Community Outreach Program

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Judge Rachel Holt addresses participants at a Civics 101 Academy event.

Court Visits

The Court welcomes members of the public to visit its courthouses. Please note that any person may visit the courthouses free-of-charge.

With some limited exceptions, all court proceedings are open to the public. Exceptions include Juvenile Justice Court, Juvenile Dependency Court, Mental Health (Lanterman-Petris-Short) Conservatorship Proceedings, and other select closed hearings.

Members of the public DO NOT need to schedule an appointment to observe any public court proceeding as an audience member. Please note that courtroom seating may be limited, and audience members are admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Courtroom proceedings for each courthouse are posted for the public to view. A list of the hearing schedule for each day may be found here. Please note that some hearings, such as Civil Law & Motion hearings, may be conducted remotely and may also be viewed through Zoom video conference.

Courthouse Locations and Hours

The locations and hours of the three courthouses in San Mateo County may be found here. Please note that court proceedings are typically broken up into "Morning" and "Afternoon" calendars. Morning calendars typically begin at either 8:30 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. Afternoon calendars typically begin at 1:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m.

Speaker's Bureau

With the assistance of its community partners, the Court's Speaker's Bureau program coordinates speaking appearances for judges and commissioners for events, meetings, or school functions.

Please note that judicial officers may be limited in what they can talk about or answer by the Code of Judicial Ethics. For example, they may not comment on cases pending before the Court or matters that may appear before the Court.

Events

The Court’s Community Outreach Committee, which consists of judicial officers and representatives from the San Mateo County Office of Education, San Mateo County Attorney’s Office, San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, San Mateo County Private Defender Program, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, San Mateo County Bar Association, and various community organizations, conducts select community events throughout the year. These events include Fred Korematsu Day, Law Day, and Constitution Month events. If you would like more information about these events, please email: CommunityOutreach@sanmateocourt.org.