Public Access to Open Hearings

Access to Remote Proceedings:

The Monterey County Superior Court has equipped all courtrooms with listen-only telephone lines to allow public access to court proceedings. Individual courts may permit telephonic access at the discretion of the judge. Telephonic access will be utilized in any courtroom when physical public access is unavailable.

Court proceedings may not be photographed, recorded, or broadcast without specific written authorization by the Court. (See California Rules of Court, Rule 1.150; Super. Ct. Monterey County Local Rules, rule 19.3. Local Rules)

Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of this general prohibition and the need to obtain specific written permission to record a remote hearing. Violation of these prohibitions is an unlawful interference with the proceedings of the Court and may be the basis for an order terminating media coverage, a citation for contempt of court, or an order imposing monetary or other sanctions as provided by law. (California Rules of Court, Rule 1.150)

Violations may also constitute a criminal offense under Penal Code section 632.7, which includes punishment by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

Criminal

Civil

Traffic