Frequently Asked Questions

“Sealing” your case means the public will not be able to view your case in any capacity without a court order.

“Expunging” your record means that your criminal records will be destroyed, however, your name and case number will still appear in the Court’s Public Index system. To have your name/case removed from the Public Index (and from public view) you must petition to have your criminal records sealed.

If you cannot appear on your scheduled appearance date, you may reschedule to another date within the following 6 months. You will be offered a selection of dates to choose from. The request must be made before your scheduled appearance date. Change your date.
Please note: the system will allow you to reschedule a maximum of one time.

Not necessarily. Reschedule your appearance date.

Reschedule your appearance date.

You may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty any weekday at 9:00 a.m. prior to your scheduled appearance date and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.

If you have already rescheduled your jury duty once, the system will not allow you to reschedule again. You may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty any weekday at 9:00 a.m. prior to your scheduled appearance date and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.

California law says you are qualified to be a juror if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are at least 18 years old
• Can understand English enough to understand and discuss the case
• Are a resident of the county summoning you
• Have not served on a jury in the last 12 months
• Are not currently serving on a jury
• Are not currently under a conservatorship
• Are not currently incarcerated in any prison or jail
• Are not currently on parole, postrelease community supervision for conviction of a felony
• Are not required to register as a sex offender based on a felony conviction
• Have had your civil rights restored if you were convicted of a malfeasance or felony

No one is exempt because of his or her job, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or economic status. If you are qualified you must contact Jury Services after 5:00 p.m. the day before your service to confirm that you are needed for the date on your summons.

If you do not meet the above qualifications, click here to be directed to the online system, or you may check the appropriate box on your jury summons, sign and date it, and return to Jury Services. A confirmation of your disqualification will be sent.

You do not need to speak perfect English to serve as a juror. The work done by the courts affects all people, so it is important that all communities be a part of our justice system, however if you cannot understand English, Click here to disqualify yourself from jury duty.

Yes. You must complete the form entitled Form JUR001 - “Request for Medical Excuse from Jury Duty” and return it, along with a letter from your physician to the jury services office before your scheduled appearance date. You will receive notice of the court’s decision by mail.

To review the "Request For Medical Excuse From Jury Duty" form, click here.

Yes. To be excused for being a student, click here.
If you are a parent or other family member of someone away at school, you may request an excuse for them. Either click here to use the website, or complete their jury summons and mail it to the court. You may sign your own name on the signature line and make a notation of your relationship to the student.

Yes. If you are active-duty military, you will be excused. State this on your jury summons, sign and date it, and return to Jury Services.

Yes, you must serve.

Click here to disqualify yourself for not being a resident of Marin County.

If you served in another court within the last two years, you may be excused from serving again for one year. You must complete and return your jury summons, noting the date and court in which you served.

If you forgot to appear, click here to enter your juror ID and PIN located on your summons. The system will either advise you that you must reschedule, or that you were not needed for jury duty.

If you fail to appear for jury service as required, you will be sent a notice advising you to call and reschedule. If you disregard this notice, you may be placed in "Delinquent" status and receive an order to appear before a judicial officer to explain why you did not perform jury duty. You may also be subject to a fine or incarceration, as provided by California Code of Civil Procedures section 209.

If you received a notice stating that you failed to appear for jury duty, you must reschedule your appearance. To reschedule now, click here. Otherwise, you may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty at 9:00 a.m. the Monday following receipt of this notice and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.

Free parking is available in the parking lot east of the Civic Center and south of the lagoon on Armory Drive. Do not park in a reserved or two-hour parking area or your vehicle will be ticketed. Please click here for parking information and to get driving directions. The Marin Civic Center is served by Golden Gate Transit buses. For information on bus schedules, please visit their website at http://goldengatetransit.org

The Court receives data from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Marin County Registrar of Voters, and the list of resident state tax filers from the Franchise Tax Board.

• To change your name with the Department of Motor Vehicles, click here.
• To change your address with the Department of Motor Vehicles, click here.
• To change your name and/or address with Voter Registration, click here.

