ADA Accommodations

The Court recognizes that individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are unable to participate in court proceedings and unable to benefit from court programs and services when they are not provided with appropriate auxiliary aids and services. Likewise, people who are blind or have low vision are unable to benefit from court services when printed materials are the only means of communication available.

Persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, may use a TTY or TDD device to contact the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) by dialing 711.  Toll free TRS services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Once connected, provide the operator with the court’s phone number (415) 551-5737.  One of the court administrative staff will connect you to the appropriate unit for assistance.  

The Court will ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. The Court when possible, will provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services for people with disabilities (e.g., CART for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, qualified interpreters, computer-aided transcription services, assistive listening systems, written materials, audio recordings, computer disks, large print, and Braille materials) to ensure that individuals with disabilities will be able to participate in the complete range of court services and programs. The Court will give primary consideration to the type of auxiliary aid or services that individuals with disabilities request. The Court will make reasonable efforts to accommodate disability accommodation requests made less than five days before a hearing or other court appearance.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are available through the Court at no charge to the requesting party.
Assistive listening devices are available and may be obtained by contacting the courtroom clerk IN EACH DEPARTMENT.

The Court’s list of certified CART providers is presented below:

Katherine Baca
110 Gardenside #502
SF, CA 94131
(415) 279-7195
Bacakitty@aol.com

Jane James
Captioning Agency Professionals (CAP)
6031 Girvin Drive
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 530-3989
captioning@earthlink.net

Laura Brewer
Laura Brewer & Associates
49 Lyell St.
Los Altos, CA 94022
(650) 949-1900
laura@quicktext.com

Teri Darrenougue
Laura Brewer & Associates
49 Lyell St.
Los Altos, CA 94022
(650) 949-1900
teriquicktext@gmail.com
 
Richard A. Walker
(510) 525-3327
rawalker@pacbell.net

Audrey Maloney 
(415) 531-4502
audreymaloney@gmail.com

Captioning Online
14895 14th St.
San Leandro, CA 94577
(707) 476-8737
Jennifer.aggeler@dcara.org

CART 
P.O. BOX 20278
Castro Valley, CA 94546
(510) 888-9825 

Civic Center Courthouse

Joy Guandique
400 McAllister St., Room 205
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: (415) 551-5737
 

Email:  jguandique@sftc.org

Website: https://www.sf.courts.ca.gov

Hall of Justice

Rose Gonzalez
850 Bryant St., Room 101
San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 551-0656
 

Email: rgonzalez@sftc.org

Website: https://www.sf.courts.ca.gov

Polk Street (Community Justice Center)

Maria Batres
575 Polk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: (415) 551-5939
 

Email: mbatres@sftc.org

Website: https://www.sf.courts.ca.gov

Youth Guidance Center

Lisa Fong
375 Woodside Ave., Room 101
San Francisco, CA 94127
Telephone: (415) 682-5101
 

Email: lifong@sftc.org

Website: https://www.sf.courts.ca.gov

Revised: November 2024

It is the policy of the San Francisco County Superior Court to assure that qualified individuals with disabilities have equal and full access to the judicial system. Court staff shall make every effort to assist individuals requesting reasonable accommodations in accordance with Rule 1.100 of the California Rules of Court (CRC).

Most requests for accommodations will be oral and should be easily and expeditiously provided. Complicated or extraordinary requests for accommodation may necessitate completion of form MC 410, Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities and Order. The Interactive Process is an ongoing dialogue between the individuals with disabilities requesting accommodation(s) and the appropriate ADA coordinator within the Court about possible options for reasonably accommodating an individual with a disability. This process includes ascertaining the individual’s limitations and determining how they could be overcome with a reasonable accommodation, as well as identifying potential accommodations and assessing their effectiveness. Both the individual and the Court are required to participate in this process in good faith.

The Court will promptly inform the applicant of the determination to grant or deny an accommodation request. If the accommodation request is denied in whole or in part, the response will be in writing and the reason(s) will be provided in writing to the individual requesting the accommodation. Upon the request of the applicant, the Court may also provide an additional response in an alternative format. The response to the applicant will indicate whether the request for accommodation is granted or denied, in whole or in part, or an alternative accommodation is granted.

It shall be the responsibility of each court employee to familiarize themselves with CRC Rule 1.100, the use of Form MC 410 and established court procedures for processing request for accommodations.*

Grievances and Appeals: If the Court denies your request for accommodation, you have 10 days from the date your request was denied to appeal the Court’s decision. You must follow the procedures in California Rule of Court rule 1.100(g). If your request was denied by a Judge or Commissioner, you must file a petition for writ of mandate in the appropriate reviewing court under California Rules of Court rules 8.485-8.493 or 8.930-8.936. If your request was denied by any other Court staff, you must submit a written request for review under California Rules of Court rule 1.100(g). Please submit appeals to the ADA Coordinator. If you believe that the Court has otherwise discriminated against anyone on the basis of disability, you can follow the Court’s Grievance Procedure for Disability Discrimination Complaints.

To assure equal access, fair treatment, and the just and efficient resolution of disputes for all people asserting their rights under the law.

We will be happy to help you if we can. However, we are allowed to help you only in certain ways since we want to be fair to everyone. This is a list of some things the court staff can and cannot do for you.

Court staff do not know the answers to all questions about court rules, procedures and practices. We have been instructed not to answer questions if we do not know the correct answer. For additional information, please contact a lawyer or your local law library, or check the California Courts Self-Help Center