A judge has a duty to decide any proceeding in which he or she is not disqualified.
§ 170.Duty to decide proceeding
Title 2. Judicial Officers · Chapter 3. Disqualifications of Judges · Enacted 1984 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 170 sets the default rule behind California’s judicial disqualification scheme: a judge has a duty to decide any case assigned to them, and can step aside only when one of the grounds spelled out in the sections that follow applies.
Full Text of § 170
Plain-English Summary
§ 170 is a single sentence, but it carries weight. It tells every judge in California that hearing and deciding cases is a duty, not a choice. A judge cannot pass on a case out of inconvenience, personal preference, or a wish to avoid a hard call.
The flip side of that duty is the rest of this chapter. §§ 170.1 through 170.9 spell out the specific circumstances — personal knowledge of the facts, a financial stake in the outcome, a family tie to a lawyer in the case, and more — that excuse a judge from sitting. § 170 is the rule; those sections are the exceptions.
That structure matters in practice. A judge who feels uneasy about a case cannot recuse on a hunch alone. The disqualification has to fit one of the grounds the Legislature listed, which is why § 170.1’s catalog of grounds does so much of the real work in this chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California judge decline to hear an assigned case without a stated reason?
No. § 170 makes deciding an assigned proceeding a duty, and a judge may step aside only for a reason recognized elsewhere in this chapter, such as those listed in § 170.1.
What happens if a judge has no valid ground to avoid a case?
The judge must hear and decide it. § 170 does not give judges discretion to excuse themselves for reasons outside the disqualification grounds the rest of this chapter defines.
Where do I find the actual grounds for disqualifying a California judge?
§ 170.1 lists them in detail — personal knowledge of the facts, prior service as a lawyer in the case, a financial interest, family ties to a party or lawyer, and several others.
Does § 170 apply to court commissioners and referees too?
§ 170.5 defines “judge” for purposes of this chapter to include court commissioners and referees, so the same duty-to-decide principle extends to them.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1984 ch 1555 § 2.
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
Also known as: ccp 170 judge’s duty to decidecan a california judge refuse to hear a casejudicial duty to decide california170 disqualification duty