Court Rules

Riverside Superior Court Document Format Requirements

15 rules from official source documents

7 of 15 checked against the court's document. Each rule says how far it was checked. A value with a question mark is not in the court's wording on its card.

Font, margin, spacing, and file format requirements for court filings. This page is scoped to Riverside Superior Court; use the court rules overview to switch categories without leaving this court.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Trial exhibits must be BATES stamped in sequential order; plaintiff exhibits are numbered 1-100 and defendant exhibits 101-200.

Exhibits must be BATES stamped in sequential order as required by local rule 3401. Plaintiff shall be assigned exhibit numbers 1-100. Defendant shall be assigned exhibit numbers 101-200.

Judge Michael Martin

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Impeachment exhibits must be labeled, organized numerically, BATES stamped, and tabbed like other exhibits, enclosed in a labeled envelope or package, and need not be shared in advance with opposing parties.

Exhibits offered solely for impeachment must be labeled, organized numerically, BATES stamped, and tabbed in the manner of all other exhibits, and should be enclosed in a labeled envelope or package that need not be shared in advance with opposing parties.

Judge Michael Martin

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

All approved visual aids must be pre-marked for identification.

All approved visual aids must be pre-marked for identification.

Judge Sophia Choi

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Exhibits must be pre-marked in numerical order, bate stamped at the bottom of each page if multi-page, and must be marked and reviewed by all counsel before testimony begins.

Exhibits shall be pre-marked in numerical order and, if multiple pages, bate stamped at the bottom of each page. Exhibits must be marked and reviewed by all counsel before testimony begins.

Judge Sophia Choi

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Jury instructions must be 'fully edited'—in a form ready to be copied and handed to jurors—meaning blanks are filled, gender and party-number references corrected, inapplicable language deleted, brackets removed, and no additional information (instruction title, requesting party, or given/modified/refused status) appears.

in accordance with section 8 of Riverside County Superior Court Local Rule 3401. By “fully edited,” the Court means that the instructions shall be prepared in a form suitable to be copied and handed to the jurors. In particular: o All blanks shall be filled in. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.1050(c)(3).) o All references to the gender of the parties and to the number of parties shall be corrected. o All inapplicable alternative language shall be deleted. If the application of any language cannot be determined until the end of testimony, that language should be kept in. o All brackets (“[ ]”) surrounding applicable alternative language shall be removed. o Other than the text of the instruction and the instruction number, no other information shall appear regarding form instructions. Specifically, the following information shall not appear: the title of the instruction; the party requesting the instruction; and whether the instruction is given, modified, or refused.

Judge Sophia Choi

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Updated Case Management Statements must be submitted on pleading paper, not the JCC CM-110 form, which is for initial statements only.

Any party ordered to submit an updated Statement shall do so using pleading paper, not the JCC CM-110 form that should be used for initial statements only.

Judge Arthur Hester

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Exhibits must be BATES stamped in sequential order as required by Local Rule 3401.

Exhibits must be BATES stamped in sequential order as required by local rule 3401.

Judge Manuel Bustamante

Machine summary. Not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

It will not be sufficient for counsel and self-represented parties to use the web-based version of this program as it has substantially reduced functionality. For more information on this program, or to test the program visit https://learn-zoom.us/show-me. All counsel and self-represented parties must use use a PC, laptop, or large tablet for the video portions of the hearing. All participants must have access to a video camera, whether native to the PC, laptop, or tablet being used, or attached for the purpose of the hearing. All participants must also have a high-speed internet connection sufficient to stream the video on Zoom throughout the court proceedings, without intermission.

Summary: Remote participants must use the Zoom download/PC/laptop/tablet with a video camera and fast internet instead of the web-based version of the program.

Judge Arthur Hester

Machine summary. Not checked yet.CRITICAL?

