Judiciary of California

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The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts.[1] The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top, California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts, and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.

The policymaking body of the California courts is the Judicial Council and its staff.[2]

The judicial system of California is the largest in the United States that is fully staffed by professional law-trained judges.[3] In fiscal year 2020-21, the state judiciary's 2,000 judicial officers and 18,000 judicial branch employees processed approximately 4.4 million cases.[4] In comparison, the federal judicial system has only about 870 judges. Although New York and Texas each technically have more judicial officers than California, most of them are not attorneys and have no formal legal training.

  1. ^ California Constitution, Article 6 Section 1.Retrieved April 10 2021
  2. ^ California Courts official government website, Judicial Council
  3. ^ Gonzalez, Vicki (August 17, 2022). "Groundbreaking California chief justice looks back on her tenure after announcing retirement". Capital Public Radio. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  4. ^ Judicial Council of California (2022). 2022 Court Statistics Report: Statewide Caseload Trends, 2011–12 Through 2020–21 (PDF). San Francisco: Judicial Council of California. p. 1. Retrieved 19 August 2022.