Administrative Order No. 98/1: Unification

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 98/1

August 10,1998

The unification vote of the judges of the Orange County Trial Courts having been certified by the Judicial Council of California, effective this date the newly constituted court shall be known as Superior Court of California, County of Orange, in accordance with California Rule of Court 707.

All Judges and Commissioners of the Municipal Courts, having been sworn as Judges and Commissioners of Superior Court on August 10, 1998, shall continue in their present assignments until further notice.

Supervising Judges are hereby designated as follows:

• Hon. William L. Evans Supervising Judge, Central Panel
• Hon. Christopher W. Strople Supervising Judge, Harbor Panel
• Hon. Daniel T. Brice Supervising Judge, North Panel
• Hon. Wendy S. Lindley Supervising Judge, South Panel
• Hon. Thomas J. Borris Supervising Judge, West Panel
• Hon. Ronald E. Owen Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court
• Hon. Jonathan H. Cannon Supervising Judge, Family Law Panel
• Hon. James A. Jackman Supervising Judge, Probate/Mental Health Panel
• Hon. C. Robert Jameson Supervising Judge, Civil Panel
• Hon. Kazuharu Makino Supervising Judge, Criminal Panel
• Hon. William F. McDonald Supervising Judge, Complex Civil Panel
• Hon. Ted Millard Supervising Judge, H.I.T. Team Panel

The Supervising Judges are authorized to perform routine ministerial acts on behalf of the Presiding Judge.

The Appellate Department of the Superior Court shall be known as the Appellate Division of the Superior Court effective August 10, 1998. Appointments made previously by the Chief Justice to the Appellate Department shall continue as appointments to the Appellate Division.

All employees designated as Deputy Clerks of the Municipal Courts are hereby designated as Deputy Clerks of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, with all the powers, duties and responsibilities appertaining thereto.

Court facilities and addresses for the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, shall be designated as follows:

• Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92701
• Central Justice Center Annex, 909 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
• Harbor Justice Center, 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660
• Lamoreaux Justice Center, 341 City Drive South, Orange, Ca 92668
• North Justice Center, 1275 North Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92635
• South Justice Center, 30143 Crown Valley Parkway, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
• South Justice Center Annex, 23141 Moulton Parkway, 2nd Floor, Laguna Hills, Ca 92653
• West Justice Center, 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683

Existing courtroom numbering, whether designated as department or division, shall be retained until further notice.

The Court Rules of the Coordinated Trial Courts of Orange County, which became effective on July 1st, shall be the interim rules which govern case process and procedure at all Justice Centers until further notice.

All records of the former Municipal Courts are hereby deemed records of the Superior Court.

Matters formerly known as Municipal Court matters shall be known as limited jurisdiction matters of the Superior Court.

Counsel, litigants, and court staff are directed to use the following construction for the court title on filed or issued documents: Superior Court of California, County of Orange, (name of the) Justice Center, e.g. the sample title for a Central Justice Center document would be:

Superior Court of California
County of Orange, Central Justice Center

Counsel and litigants are directed to file limited jurisdiction matters and original felony/misdemeanor complaint pleadings at Justice Center facilities based upon venue and historical jurisdiction for traffic, civil, small claims, unlawful detainer and criminal matters. Superior Court general civil jurisdiction matters shall continue to be filed at the Central Justice Center, Room D110. Superior Court family law, probate and juvenile matters shall continue to be filed at the Lamoreaux Justice Center. Pending further order of the court, documents will not be accepted for filing under conditions other than described above.

The local forms previously required for filing limited jurisdiction matters at individual Orange County Municipal Courts shall continue to be required for filing limited jurisdiction matters at those court locations until such time as revised forms are approved by the Superior Court Rules and Forms Committee, after sufficient opportunity for public comment on proposed form revisions.

The Chief Executive Officer, Jury Commissioner, and Clerk of the Superior Court is Alan Slater. On documents with a format that requires the name of the Clerk of the Court, counsel and litigants are requested to print Alan Slater as the Clerk of the Court. Court staff are directed to mark, at appropriate locations on the document, that Alan Slater is the Clerk of Court upon the filing or the issuance of official court documents, effective August 11, 1998.

The official seal of the newly constituted Superior Court shall be the Orange County Superior Court Seal. Law enforcement organizations, government officials, and the legal community are directed to recognize The Seal of the State of California in lieu thereof on documents issued through January 1, 1999.

The official filing stamp of the newly constituted Superior Court shall be the Orange County Superior Court filing stamp. Law enforcement organizations, government officials, and the legal community are directed to recognize the filing stamps of the Municipal Courts in lieu thereof on documents with filing dates up to January 1, 1999.

Checks, money orders, etc. used to pay fees, fines, and forfeitures shall be made payable to the Clerk of the Court.

This Administrative Order is made pursuant to California Constitutional provisions and California Rules of Court.

Dated this 10th day of August at Santa Ana, California.

Kathleen E. O'Leary

Presiding Judge