No fewer than three (3) sets of exhibits for trial (one each for the Court, Courtroom Assistant and Witnesses) are required. Each exhibit shall be pre-marked and pre-identified. Labels are available for counsel table on the day of the hearing. The exhibits shall be in binders with tabs identifying each exhibit. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, all exhibits shall be pre-marked and exchanged 10 days before the day of trial. Petitioner's exhibits shall be marked with numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) and the Respondent's exhibits marked with letters (A, B, C, etc.). On the day of trial, the Court will only accept, properly pre-labeled and pre-marked.

Summary: At trial, parties must supply at least three sets of exhibits, each exhibit being properly pre-labeled after specific numbering/lettering schemes, stored in tabbed binders with columns, and the court will accept only properly labeled/marked exhibits on the day of trial.

Judge John Vineyard

Machine summary. Not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Every motion in limine submitted to the Court shall be in writing, shall be numbered sequentially according to the party or side bringing it (e.g., Plaintiff's No. 1, Plaintiff's No. 2, Defendant Smith's No. 1, Defendant's #2, etc.), and shall be tailored to the specific issues of the case and to the specific evidence expected to be introduced at trial.

Summary: Every motion in limine must be in writing, numbered sequentially by party, and tailored to the specific issues and evidence of the case.

Judge O.G. Magno

Machine summary. Not checked yet.WARNING?

Exhibits must be numbered in advance. Each exhibit shall bear a separate exhibit number (i.e., avoid marking exhibits “3a, 3b, 3c…”).

Summary: Exhibits must be numbered in advance, with each exhibit bearing a separate exhibit number.

Court-level rulesOfficial source

Machine summary. Not checked yet.WARNING?

For ease of reference during testimony, each page of each exhibit shall bear a unique and consecutive page number.

Summary: Each page of each exhibit must bear a unique and consecutive page number.

Court-level rulesOfficial source

Machine summary. Not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

All motions in limine shall be numbered consecutively.

Summary: All motions in limine must be numbered consecutively.

Judge Arthur Hester

Machine summary. Not checked yet.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format
PDF

Counsel and self-represented parties that will be presenting evidence create a dedicated evidence file-folder and save it to their desktop for easy access. This folder should include all PDF formatted Trial Exhibits, separately saved and labeled, any impeachment exhibits, and any depositions that may be shown to the Court or jury [if applicable].

Summary: Parties presenting evidence at trial must create a dedicated desktop evidence folder containing all PDF-formatted trial exhibits, separately saved and labeled, plus any impeachment exhibits and depositions.

Judge Arthur Hester

Machine summary. Not checked yet.WARNING?

Parties are required to have trial related documents pursuant to Local Rule 3401 in a hard copy and in a digital format when it is submitted.

Summary: Trial related documents must be provided in both hard copy and digital format.

Judge O.G. Magno
Common questions about Riverside Superior Court document format requirements

What formatting rules apply to filings in Riverside Superior Court?

Judge Michael Martin's formatting rule includes labeled, organized numerically, bates stamped, tabbed in the manner of all other exhibits, enclosed in a labeled envelope or package, and need not be shared in advance with opposing parties. Impeachment exhibits must be labeled, organized numerically, BATES stamped, and tabbed like other exhibits, enclosed in a labeled envelope or package, and need not be shared in advance with opposing parties.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 4, section Trials

Judge John Vineyard's formatting rule includes binding tabbed 3-ring, no fewer than three (3) viewable sets for trial (one each for the court, courtroom assistant, and witnesses), each exhibit must be pre-marked and pre-labeled; labels available at counsel table on the hearing date, exhibits must be in binders with tabs identifying each exhibit, petitioner exhibits are marked with numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), respondent exhibits with letters (a, b, c, etc. Machine summary, not yet verified; check the linked order.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 4, section STANDING ORDER

Judge O.G. Magno's formatting rule includes must be provided in hard copy and digital format. Trial related documents must be provided in both hard copy and digital format. Machine summary, not yet verified; check the linked order.

View ruleOfficial source Source: page 1, section B. Pre Trial

1 more rule answers this question in the list above.