A judgment in a special proceeding is the final determination of the rights of the parties therein. The definitions of a motion and an order in a civil action are applicable to similar acts in a special proceeding.
§ 1064.Judgment and Related Terms Defined
Title Preliminary Provisions. · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1064 defines a judgment in a special proceeding as the final determination of the parties' rights, and it borrows the definitions of a motion and an order from ordinary civil actions to describe similar acts taken in a special proceeding.
Full Text of § 1064
Plain-English Summary
A judgment closes out a special proceeding the same way it closes out an ordinary lawsuit: § 1064 defines it as the final determination of the parties' rights in that proceeding. Whatever a court decides at the end -- annul a decision, issue a writ, grant or deny relief -- that ruling is the judgment for purposes of Part 3.
The section also saves the drafters of every later chapter in Part 3 from having to redefine two more everyday words. A motion and an order mean the same thing in a special proceeding that they mean in a civil action -- the same request-and-ruling mechanics apply without modification.
Together with § 1063's plaintiff-and-defendant labels, this section lets the rest of Part 3 borrow the ordinary civil action's vocabulary instead of building a separate procedural language for every kind of special proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a judgment in a special proceeding?
The final determination of the rights of the parties in that proceeding, under § 1064.
Do motions and orders work differently in a special proceeding than in a civil lawsuit?
No. Section 1064 applies the same definitions of a motion and an order used in an ordinary civil action.
Why does this section matter if I'm just trying to understand a writ of review or writ of prohibition?
Because those and other special proceedings in Part 3 rely on this section's definitions of judgment, motion, and order instead of restating them.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: judgment special proceeding california definitionmotion order special proceeding california