Celebrating Service and Modernization

Mediation, Court Reporting Innovation, and User-Centered Improvements

A Message from Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II

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APRIL 2026

As I commence my second year as Presiding Judge, I am profoundly mindful of the honor and responsibility entrusted to me in leading the nation’s largest trial court. This role serves as a constant reminder of the vital importance of our mission and the profound impact our work has on the millions of individuals and families who rely upon the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (the Court). In this quarterly update, I am pleased to highlight several significant initiatives – spanning technological innovation, facility enhancements, legislative engagement, and community-centered programs – that reflect our steadfast commitment to excellence, modernization, and the fair and accessible administration of justice.

Court Reporter Coverage

On July 1, 2025, the Court launched its first Remote Court Reporter Pilot Program pursuant to Assembly Bill 3013 (Chapter 250, Statutes of 2024), marking a significant step toward modernizing court operations and enhancing public access to justice. This innovation addresses longstanding challenges in court reporter availability by enabling qualified professionals to provide real-time coverage across courtrooms without the constraints of travel, thereby reducing delays and increasing the reliability of proceedings.

With secure audiovisual technology, court reporters can now produce verbatim records from designated remote locations with the same level of accuracy and professionalism expected in traditional settings. As of December 2025, more than 23,000 proceedings have been successfully reported remotely by 20 official reporters serving 52 technologically equipped courtrooms. This initiative has strengthened operational efficiency, reduced unnecessary travel time, and expanded our capacity to support critical case types, including Probate, Family Law, and Juvenile Dependency. Reflecting on the program’s impact, one participating reporter shared that their “time is used so much more efficiently… I make use of previous commute time to work on transcripts, and I enjoy a healthier work-life balance.”

In further support of our commitment to service, the Court has onboarded 50 new voice writers, allowing for the expansion of Family Law coverage by an additional day each week — an important enhancement in one of our highest-volume areas. Together, these efforts underscore our dedication to innovation, workforce sustainability, and the fair and timely administration of justice.

Courthouse Renumbering

The Court is also preparing to undertake a comprehensive courtroom renumbering initiative, beginning at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, as part of its broader commitment to modernization and enhanced public service. This effort will replace outdated numbering patterns with a uniform and intuitive system designed to improve accessibility and ease navigation for attorneys, litigants, and all who enter our courthouses. Under this initiative, each department or courtroom number will be aligned with its corresponding room number, creating clarity and consistency across facilities. Following its initial implementation, the program will be expanded to additional courthouses throughout the county. This important advancement reflects the Court’s continued dedication to improving the user experience, strengthening operational consistency, and ensuring that our physical spaces are as accessible and efficient as the services we provide.

Honoring Mediation Volunteers

The week of March 16 marks Mediation Week, providing a meaningful opportunity to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the Court’s volunteer mediators and settlement officers. Through their service across Civil (including unlawful detainer matters), Family Law, and Probate, these dedicated professionals contribute thousands of hours of no-cost mediation and settlement support each year, helping parties resolve disputes with greater efficiency, dignity, and compassion. Over the past year alone, their efforts have supported more than 1,000 mediation sessions, achieving a 47 percent resolution rate and demonstrating the profound impact of volunteer service in advancing access to justice. The Court extends its deep appreciation for the professionalism, commitment, and public service demonstrated by each mediator and settlement officer, whose work fosters early resolution and meaningful engagement for litigants throughout the county.

In the policy and legislative arena, the Court continues to advance AB 1950 (Harabedian), a measure that would establish a pilot program in Los Angeles County to remove the monetary threshold governing when judicial officers may refer civil cases to mediation. While fully preserving each litigant’s fundamental right to trial, this proposal would provide the Court with a critical tool to address the growing demands on the civil justice system. Civil filings have increased by approximately 67 percent over the past three years, including more than 110,000 new unlimited civil filings and nearly 175,000 new limited civil filings in the past year alone, an average of one new civil case every two minutes. These figures underscore the unique scale, complexity, and economic realities of Los Angeles County, which are not adequately reflected in the current statewide mediation threshold. By allowing judicial officers to refer cases to mediation when most appropriate, AB 1950 would help expedite resolutions, reduce case backlogs, and meaningfully expand access to justice for the communities we serve.

Future of the Court - Community Justice Centers

Looking ahead, the Court is advancing a range of community-focused initiatives, including the development of Community Justice Centers designed to bring early intervention services, resources, and support closer to the communities we serve. These efforts reflect an evolving approach to justice that is responsive, adaptive, and grounded in the principle of meeting individuals where they are, while promoting meaningful and lasting outcomes.

Collectively, these initiatives—from remote court reporting and expanded language access technologies to courthouse renumbering, legislative innovation, and community-based programs—underscore the Court’s enduring commitment to strengthening the administration of justice throughout Los Angeles County. As we move forward, the Court will continue to prioritize modernization, accessibility, and public trust in service to the diverse communities that depend on the nation’s largest trial court.