Why isn’t a bill for jury trial rights on my ballot?

A fair question. Why so many laws, and why not the one that matters most to parents? Governor Newsom signed 997 bills into law in 2022. After all the years California has existed, did the state truly need nearly a thousand new laws in a single year—yet not one of them granted parents the right to a jury trial?

When the Constitution was first drafted, several states refused to ratify it because it lacked jury trial rights in civil cases. Civil cases include disputes over property, over what belongs to you, and—critically—over your legal rights to your own children. Family law and juvenile dependency (CPS) cases fall under civil law, and for more than half a century these courts have been separating families without requiring the level of protection a jury provides.

Where are we today? We are not there yet. For parents in California to gain jury trial rights, a bill must be introduced through a legislator and signed by the governor—or the people must secure those rights through a citizen‑driven initiative. RaiseYourRights.org is committed to bringing jury trial rights to California parents, but our initiative did not reach the governor’s desk and will not appear on the November ballot.

Texas, however, took this step long ago. Texas law grants parents the right to a jury trial in both family law and juvenile dependency cases. This gives parents a powerful safeguard against unwarranted governmental interference (#UGI) in decisions about their own children. The results? Texas reports lower crime rates, lower homelessness, and lower incarceration rates compared to California. Texas attorneys strongly support keeping jury trial rights in these court.