Criminal Justice Services
Criminal Justice Services (CJS) oversees and coordinates the Judicial Council's efforts related to criminal justice.
CJS performs a broad range of legal, program, and research functions to facilitate the Council’s obligations related to criminal justice policy, procedure, and court administration. CJS provides assistance to courts, justice system partners, and the public. California has embarked on a wide-ranging program of criminal justice reforms over the past decades that have had fundamental impact.
Current Criminal Justice Services Office Programs
Behavioral Health Education and Resources
The Behavioral Health Education and Resources page focuses on the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health, and provides resources for courts to better address the needs of court users. This page is intended for California court judicial officers, court employees, and justice partner agencies.
Collaborative Justice Courts (Adult Criminal)
Collaborative justice courts, also known as problem-solving courts, combine judicial supervision with rehabilitation services to reduce recidivism and improve criminal justice and health outcomes. Examples of collaborative justice courts include community courts, drug courts, mental health courts, reentry courts, and veterans courts.
California Pretrial Release Program
The Budget Act of 2021 (SB 129) provided funding for “the implementation and operation of ongoing court programs and practices that promote the safe, efficient, fair, and timely pretrial release of individuals booked into jail.”
SB 129 appropriated funding to the Judicial Council of California for distribution to the courts to provide every superior court with information and resources to support judicial officers in making pretrial release decisions that impose the least restrictive conditions to address public safety and return to court, and to implement appropriate monitoring practices and provision of services for released individuals.
Community Corrections Performance Incentives Act (SB 678)
The Judicial Council is involved in the administration of two community supervision initiatives that promote the use of evidence-based practices in the sentencing and supervising of felony offenders.
MyCitations – Online Ability to Pay (Can’t afford to pay your ticket?)
MyCitations allows litigants experiencing financial hardship to look up their citation(s), answer a series of simple questions, and submit a request to the court for a possible reduction in the amount owed completely online.
Proposition 64: The Adult Use of Marijuana Act
Effective November 9, 2016, Proposition 64 legalized specified personal use and cultivation of marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older; reduced criminal penalties for specified marijuana-related offenses for adults and juveniles; and authorized resentencing or dismissal and sealing of prior, eligible marijuana-related convictions. The proposition included provisions on regulation, licensing, and taxation of legalized use.
Report on the Compassionate Release Program – 2023
Penal Code section 1172.2 authorizes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to recommend that the courts recall prison sentences in instances in which an incarcerated person has a serious illness with an end-of-life trajectory or is medically incapacitated. It also requires the Judicial Council to publicly release data regarding these release decisions.
Contact Information
455 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-865-8994
Fax: 415-865-8795
crimjusticeoffice@jud.ca.gov
Data Dashboards: Trends in Felony Court Case Processing
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