Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I don't think the clerk is correct. Either ask the clerk to point you to the specific section that says you have to serve the judge personally or ask the document to be filled under protest. Also, you should ask to speak with the clerk's supervisor. I think this clerk is trying to get you in trouble.

I would speak to someone in chambers for the judge you are trying to serve. It may be that they will accept service on the judge's behalf. Your idea of serving it on the judge in the manner you describe strikes me as highly irregular and has a high risk of irritiating the court.

Alternatively, you should speak to the court clerk for the judge (i.e., the clerk who works in that judge's courtroom) for appropriate service methods. I am quite sure that there is a better way to serve the judge than the manner you suggest.

I don't believe the motion has to be personally served on the judge. In some courts, though, it may have to be filed in the courtroom instead of in the clerk's office. That's probably what the clerk said -- or at least what he meant to say. To file a document in the courtroom you just give it to the courtroom clerk the way you would have given it to someone in the clerk's office.