The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and State law require all state and local government entities, including the courts, to provide reasonable accommodations for the needs of persons with disabilities. It is the policy of the San Diego Superior Court that court users with disabilities have equal and full access to the court system. Persons with disabilities includes persons who have a physical or mental medical condition that limits one or more major life activities, have a record of such a condition, or are regarded as having such a condition. Examples of major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, or breathing, or caring for oneself.
If an accommodation is needed, the court may provide aids and services, such as assistive listening devices and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, at no cost to court users.
Please note: this page refers to accessibility and accommodations at physical court facilities and court proceedings. For accessibility information regarding this website, please refer to the Court’s Website Accessibility Statement.
Requesting an Accommodation
Accommodation requests are governed by Rule 1.100 of the California Rules of Court. Requests should be made by completing the Disability Accommodation Request (SDSC Form #ADM-410).
Alternatively, a Disability Accommodation Request (SDSC Form #ADM-410) may be submitted to the ADA Coordinator’s Office or to the business office at the court location where the accommodation is needed. Hard copies of the Disability Accommodation Request (SDSC Form #ADM-410) may be obtained at any court location.
ADA Coordinator’s Office:
| Fax | ||
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Superior Court Attention: ADA Coordinator P.O. Box 120128 San Diego, CA 92112-0128 |
[email protected] | (619) 844-5675 |
Business Offices
The request may be submitted in person or by mail. Please refer to the court's locations and business hours information for addresses and hours of operation.
Note: A separate request must be submitted for each case. Requests should be made as far in advance as possible, and in any event, no fewer than five court days before the requested implementation date.
Jurors
Disability accommodation requests should be made to the Jury Services Office at (619) 844-2800.
Ex-parte Hearing Request for Accommodation
Court users needing an ADA accommodation for an ex-parte hearing must specify the accommodation needed when scheduling the ex-parte hearing regardless of whether an ongoing ADA accommodation has been granted.
Response to Request for Accommodation
The court will inform applicants of the determination to grant or deny an accommodation request as soon as practicable. If the accommodation request is denied in whole or in part, the court will provide the applicant with a written response and the reason(s) for the denial. If the specific accommodation requested is denied, the court may provide an alternative accommodation.
Privacy of Requests for Accommodation
An applicant’s request will be kept confidential unless confidentiality has been waived or if, in order for the court to rule on the request, the information must be disclosed to other parties (e.g., requesting a continuance in the case). (See Vesco v. Superior Court 21 Cal. App. 4th 275 (2013)).
Additional Information about Accommodations
For instructions, forms and additional information, please visit the ADA Frequently Asked Questions page.
Free tools that allow persons with visual disabilities to read documents in Adobe Acrobat PDF format can be downloaded from Adobe. These tools convert PDF documents into either HTML or ASCII text that can then be read by many screen-reading programs.
Americans with Disabilities Act Grievance Procedure
Complaints alleging disability discrimination in the provision of court services, programs, and activities may be reported to the court as set forth in Americans with Disabilities Act Grievance Procedure (SDSC Form #ADM-417).
Note: This is NOT a procedure for appealing a decision made on a request for accommodation. If a request for accommodation was denied and review of denial is being sought, refer to the procedures in Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.100(g).