All potential jurors are selected randomly from a master list. This list is created by a combination of names from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Marin County Registrar of Voters' systems and the list of resident state tax filers from the Franchise Tax Board. Once the Court receives these sources lists, they are loaded into the jury system. Then, the entire juror selection process is performed through an automated, randomization system. Individual jurors' names are not hand-selected by the Court. Because of the random nature of the selection process, you may be summoned every year, not for many years, or never.

Yes. If you have a disability, you may click here to obtain “Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities” to enable the Court to accommodate you. Or, you can obtain the form entitled “Medical Excuse From Jury Duty” and have it completed by a doctor. Click here to request a medical excuse and get the form. The system will reschedule your appearance date 90 days in the future to allow your doctor time to complete the form and return it to Jury Services prior to your scheduled appearance date.
You will receive notice of the Court’s decision by mail.

The Court provides a free Internet access point or "hot spot" for the benefit of their Jurors during normal business hours who have portable computers capable of receiving wireless signals. This access point will allow jurors to access the Internet from their laptop computers and other wireless devices when sitting within range of the access point at the Court Facilities. However, the Court does not provide technical support for this Wi-Fi system.
Please review the Wi-Fi Terms and Conditions prior to performing jury service.

Yes. Shorts and tank tops are not permitted in the courtroom. If you appear wearing these items you will be advised to come back another time.

If you take public transportation which would result in a travel time of over 1.5 hours each way, or you reside in an area not supported by public transit, you may be excused by completing your summons and returning it to Jury Services.

Often, last minute conferences between the parties take place right before the trial begins. Sometimes these conferences result in last minute settlement of the cases. The judicial officers and court staff work hard to eliminate any unnecessary delays, but sometimes they do occur. You are encouraged to bring a book or other reading material to occupy your time while waiting. The Jury Services area is also equipped with wireless internet capability, so you may bring a laptop to help you pass the time.

Trials may last one day to several weeks, but most trials end in less than a week. When you go to the courtroom, the judicial officer will advise you how long the trial is likely to take. You will have a chance to advise the judicial officer at that time if the trial length will be a hardship for you.

A typical Court day is from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You may be summoned every year, unless you actually reported to the courthouse in response to a jury summons; in this case you will not be called for two years. Occasionally, you may receive a second summons prior to that time. Since the Court creates its master jury lists from lists provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles and Marin County Registrar or Voters, if your name is not identical in those two systems, the Court may have your name in its system more than once. If you receive a summons earlier than expected, notify Jury Services so we may correct the error and update our records.

The Court observes the one-day, one-trial system for jury service. This means that if you are not called in on your selected date or continued to a new date, you have fulfilled your service requirements for one year. If you are required to appear at the courthouse in response to a jury summons and are not selected to serve on a sworn jury panel, you have fulfilled your service requirement for two years. Please note that if you are required to appear on your summoned date, you must plan to be at the courthouse for the entire day.

In accordance with California Code of Civil Procedures section 215, jurors are paid $15.00 a day, commencing on the second day of service, plus mileage compensation of $.34 cents per mile, one way. The Court calculates jurors' mileage based on residence zip code.

Please recall that jurors do not receive pay for their first day of jury duty. If you served more than one day and we have not yet paid you for your jury duty, please allow 20 business days for your payment to be processed. If after that time you have not received payment, you may email Jury Services or call us during telephone customer service hours of 1-3 p.m.

Labor Code section 230 states that no employer shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against an employee for taking time off as required by law for jury service if such employee, prior to taking such time off, gives reasonable notice to the employer that he or she is required to serve. The Court advises qualified jurors to notify their employers upon receipt of a summons.

Yes, you will be required to go through screening if you are sent to a courtroom. Please carefully review the list of personal items that are not permitted in the courtrooms. If you try to bring any of these items with you to the courtroom, they will be confiscated by security screening personnel and will not be returned to you. Please click here for more information about court security.

No. Children are not allowed in the courtroom. The Court does not have child care facilities. Please do not bring your children to jury duty.

