A tri­bunal is an ecclesiastical court estab­lished in each dio­cese by the bishop to assist him in car­ry­ing out his respon­si­bil­ity as shep­herd of the local Chris­t­ian com­mu­nity which has been entrusted to him (cc.369, 1419 Code of Canon Law, 1983). As the judi­cial office of the bishop, the dioce­san tri­bunal coop­er­ates in his min­istry of fur­ther­ing the supreme law of the Church – the sal­va­tion of souls (c.1752).

Although most cases brought before the tri­bunal involve ques­tions of mar­i­tal nul­lity, the court also acts as the com­pe­tent forum for other issues.

Church law safe­guards the indis­sol­u­bil­ity of the sacra­ment of mar­riage. By law, a mar­riage is pre­sumed valid until estab­lished oth­er­wise by pos­i­tive proof (c.1060). A dec­la­ra­tion of inva­lid­ity is ren­dered when the mar­riage is deter­mined to be invalid. While the process is judi­cial, it is the com­mit­ment of the tri­bunal per­son­nel to demon­strate a pas­toral atti­tude and regard for those who sub­mit cases for adjudication.

[The Dio­cese of Stock­ton is a court for mar­riage cases within its ter­ri­tory.]

Tribunal Staff

Judicial Vicar
Rev. Luis G. Navarro Hernandez, JCL

Judges
Rev. Dennis Grabrian, JCL
Ms. Marla V. Pruneda, JCL
Mrs. Cherry Clark, JCL
Ms. Lynette M. Tait, JCL
Mrs. Deborah A. Barton, JCL
Rev. Msgr. Richard Ryan, JCD

Defender of the Bond
Rev. Kenneth Harder, JCL
Mr. Raphael S. Frackiewicz, JCD
Ms. Elisa E. Ugarte, JCL

Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Pat Cumpian

Tribunal Assistant
Vacant

Tribunal Aides
There are over 45 tribunal aides in the diocese. Please confer with your parish priest for tribunal aides in your parish.

Tribunal Location 

Dio­cese of Stock­ton
212 North San Joaquin Street
Stock­ton, CA  95202–2409
Tel:  209-466‑0636
Fax: 209-464‑2617
tribunal@stocktondiocese.org