Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Child Abuse

It could mean a couple different things depending on where and how it is used. In the most common context, it means that one judge in the courthouse controls all the cases that are ready (or near ready) for trial. This one judge then sends all the cases out to other judges, who are available, to actually conduct the trial. This is also known as a "master calendar" system. Not all courts use this system. Therefore, it means something else in other courthouses.