SAN FRANCISCO — Eight retired state court judges who sued the Judicial Council of California and the state’s chief justice face an uphill battle in their attempt to block a new policy capping the total amount of days they can fill temporary openings on the state court bench.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman issued a tentative order Monday indicating he was apt to deny the retired judges’ request for a preliminary injunction barring the state from applying a 1,320-day service limit for the assigned judges program, which uses retired jurists to fill temporary judicial needs across the state.