Nov. 13, 2025
It's time to deep six the '6'
California's Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 -- originally intended to prevent judicial bias -- has devolved into a tool for abuse, judge-shopping and manipulation that undermines judicial integrity and independence and therefore should be repealed.
Stanley Mosk Courthouse
Lawrence P. Riff
Supervising Judge
Los Angeles County Superior Court
General Civil, UDs
University of Oregon School of Law, 1982
The reaction of most new judges to being peremptorily challenged under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 is bafflement. "I've never even heard of the lawyer or her client who challenged me; how can she declare under penalty of perjury that I am prejudiced?" Our new colleagues are quickly counseled by the more seasoned not to give it a second thought. Why? Because the purpose of the "6" (as it is often referred to in judicial circles) likely was in no way grounded in the r...
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