Adjournments from day to day, or from time to time, are to be construed as recesses in the sessions, and shall not prevent the Supreme Court or the courts of appeal from sitting at any time.
§ 42.Adjournments as recesses
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 3. Supreme Court · Last amended 1967 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 42 provides that when the Supreme Court or a court of appeal adjourns from day to day or time to time, that adjournment counts as a recess in an ongoing session, not a closing, so the court can still sit whenever it needs to.
Full Text of § 42
Plain-English Summary
A court that adjourns for the day has not gone out of business. § 42 makes that explicit for the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal: routine adjournments are recesses within an ongoing session, not breaks between separate terms.
The distinction matters because it keeps the court’s authority intact between sittings. Nothing about an adjournment stops the court from convening again at any time it chooses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an adjournment mean the Supreme Court’s session has ended?
No — § 42 treats day-to-day or periodic adjournments as recesses within one continuing session, not as an end to the court’s business.
Does § 42 apply to superior courts too?
No — § 42 governs the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal; the parallel rule for superior courts appears at § 74.
Amendment History
Added Code Amdts 1880 ch 35 § 1 as § 48. Amended and renumbered Stats 1967 ch 17 § 4.
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: court adjournment recess meaningappellate court recessadjournments as recesses California