statewide Action Plan for Serving Self-Represented Litigants
Final Report of the Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants
Task force roster
Guidelines for Self-Help Centers

Small Court Dependency Workload Working Group

The Small Court Dependency Workload (SCDW) Working Group was formed to consider changes to the court-appointed–counsel funding methodology as it relates to small courts and to garner input from specific stakeholders about the allocation methodology as it pertains to courts with smaller caseloads to ensure that costs particular to the smaller courts are reflected in the court-appointed–counsel funding allocation methodology workload model.

The working group will report to the Executive and Planning Committee and will present recommendations to the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee (TCBAC) for input. Those recommendation(s) will be presented to the Judicial Council in May 2017 by the chairs of both the SCDW Working Group and the TCBAC, after which the SCDW Working Group will have fulfilled its purpose and dissolve.

Date Established: October 2016

Sunset Date: May 19, 2017

Task Force on Trial Court Fiscal Accountability

The Task Force on Trial Court Fiscal Accountability will focus on implementing specified recommendations of the Trial Court Funding Workgroup and Trial Court Budget Working Group Funding Methodology Subcommittee as directed by the Judicial Council on April 26, 2013. The recommendations of these two bodies were designed to bring greater equity to California trial court funding and help ensure the delivery of quality justice, and equal access to justice statewide.

Task Force Roster
Task Force Charge

Technology Planning Task Force

Purpose: This task force is charged with addressing and making recommendations on the governance, strategy, and financial support for judicial branch technology. They work in partnership with the courts and with input from branch stakeholders.

Date Established: Feb 2013
Sunset Date: August 22, 2014

Trial Court Funding Working Group

On September 19, 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye announced in a joint letter the creation of a new working group to “evaluate the state’s progress in achieving the goals of the Lockyer-Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act of 1997.” The Trial Court Funding Workgroup conducted a comprehensive evaluation as directed by the Governor and Chief Justice. The workgroup concluded that the judicial branch had substantially complied with the Trial Court Funding Act; and developed recommendations and measurable assessments to implement efficiencies and best practices more uniformly, with the goal of providing improved access to justice for all Californians.

Date Established: September 2012
Sunset Date: April 2013

Work Group to Enhance Administrative Standards Addressing Bias in Court Proceedings

To identify improvements and propose amendments to existing Standard of Judicial Administration, standard 10.20 – Court’s duty to prohibit bias.

Date Established: November 4, 2020 
Sunset Date: November 19, 2021

View Proposal Presentation (video with report) November 19, 2021

Work Group on Homelessness

In her State of the Judiciary address on March 10, 2020, the Chief Justice announced her intention to establish a Work Group on Homelessness to evaluate how court programs, processes, technology, and communications might be improved to better serve people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, and to consider how the judicial branch might appropriately work with the executive and legislative branches to reduce homelessness. The formation of the work group was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic but was formally announced on October 23, 2020.

Date Established: October 2020
Sunset Date: October 2021

View presentation to Judicial Council (November 19, 2021) | News Release

Workload Assessment Advisory Committee

Purpose: Provides guidance to the Judicial Council on performance measures and modifications to the Judicial Workload Assessment and the Resource Assessment Study Model.

Date Established: December 2013
Sunset Date: September 14, 2022