Placer Courts - Upcoming Changes
UPE met and conferred with the Court on October 7th and November 2nd, 2026, regarding upcoming changes to various procedures. First, the Court noticed UPE that Probation will be e-filing similarly to the DA’s office. The Court anticipates that this will make work more efficient for staff because they will no longer have to download data from Probation only to upload it again into the Court systems. Probation is still working on the functionality on their end before it can go live.
The parties also discussed the Court’s plan to assign Courtroom Clerks the task of completing all Court Event data and Case Dispositions in criminal. According to the Court, currently the duties are split between the Courtroom and the Clerk’s Office. UPE questioned the Court about the change and its impact on the Courtroom Clerks’ workload. UPE asked under what timeline the Court wanted the data completed. Initially, the Court stated five working days. UPE felt this would create too much pressure and did not make sense when there were no timelines for the completion of these tasks by the Clerk’s Office. Eventually, the parties agreed on the thirty-day deadline and committed to check in on the workload impact over the coming months.
The Court is also planning to make changes to the process for Terms and Conditions of Release while on O.R. or Bail and the Pretrial Release Agreement and Order. Under the process, Courtroom Clerks will be responsible for scanning both signed and 977 appearance orders into eCourt. UPE proposed that all 977 appearances be scanned unsigned to improve consistency across the two types of forms. UPE also ensured that Courtroom Clerks are not responsible for prompting the Judge to provide a due date if the Judge does not do so in their order. The Court confirmed this is the job of the Bench and not the clerk.
The two sides discussed the Court’s change to the process for Felony Surrender on Warrants to match the process used for DUI and DV Misdemeanor Surrender on Warrants. Under the process, defense counsel or an individual without representation may file a request to calendar or a motion. Those without counsel may also call to request to be placed on the calendar. Previously, defendants were not allowed to place themselves on the calendar and had to surrender to law enforcement. UPE and the Court will check in December to judge whether there is a significant workload impact from this change.
UPE thanks Mylee Taylor and Lacy Rees for their advocacy for our members during this meeting!
