Rule 3.904.Certification and disclosure by referee

Before a stipulated referee does anything on the case, Rule 3.904 requires two separate steps. First comes certification: the referee must state in writing that they consent to serve on the terms the appointment order sets, and that they are aware of and will comply with canon 6 of the Code of Judicial Ethics and with the California Rules of Court. That certification gets filed with the court, creating a record that the referee accepted the same ethical constraints that bind a sitting judge before ever holding a hearing.

Second comes disclosure, and the timing matters. No later than five days before the deadline for a party to move to disqualify the referee under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6, or as soon as practical afterward if the referee did not yet know of the appointment or the disclosable matter, the referee has to tell the parties about anything covered by the judicial-ethics disclosure canons, plus any significant personal or professional relationship with a party, attorney, or law firm in the case. That second category reaches back 24 months and covers paid work of almost any kind, as an attorney, expert witness, or consultant, or as a judge, referee, arbitrator, mediator, settlement facilitator, or other alternative dispute resolution neutral. The point is to put real information about conflicts in front of the parties while they still have time to act on it.