Active Trial judge
Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino
California · San Bernardino
Overview
Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile.
Background
No nonjudicial career history is documented in this source.
Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project public biographical data. Demographic and political labels are incomplete, source-attributed, and are not used to infer judicial behavior. “Via appointer” describes CourtListener’s attribution method, not verified personal party membership.
Before you appear
Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.
Judge-specific guidance is shown first. Broader applicable courtroom, courtwide, districtwide, and statewide guidance remains separately labeled below it.
Presentation rules
Judge Alvarez requires premarked, Bates-stamped joint exhibits and encourages delivery of trial documents to the judicial assistant on a flash or thumb drive on the first day of trial.
The use of a flash drive/thumb drive is encouraged.
The requirement is stated in an official standing order naming this judge.
For unlimited civil trials, Local Rule 411.2 requires specified trial materials at the trial readiness conference, including motions in limine oppositions, jury instructions, verdict forms, witness and exhibit lists, stipulated facts, voir dire questions, and a case statement.
Counsel and parties shall submit the following items to the court at the Trial Readiness Conference
The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.
Represented parties filing electronic exhibits must bookmark the first page of each exhibit and label each bookmark with the exhibit number or letter and a short description.
Electronic exhibits must include electronic bookmarks with links to the first page of each exhibit
The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.
A party offering an electronic sound or sound-and-video recording must provide the court and opposing parties a transcript and provide opposing parties a duplicate of the recording.
the party must provide to the court and to opposing parties a transcript of the electronic recording and provide opposing parties with a duplicate of the electronic recording
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
California courts should permit remote participation in covered civil proceedings, subject to the statute, local rules, and controlling orders.
courts should permit parties to appear remotely at conferences, hearings, and proceedings in civil cases consistent with Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
Covered civil parties and witnesses may appear remotely, and the court may conduct proceedings in whole or in part using remote technology.
that party or witness may appear remotely and the court may conduct conferences, hearings, and proceedings, in whole or in part, through the use of remote technology
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
Court proceedings may not be photographed, recorded, or broadcast except as Rule 1.150 permits.
Except as provided in this rule, court proceedings may not be photographed, recorded, or broadcast.
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
In expedited jury trials, parties may use slides, electronic presentations, projections, exhibit notebooks, and other methods approved at the pretrial conference.
the parties may present summaries and may use photographs, diagrams, slides, electronic presentations, overhead projections, individual notebooks of exhibits for submission to the jurors, or other innovative methods of presentation approved at the pretrial conference
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
Voluntary expedited jury trial submissions must identify party agreements concerning electronic presentations and other proposed presentation methods.
Any agreements of the parties to use photographs, diagrams, slides, electronic presentations, overhead projections, notebooks of exhibits, or other methods of presenting information to the jury
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
An exhibit must be admitted by the judge before it may be used in the case.
The judge must to allow you to admit the exhibit as evidence in order for you to use it in your case.
The requirement is stated in an official statewide source and is attached as applicable guidance, not as a personal preference.
Courtroom technology
Technology availability is separate from procedural permission and evidentiary admissibility.
Published opinion footprint
This does not mean the judge has no published opinions or no caseload. KYJ will only show opinion counts after transparent, source-linked CourtListener matching is available.
Sources
Identity source · HTML · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/courtroomdocuments.pdfIdentity source · HTML · retrieved July 29, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/12803/donald-r-alvarez/Courtwide · PDF · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/system/files?file=local-rules%2Frulesofcourt.pdfCourtwide · HTML · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/online-services/efiling/civil-efiling/civil-efiling-requirementsStatewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/two/rule2_1040Statewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_672Statewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=367.75.&lawCode=CCPStatewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/one/rule1_150Statewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_1551Statewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_1548Statewide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/how-introduce-exhibits-trialCourtwide · PDF · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/system/files?file=local-rules%2Frulesofcourt.pdfCourtwide · HTML · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/online-services/efiling/civil-efiling/civil-efiling-requirementsJudge-specific · DOCX · retrieved July 28, 2026
https://sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/s23trialrules.docxChange history
Identity imported from Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. 10 presentation-related claims migrated with source provenance.