Section 170.6 does not apply to a judge designated or assigned to serve on the appellate division of a superior court in the judge’s capacity as a judge of that division.
§ 170.7.Effect of motion to disqualify on superior court appellate division judge
Title 2. Judicial Officers · Chapter 3. Disqualifications of Judges · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 170.7 provides that the peremptory challenge in § 170.6 does not apply to a judge who is designated or assigned to sit on a superior court’s appellate division while acting in that capacity.
Full Text of § 170.7
Plain-English Summary
§ 170.7 is a narrow carve-out. The peremptory challenge in § 170.6 lets a party remove a judge without showing cause, but that power stops at the door of the appellate division.
A judge sitting on a superior court’s appellate division — reviewing appeals from limited civil or misdemeanor cases, for instance — cannot be challenged under § 170.6 while acting in that capacity. The for-cause disqualification rules in §§ 170.1 through 170.5 still apply; only the no-cause peremptory challenge is off the table.
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.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 170.7 is amended to refer more precisely to the appellate division. See Cal. Const. art. VI, § 4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a § 170.6 peremptory challenge against an appellate division judge?
No. § 170.7 exempts a judge assigned to a superior court’s appellate division from § 170.6 challenges while that judge is acting in that capacity.
Does § 170.7 shield an appellate division judge from all disqualification challenges?
Amendment History
Added Stats 1963 ch 872 § 1. Amended Stats 1998 ch 931 § 48 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998.
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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