Friday after 5:00 p.m. or do I need to wait until Sunday?
If you are scheduled for a Monday, you may use the automated systems any time after Friday at 5 p.m.

Call this number immediately: (415) 444-7260.

Call (415) 444-7122 and when prompted, leave your name, Juror ID and phone number. If you don’t have your Juror ID, leave your California Drivers’ License number. Jury staff will return your call as soon as possible.

You may request proof of attendance by emailing Jury Services at jury@marin.courts.ca.gov. Please include your entire name and California Drivers’ License number.

You may request a replacement summons by emailing Jury Services at jury@marin.courts.ca.gov . Please include your entire name and California Drivers’ License number.

Your child was most likely taken to Marin County Juvenile Hall at 16 Jeannette Prandi Way in San Rafael. The phone number is (415) 473-6705.

Yes. Your child has a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney for your child, the Court will appoint an attorney to represent him or her.

No, not usually. But please note that if your child has an attorney, the attorney represents your child and not you. To find out more about whether you need an attorney to represent you, please contact:

Legal Self-Help Center
Civic Center, Hall of Justice, Room C-44
San Rafael, CA 94903
Phone: (415) 444-7130

Legal Aid of Marin
1401 Los Gamos Drive, Suite 101
San Rafael, CA 94903
Phone: (415) 492-0230
http://www.legalaidmarin.org/

Marin San Francisco Lawyer Referral Service
Phone: (415) 989-1616

Yes. Unless you were the victim of your child's crime, you will receive a bill from the County of Marin for various fees, including your child's attorney's fees; probation department services fees (such as food and laundry while your child was in Juvenile Hall); and placement costs for keeping your child in a state placement such as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), a probation camp, or an out-of-home placement. These services may be expensive. You will have a chance to show how much, if any, of these costs you are able to pay. The Delinquency Court does not make this determination; it is made by a Financial Hearing Officer in the Marin County Treasurer's Office, Central Collections Division. You must contact this office to begin the process of determining your ability to pay for your child's fees, probation and detention services.

You and your child will be required to attend all hearings, unless your appearance is specifically waived by your child's attorney. The hearings include:

• Detention Hearing or Arraignment Hearing: If your child is detained in Juvenile Hall for more than 48 hours, there will be a detention hearing within 72 hours, counting only court business days. The purposes of the detention hearing are for the judicial officer to:
  • Decide whether your child can go home before the next hearing,
  • Appoint an attorney for your child if you cannot afford one, and
  • Read the petition containing the charges against your child into the court record.

If your child was arrested, but was not detained in Juvenile Hall, you will receive notice of an arraignment hearing in the mail.

• Pre-Trial Hearing: A pre-trial hearing will occur the day before trial to allow the parties in the matter to either resolve the case or to advise the Court that they are ready to proceed to trial.
• Jurisdiction Hearing: At the jurisdiction hearing, the judicial officer will decide whether or not your child committed the offense.
• Disposition Hearing: A disposition hearing is similar to a sentencing hearing in adult court. If the judicial officer finds that your child committed the offense, then at the disposition hearing the judicial officer will make orders that you and your child must abide by to resolve your child's delinquency case. Sometimes the disposition hearing is held right after the jurisdiction hearing, on the same day. Otherwise, it is held ten (10) court business days after the jurisdiction hearing.

In addition to the above hearings, you and your child may be required to attend any of the following hearings:

• Early Resolution Hearing: A court appearance is scheduled to try to resolve the matter prior to trial.
• Hearings on Motions: There may be court appearances for the Court to hear additional issues that come up before the underlying case is resolved.
• Fitness Hearing: If your child is at least 14 years old and is charged with committing certain serious crimes, the District Attorney may ask the Juvenile Court to make a decision on whether your child should be tried as an adult. At the fitness hearing, the judicial officer will decide whether your child will be tried in adult court or in juvenile court. (Note: Effective March 2000, a law was enacted giving the District Attorney authority in some instances to directly file complaints in adult court against minors 14 years of age and older who commit certain serious crimes.)
• Review Hearings: In some cases, the law or the Court may set hearings to review your child's progress and performance under supervision provided by the Probation Department, Juvenile Services Division.
• Restitution Hearing: If the Court so orders, you and your child may have to pay restitution to the victim. Restitution is money to compensate the victim for losses caused by your child's unlawful conduct. Examples of restitution might include the value of stolen or damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages.

