Miller v. Superior Court

Petitioner is a litigant who has been granted a trial preference under Code of Civil Procedure section 36, subdivision (a) (section 36(a)) because he is over 70 years of age. Despite that preference, the trial court has repeatedly been unable to send the case involving appellant to trial due to the unavailability of a courtroom. It appears that, realistically, his case may never actually receive any benefit from the statutory preference due to court congestion. Petitioner contends his statutory preference entitles him to precedence over the trial of any other civil actions, including those which are part of the program established by the trial court pursuant to the Trial Court Delay Reduction Act of 1986, Government Code section 68600 et seq.

Relying in part on the recent decision of Division One of this district in Sprowl v. Superior Court (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 777 [ 268 Cal.Rptr. 592 ], and a host of other precedents which have granted relief in analogous circumstances, we agree with petitioner and hold that his statutory preference under section 36(a) entitles him to a courtroom prior to any other civil action lacking such a preference, including such actions assigned…