WATCH OUT for the implied "commissioner" consent bs of the court!
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 7:35 am
While attorneys are supposed to know this, pro per self represented parties do not.
YOU cannot participate in a case, in front of a commissioner, never object, and state I did not want a commissioner. You must object at the beginning, sometimes even before the case or motion is heard. (your court local rules). IF YOU CONTINUE the hearing, or trial or process without objection or a statement of non-stipulation YOU will have implied to the consent. NOW YOU KNOW.
A COURT COMMISSIONER (employed by the court) is just an attorney who acts like a judge if you let them. That is called consent and stipulation. Sone attorneys are accident or family law attorneys and know nothing about administrative law, and they will listen to the city attorney prosecuting you, not you! YOU WANT A JUDGE! A court commissioner is nothing more than a judge pro tem or temporary judge. You don't want a temporary "know-nothing" judge!
Court commissioners' duties are spelled out in two code sections: gov. code 72190 and code of civil procedure 259. By law commissioners may by statute hear and decide 1) original small claims matters, and 2) traffic infractions. Period. Commissioners are not to make a ruling on any substantive issue of law. The facts are one part of a case, interpreting the law is different and much more important.
1. Read the local rules of the court. See what it says about commissioners and non-stipulating.
2. Read your case assignment word for word and see if it says something tricky about stipulation to a commissioner.
3. LISTEN INTENTLY when you are in the court room to the CLERK as she may state YOU STIPULATE if you do not orally non-stipulate. In their boring intro they lure you into stipulation without even knowing it.
4. READ the moniker on the front of the bench and see if it says JUDGE or COMMISSIONER. or pro tem.
Courts like to CHEAT as long as they can evade being caught. One court is Riverside Court who uses commissioners for just about everything they legally cannot: 1) unlaw detainers, 2) small claims appeals, 3) administrative citation appeals etc. Riverside County court will use a commissioner if you don't yell out - I do not stipulate to a commissioner.
The COURTS to save money, are reading words into the law that do not appear. So, if the commissioner won't dismiss themselves, you will have another reason to APPEAL to a higher court. A JUDGE will more than likely follow the law, where a COMMISSIONER winks at the city attorney who he does golf and Christmas parties with, and finds you guilty.
Government code 53069.4
"(3) The conduct of the appeal under this section is a subordinate judicial duty that may be performed by traffic trial commissioners and other subordinate judicial officials at the direction of the presiding judge of the court.
The sentence specifies that traffic commissioners can oversee the administrative steps of an appeal, but cannot conduct the actual hearing or decide the case.
Here is a breakdown of the plain text of the sentence:
Subordinate judicial duty: As lower-ranking judicial officers, traffic commissioners primarily handle less complex administrative and procedural matters.
"Conduct" does not mean "hear and decide" of "hear and determine": This is the key constraint. While commissioners can "conduct" the appeal—meaning they can manage the process of filing, scheduling, and ensuring all procedural steps are followed—they do not have the power to "hear and decide" the appeal itself. That authority is reserved for a duly appointed or elected judge.
Traffic trial commissioners and other subordinate judicial officials: This specifies the class of judicial officers to whom this duty is delegated. They are not judges and have limited authority.
"Stipulated to" by the parties litigant to act as a judge: This provides the legal basis for the distinction. If a case requires a commissioner to make an actual judicial decision (to act "as a judge"), the parties must first give their written consent, or "stipulate." Because this specific duty of appeal conduct is "subordinate," no stipulation is required.
At the direction of the presiding judge: The overall authority to delegate these administrative tasks lies with the presiding judge, who manages the court's overall workload and assigns duties to subordinate officers.
In summary: The clause clarifies that a traffic trial commissioner can oversee the administrative aspects of an appeal, such as procedural and scheduling matters, without the consent of the parties. However, they cannot make substantive judicial decisions about the case, which remains the exclusive province of an actual judge or a commissioner to whom the parties have explicitly stipulated
YOU cannot participate in a case, in front of a commissioner, never object, and state I did not want a commissioner. You must object at the beginning, sometimes even before the case or motion is heard. (your court local rules). IF YOU CONTINUE the hearing, or trial or process without objection or a statement of non-stipulation YOU will have implied to the consent. NOW YOU KNOW.
A COURT COMMISSIONER (employed by the court) is just an attorney who acts like a judge if you let them. That is called consent and stipulation. Sone attorneys are accident or family law attorneys and know nothing about administrative law, and they will listen to the city attorney prosecuting you, not you! YOU WANT A JUDGE! A court commissioner is nothing more than a judge pro tem or temporary judge. You don't want a temporary "know-nothing" judge!
Court commissioners' duties are spelled out in two code sections: gov. code 72190 and code of civil procedure 259. By law commissioners may by statute hear and decide 1) original small claims matters, and 2) traffic infractions. Period. Commissioners are not to make a ruling on any substantive issue of law. The facts are one part of a case, interpreting the law is different and much more important.
1. Read the local rules of the court. See what it says about commissioners and non-stipulating.
2. Read your case assignment word for word and see if it says something tricky about stipulation to a commissioner.
3. LISTEN INTENTLY when you are in the court room to the CLERK as she may state YOU STIPULATE if you do not orally non-stipulate. In their boring intro they lure you into stipulation without even knowing it.
4. READ the moniker on the front of the bench and see if it says JUDGE or COMMISSIONER. or pro tem.
Courts like to CHEAT as long as they can evade being caught. One court is Riverside Court who uses commissioners for just about everything they legally cannot: 1) unlaw detainers, 2) small claims appeals, 3) administrative citation appeals etc. Riverside County court will use a commissioner if you don't yell out - I do not stipulate to a commissioner.
The COURTS to save money, are reading words into the law that do not appear. So, if the commissioner won't dismiss themselves, you will have another reason to APPEAL to a higher court. A JUDGE will more than likely follow the law, where a COMMISSIONER winks at the city attorney who he does golf and Christmas parties with, and finds you guilty.
Government code 53069.4
"(3) The conduct of the appeal under this section is a subordinate judicial duty that may be performed by traffic trial commissioners and other subordinate judicial officials at the direction of the presiding judge of the court.
The sentence specifies that traffic commissioners can oversee the administrative steps of an appeal, but cannot conduct the actual hearing or decide the case.
Here is a breakdown of the plain text of the sentence:
Subordinate judicial duty: As lower-ranking judicial officers, traffic commissioners primarily handle less complex administrative and procedural matters.
"Conduct" does not mean "hear and decide" of "hear and determine": This is the key constraint. While commissioners can "conduct" the appeal—meaning they can manage the process of filing, scheduling, and ensuring all procedural steps are followed—they do not have the power to "hear and decide" the appeal itself. That authority is reserved for a duly appointed or elected judge.
Traffic trial commissioners and other subordinate judicial officials: This specifies the class of judicial officers to whom this duty is delegated. They are not judges and have limited authority.
"Stipulated to" by the parties litigant to act as a judge: This provides the legal basis for the distinction. If a case requires a commissioner to make an actual judicial decision (to act "as a judge"), the parties must first give their written consent, or "stipulate." Because this specific duty of appeal conduct is "subordinate," no stipulation is required.
At the direction of the presiding judge: The overall authority to delegate these administrative tasks lies with the presiding judge, who manages the court's overall workload and assigns duties to subordinate officers.
In summary: The clause clarifies that a traffic trial commissioner can oversee the administrative aspects of an appeal, such as procedural and scheduling matters, without the consent of the parties. However, they cannot make substantive judicial decisions about the case, which remains the exclusive province of an actual judge or a commissioner to whom the parties have explicitly stipulated