Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group is highlighting a recent General Order issued by The Los Angeles Superior Court: Order 2026-GEN-010-00. The Order, issued on July 28, 2026, establishing new procedures for peremptory challenges under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6. The order took effect immediately and introduces declaration and attestation requirements intended to increase transparency around repeated challenges to assigned judges.
The Court issued the order in response to the California Supreme Court's decision in J.O. v. Superior Court of San Joaquin County (2026). In that ruling, the Supreme Court found that bad-faith "blanket" section 170.6 challenges can interfere with judicial operations by encouraging judge shopping, delaying proceedings, retaliating against judges for prior rulings, or serving as a vehicle for discrimination. The Court noted that blanket challenges may occur when attorneys repeatedly challenge the same judge across a substantial portion of that judge's assigned cases, maintain an office policy of routinely striking a particular judge, or sharply increase challenges following an unfavorable ruling.
Under the new procedures, attorneys or parties making a section 170.6 challenge may be required to submit a verified written declaration or oral attestation under penalty of perjury disclosing recent challenge history involving the assigned judge. The declaration must identify every case during the previous one-year period in which the attorney, law firm, or party filed a section 170.6 challenge against that judge, the case numbers for those matters, and a reasonable approximation of the total number of matters assigned to that judge during the same period. For confidential or sealed matters, only the case number must be disclosed.
The disclosure requirement includes a limited exemption. It does not apply to attorneys, law firms, or parties that have filed two or fewer section 170.6 challenges against the same judge during the preceding year. The declaration or oral attestation generally must accompany the challenge, though the Court may permit submission no later than the end of the next court day upon a showing of good cause. Notice of the challenge and declaration generally must be served on all parties within five days unless all parties are already present in court.
Failure to comply may expose an attorney or party to lawful sanctions for violating a court order. Noncompliance, however, does not invalidate an otherwise proper section 170.6 challenge, and objections should be raised within a reasonable time after notice is received.
Hossein Berenji, Founder & Lead Attorney, offered analysis of the development. "Section 170.6 continues to serve an important role in California litigation by allowing parties to seek reassignment without proving actual judicial bias," Berenji said. "The new declaration requirements are intended to increase transparency regarding repeated challenges rather than eliminate attorneys' statutory rights. Law firms should become familiar with these procedures and maintain accurate records so they can comply efficiently when necessary."
The requirements preserve the statutory right to file legitimate peremptory challenges while promoting consistency in the judicial assignment process. Firms that regularly appear before the same judicial officers may benefit from tracking prior section 170.6 challenges internally.
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About Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group: Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group practices exclusively family law, with extensive experience handling litigation in California family law courts, including aggressive representation in high-net-worth divorces, complex high-asset matters, and contested custody disputes. The firm remains attentive to evolving California procedural rules affecting litigants and attorneys and maintains offices in Beverly Hills, downtown Los Angeles, and Pasadena. The firm is committed to educating the public about significant legal developments affecting California court proceedings.
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