Editing Government of California (section)

==Judicial branch==
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{{main|Judiciary of California}}
{{see also|Supreme Court of California|Judicial Council of California|California Superior Courts|California Courts of Appeal}}
The judiciary of California interprets and applies the law, and is defined under the Constitution, law, and regulations. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the Supreme Court at the apex. The superior courts are the primary trial courts, and the courts of appeal are the primary appellate courts. 

The Judicial Council is the rule-making arm of the judiciary.<ref>[[Constitution of California]], Article 6, Section 6(d)</ref><ref name="council">{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-jc.htm|title=Judicial Council|publisher=[[Judicial Council of California]]}}</ref>

The California Supreme Court consists of the [[Chief Justice of California|chief justice of California]] and six associate justices. The court has [[original jurisdiction]] in a variety of cases, including [[habeas corpus]] proceedings, and has discretionary authority to review all the decisions of the California courts of appeal, as well as mandatory review responsibility for cases where the [[death penalty]] has been imposed. The courts of appeal are the [[Appellate court|intermediate appellate courts]]. The state is geographically divided into six appellate districts.<ref>[[Constitution of California]], Article 6, § 3</ref><ref>[[California Government Code]] § 69100</ref> Notably, all published California appellate decisions are binding on all superior courts, regardless of appellate district.<ref>''Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court,'', [http://online.ceb.com/calcases/C2/57C2d450.htm 57 Cal. 2d 450, 369 P.2d 937, 20 Cal. Rptr. 321] (1962).</ref>

The California superior courts are the courts of [[general jurisdiction]] that hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard before some other court or governmental agency. As mandated by the Constitution, each of the 58 counties has a superior court.<ref>[[Constitution of California]], Article 6, § 4</ref> The superior courts also have appellate divisions (superior court judges sitting as appellate judges) which hear appeals from decisions of other superior court judges (or commissioners, or judges pro tem) in cases previously heard by inferior courts, such as [[infraction]]s, [[misdemeanor]]s, and "limited civil" actions (actions where the [[amount in controversy]] is below $25,000).