Juvenile traffic infractions and non-traffic infractions are now being handled just like adult traffic violations. Please wait for the Court to send you a courtesy notice and follow the instructions provided on that notice. If your child's traffic violation was more serious, and was cited as a misdemeanor, Marin County Probation Department, Juvenile Services Division will contact you regarding when you and your child must appear to adjudicate this matter.

Contact the Marin County Probation Department, Juvenile Services Division to get an application to seal a juvenile record. Once the application is received, it can take up to ten months to complete the sealing process.

Requests for continuances must be made at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the hearing date. The Court requires both sides to agree to a continuance. This means the party requesting the continuance must call or write the other party and request permission to continue the hearing date. You should first call the Small Claims Appeal Desk (415) 444-7130 to obtain the next available dates so you may discuss them with the other party.

Yes. The requesting party must send the Court a $20.00 processing fee and confirmation letter stating the agreed upon date. A copy of this letter must be mailed to the other party.

Write a letter to the Small Claims Appeal Desk. In that letter, state the reason for the continuance and that you were unable to get an agreement from the other side. The letter will be routed to the Supervising Civil Judge to determine whether the continuance should be granted. A copy of this letter must be mailed to the other party.

Yes, you may retain an attorney. The Court must be informed of the name, address, and phone number of your attorney, should you retain one.

Please call the Small Claims Appeals Desk (415) 444-7130 and inform the clerk of the settlement or withdrawal of the appeal. It is the appellant's obligation to file a "Request For Dismissal" form with the Court if the case settles or is withdrawn before trial.

Exhibits retained by the Court will be made available for the hearing.

For more information, see the California Small Claims Courts Information Center.

By signing the citation in the officer’s presence you have agreed to appear or resolve the issue by the indicated date. The Court will send a courtesy notice to the address on the citation once the citation has been filed with the Court, typically within one month from the date of the citation. The courtesy notice will provide more information regarding your specific options to resolve the citation.

Please note:

• Marin County Superior Court can only resolve citations issued within the Marin County jurisdiction.
• Traffic Court handles all infractions including traffic, animal, fishing, boating and infractions of local municipal codes.
• Parking Citations are not handled by the Superior Court, please click here for instructions on resolving parking citations.

If you do not receive a courtesy notice by the date written at the bottom of your citation, you are still responsible to take action on or before the date listed on the citation. Please wait two weeks from the time you are cited before calling the Court to allow time for the citation to be processed.

The date at the bottom of your ticket is the "promise to appear" date. It is not a court date but rather a ‘due’ date to resolve the citation in some way, either by paying it or setting up a contested court date.

Only a small number of citations require individuals to appear in court. The courtesy notices for these citations will have the words "Mandatory Appearance" on them.

If you do not need to appear in person to resolve your matter, you have several options:

• Pay the full amount on the courtesy or final notice on or before the due date.
  • Payments, and payments with requests for traffic violator school, may be made in person, by phone or by mail. An appearance in court is not necessary. For more information on traffic violator school please click here.
  • If your citation requires a proof of correction you may need to provide appropriate documentation or have your citation signed off by a law enforcement officer or DMV representative and mail it to or appear at the Traffic Clerk’s Office with your documentation to resolve your issue. For more information on correctable violations please click here.
• Request a payment plan.
  The Court offers a payment plan that can be set up at the Traffic Clerk’s Office without appearing in Court. There is a $35 administrative fee to set up a payment plan and violators must make minimum monthly payments of at least $50. The payment plan cannot exceed 12 months in duration. For more information on how to make payments, please click here.
• Request that the bail be converted to community service work.
  The Court has a community service work program for individuals who cannot afford to pay the bail on their citations if they meet certain financial qualifications. If they are eligible, there is a $50 administrative fee. For more information on community service work, please click here.
• Plead 'not guilty' by the due date on the citation or courtesy notice and set a trial date.
  Individuals who wish to contest their citations may schedule a court trial at the Traffic Clerk's Office. Court trials are scheduled throughout the week at various times. For more information on court trials, please click here.
• Plead “not guilty” and request a trial by written declaration.
  Individuals may request a trial by written declaration by appearing in person at the Traffic Clerk's Office or by writing to the Court to request this kind of a trial. For more information on trials by written declaration, please click here.

