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| What the Court Can Do for You
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We are happy to help you if we can. However, we are allowed to help
you only in certain ways, since we must be fair to everyone.
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This is a list of some things the court staff can and cannot do for you.
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| We can |
We cannot |
| explain and answer questions about how the court works. |
tell you whether or not you should bring your case to court. |
| provide you with contact information for resources like the Kern County Bar Association (opens new window), Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance (opens new window), the Small Claims Legal Advisor, the family law facilitator program and other services where you can get legal information. |
tell you what words to use in your court papers. (However, we can check your papers for completeness. For example, we check for signatures, notarization, correct county name, correct case number, and presence of attachments.) |
| give you general information about court rules, procedures, and practices. |
tell you what to say in court. |
| provide court schedules and information on how to get a case scheduled. |
give you an opinion about what will happen if you bring your case to court. |
| provide you information from your case file. |
talk to the judge for you. |
| provide you with court forms and instructions that are available. |
let you talk to the judge outside of court. |
| usually answer questions about court deadlines and how to compute them. |
change an order signed by a judge. |
Since court staff may not know the answer to all questions about court rules, procedures, and practices, and because we don't want to give you wrong information, we have been instructed not to answer questions if we do not know the correct answers. For additional information, please contact a lawyer or your local law library, or check the California Courts Self-Help Center Web site (opens new window).
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If you have a suggestion for improving the Court's customer service, you may
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| Superior Court of California, County of Kern court employees are prohibited from giving legal advice per section 24004 and 68082 of the Government Code. In addition, court employees may not give advice as to which legal forms to use or how to complete the forms.
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