Legal Question in Family Law in California

Yes. You will fill out a Petition for Legal Separation and a Summons. If you have minor children, you'll need to also fill out a UCCJEA. All those documents can be found online (the Petition for Legal Separation is the same form as a Petition for Dissolution--you just mark a different box) at courtinfo.ca.gov or ezlegalfile.org. Those documents are filed with the clerk of the Court along with your $355 filing fee (unless you are eligible for a fee waiver), so you won't see a Judge.

If your question is whether or not it's possible to obtain a Judgment of Legal Separation without appearing in front of a Judge, the answer to that is that it depends on whether or not you can reach a full agreement with your spouse. If you can reach a full agreement, you can just submit the paperwork to the clerk and the Judge will sign off on it. If it's contested, you will need to appear at hearings in order to resolve your case.