Consistent with its constitutional rulemaking authority, the Judicial Council shall adopt rules that include standards for when a judicial officer, in limited situations and in the interest of justice, may preside over a remote court proceeding from a location other than a courtroom.
§ 367.10.Rules Regarding Remote Court Proceedings From Locations Other Than Courtroom
Title 3. Of the Parties to Civil Actions · Chapter 1. General Provisions · Enacted 2023 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 367.10 directs the Judicial Council to adopt standards for when a judicial officer may preside over a remote proceeding from a location other than a courtroom, limited to situations that serve the interest of justice.
Full Text of § 367.10
Plain-English Summary
Section 367.10 addresses a narrower question than the other remote-proceeding statutes in this chapter: not whether parties and witnesses can appear remotely, but whether the judge can. It directs the Judicial Council, under its constitutional rulemaking authority, to adopt standards governing when a judicial officer may preside over a remote proceeding from somewhere other than a courtroom.
The statute frames that authority narrowly, limiting it to situations the Judicial Council identifies and to circumstances that are in the interest of justice. It does not itself list those situations; it delegates the specifics to the Judicial Council's rulemaking process, leaving the substantive standards to be worked out through the rules the Council adopts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judge preside over a hearing from home under California law?
Section 367.10 allows it only in limited situations the Judicial Council identifies through its own rules, and only where doing so serves the interest of justice.
Does § 367.10 itself list when a judge can preside remotely?
No. It directs the Judicial Council to adopt the governing standards rather than setting them out in the statute itself.
How does this section relate to §§ 367.75 and 367.76?
Those sections govern remote appearance by parties, witnesses, and counsel; § 367.10 addresses the separate question of whether the presiding judicial officer may appear from a non-courtroom location.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2023 ch 34 (SB 133),s 6, eff. 6/30/2023.
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: judge presiding remotely californiajudicial officer remote location rules