You can request a thirty (30) day extension from the Traffic Clerk’s Office.

If you fail to pay the bail or appear in court, you will be charged with a failure to appear violation, the case will be sent to court collections, the amount owed will be increased by a $300 civil assessment and other monetary sanctions, and your driving privileges may be affected.

Contact the Traffic Clerk’s Office immediately to determine whether your case has been sent to court collections. If this has already occurred, you will be directed to contact the collections office.

For more information on how to resolve a “fix-it” ticket, please click here.

For information on how to resolve a citation when you did not have a driver’s license, registration or insurance with you in the vehicle at the time you were cited, please click here.

For information on how to show proof and possibly qualify for a reduction in your bail, please click here.

If you were the driver, and you signed the citation, you are responsible for taking care of the citation.

Yes, you must pay full bail to attend traffic violator school. The benefit you will get from completing traffic violator school is greater awareness of the traffic laws in California and the violation will not be reported on your driving record. This will help keep your insurance rates from increasing.

No, the violation remains on your driving record with the DMV. The Court reports to the DMV that you have attended traffic violator school. DMV will suppress this information from being reported on your public driving record and your insurance company will not have access to your violation.

For information on traffic violator school, please click here.

Yes, if you are eligible for traffic violator school, you may attend while on a payment plan or doing community service work. However, you will be required to pay the $52 administrative fee to sign up for traffic violator school and you will have to pay a fee at the school you attend.

The DMV will not accept your proof of completion of traffic violator school and the conviction will be reported on your driving record. Please be aware of the importance of timely payments in order to ensure that the violation does not appear on your record.

If you are found guilty at your court trial, you may appeal the judicial officer’s decision to the Court’s Appellate Division.

An appeal is NOT a new trial. The Appellate Division will review the evidence (testimony and exhibits) presented at the original trial.

The fact sheet Information on Appeal Procedures for Infractions (CR-141-INFO) is available here.

Yes. You must file a Notice of Appeal and Record of Oral Proceedings (CR-142) within thirty (30) calendar days of entry of judgment or court order. If you miss the deadline, you lose your right to appeal.

Yes. An appeal stops execution of the sentence until your appeal is finished.

Yes. You must file a Proposed Statement on Appeal (CR-143) within twenty (20) calendar days after you file the notice of appeal. Or, you can file this document at the same time as the Notice of Appeal and Record of Oral Proceedings (CR-142).

Your Proposed Statement on Appeal (CR-143) must say why you are appealing.

No, you must have one of the following in order to access the automated system: case number, citation number or driver's license number.

Yes, you can access the court's automated system to request a one-time 30 day extension to pay, appear, or complete traffic violator school.

Yes, you can access the court's automated system to sign up and pay for traffic violator school.

If requesting a court trial in person you may post your bail for vehicle code violations. For all other violations you must post your bail. If requesting a court trial by mail, trial by written declaration or by using our automated system, bail must be posted in full and included with your request regardless of the violation.

No, you must request to change your court trial date by mail or in person at least ten (10) calendar days before the hearing date.

No, you must mail or bring your proof of correction to the court along with your payment.

Yes, you can use the automated system to set up a payment plan with the minimum payment of $50 or more per month. The $35 installment fee will automatically add to the total bail. Whatever amount you owe will be divided into 12 equal monthly installments. If your total amount due is more than $600, your monthly payment will be more than $50.

Yes, you can use the automated system to look up your current payment status, to view the payment balance or to find your next payment due date.

No, you must come to the court to fill out the request for CSW so the court can determine your eligibility.