UPE met and conferred with representatives from the Sacramento Court on November 18, 2025, regarding the planned implementation of an online portal for defendants to apply for Trial by Declaration (TBD). With the implementation of the portal, defendants will still be able to make written requests for TBD, but there will no longer be a de novo option, and defendants will no longer have to post bail.
The process for handling written TBDs will not change. When someone uses the online portal, the process for the DC will be the same as it is now, prior to the case being sent to the judicial officer. However, after the judicial officer rules on the case, the DC will now update the case in C-Track and mail the notice to the defendant. The Courtroom Clerk will no longer be involved in the process.
UPE had several questions about the new processes that were difficult for the Court to answer, in part because the Court has not completed all the procedures for the new system. The Court did agree with UPE's proposal that DCs will not have any expected/required minimum for the number of TBDs they must process. In fact, the Court stated there are no minimums for any work by DCs at the Court.
The Court was clear that it expects a significant increase in the number of TBDs that defendants submit. The Court currently does not have plans to train additional DCs to process TBDs. However, the Court suggested that if the number of trials declines, then the fines unit could be cross trained to support this function.
UPE had outstanding questions regarding the processes and procedures, so the two sides will meet again on December 4. The Court will implement the new portal on December 10.
UPE thanks Paul McGee, Nancy Wallace, Shawn Boxer, Angela Leno, Diane Helmbrecht, Dave Barbour, and Rebecka Copeland for their participation in the meeting.
