The Valley Current®: CCP 170.6 Now not an Absolute Right Anymore!

For nearly 50 years, California litigants wielded a powerful courtroom weapon: the ability to remove a judge with a simple declaration of perceived bias, no evidence required. In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines the California Supreme Court's landmark 2026 decision in J.O. v. Superior Court, which places new limits on the once-untouchable CCP §170.6 peremptory challenge. The ruling arose after allegations that institutional repeat players systematically "papered" judges they disliked, disrupting specialized court dockets and threatening judicial independence. Jack explores the history behind this controversial rule, the game theory that fueled its abuse, and why the Court concluded that strategic judge shopping had become too costly for the justice system to ignore. The result is a major shift in California litigation and a new balance between fairness, efficiency, and judicial autonomy. Jack Russo Managing Partner [email protected] www.computerlaw.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso "Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️