El Dorado County Superior Court and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians are creating the first joint jurisdictional court of its kind in California for juvenile and family cases.

Christine Williams, chief judge of the Shingle Springs Tribal Court, and Suzanne Kingsbury, presiding judge of the Superior Court El Dorado County, will hear cases together and bring tribal and county services together. The two judges have just received a national grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the federal Department of Justice to create this collaborative court.

They will hear cases involving child welfare, domestic violence, juveniles, and substance abuse affecting families. The two judges will hear these cases together, alternating between tribal lands and Placerville.