If no judge attends on the day appointed for the holding or sitting of a court, or on the day to which it may have been adjourned, within one hour after the time appointed, the sheriff, marshal, or clerk shall adjourn the same until the next day, at 10 o’clock a.m., and if no judge attend on that day, before noon, the sheriff, marshal, or clerk shall adjourn the same until the following day at the same hour; and so on, from day to day unless the judge, by written order, directs it to be adjourned to some day certain, fixed in said order, in which case it shall be so adjourned.
§ 139.Adjournment on absence of judge
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 6. General Provisions Respecting Courts of Justice · Article 4. Proceedings in Case of Absence of Judge · Last amended 1996 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 139 directs the sheriff, marshal, or clerk to adjourn a court session day to day, starting at 10 a.m. the next day, whenever no judge appears within an hour of the scheduled time, unless the judge has set a specific date by written order.
Full Text of § 139
Plain-English Summary
Section 139 covers a logistical problem: what happens when court is supposed to convene, or a session is supposed to resume after an adjournment, and no judge is there. The sheriff, marshal, or clerk does not have authority to conduct the court’s business, but the section gives that officer a clear, limited job — wait one hour past the appointed time, and if no judge has appeared, adjourn the session until 10 o’clock the next morning.
If a judge still has not appeared by noon that next day, the same officer adjourns again to the following day at the same hour, and this can repeat day after day. The one way out of that cycle is a written order from the judge fixing a specific date for the adjourned session — once that order exists, the adjournment follows the date the judge set rather than the automatic day-to-day pattern.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
Code Commissioners' Note. Note to 1907 amendment: The change strikes out the words “for one week.” Neither the sheriff nor the clerk can, under the Constitution, be authorized to adjourn court, and thus close it for a definite time, other than from day to day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a judge does not show up for a scheduled court session?
Section 139 directs the sheriff, marshal, or clerk to wait one hour and then adjourn the session until 10 a.m. the next day.
Can this day-to-day adjournment go on indefinitely?
It can repeat day after day under Section 139, unless the judge issues a written order fixing a specific day to which the session is adjourned instead.
Who has authority to adjourn court when no judge appears?
Section 139 gives that authority to the sheriff, marshal, or clerk, rather than requiring a judge to be present to order the adjournment.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872. Repealed and re-enacted by Code Amdts 1880 ch 35 § 1. Amended Stats 1907 ch 357 § 1, Stats 1933 ch 743 § 36, Stats 1951 ch 737 § 28, operative January 1, 1952; Stats 1996 ch 872 § 6 (AB 3472).
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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