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 o

On October 21, 2025, United Public Employees (UPE) met with Sacramento Courts to discuss ongoing concerns related to the Self-Help Unit, including the transfer of Deputy Clerks out of the unit and the impact it has on the paralegals. UPE requested this meet and confer after learning that two Deputy Clerks assigned to the Family Law Facilitator’s Office (FLFO) were transferred to other departments — one to Records and the other to Family Law because the courts stated that not

United Public Employees (UPE) met with the Sacramento Superior Court on October 22, 2025, to discuss an upcoming policy change regarding the process for reviewing ability-to-pay (ATP) requests in traffic cases. The Court is implementing a procedure in which courtroom clerks will review certain ATP applications only when they are not assigned to courtroom duties. These determinations will not be made while clerks are in the courtroom, but instead on days when they are working

United Public Employees (UPE) met with the Court on September 17, 2025, regarding the Court’s proposal to discontinue four public copy...