California Superior Courts
From Ballotpedia
The California Superior Courts are the trial courts of the California court system. Each of California's 58 counties has a superior, or trial, court. Trials take place in the California Superior Court system in more than 450 courthouses. The superior courts hear civil and criminal cases, as well as family, probate, and juvenile cases.[1]
Judicial selection
- See also: Judicial selection in California
The judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[2][3]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[2] The winners are elected on a county-wide basis to six-year terms.
Qualifications
To serve as a judge, a candidate must have practiced law for at least 10 years in California or served as a judge in California for at least 10 years.[4]
Presiding judge
The presiding judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[5]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints an interim judge to serve until the next general election after the second January 1 following the vacancy.[6][7]
List of courts
Alameda • Alpine • Amador • Butte • Calaveras • Colusa • Contra Costa • Del Norte • El Dorado • Fresno • Glenn • Humboldt • Imperial • Inyo • Kern • Kings • Lake • Lassen • Los Angeles • Madera • Marin • Mariposa • Mendocino • Merced • Modoc • Mono • Monterey • Napa • Nevada • Orange • Placer • Plumas • Riverside • Sacramento • San Benito • San Bernardino • San Diego • San Francisco • San Joaquin • San Luis Obispo • San Mateo • Santa Barbara • Santa Clara • Santa Cruz • Shasta • Sierra • Siskiyou • Solano • Sonoma • Stanislaus • Sutter • Tehama • Trinity • Tulare • Tuolumne • Ventura • Yolo • Yuba
External links
- List of the CA Trial Court Roster
- Contact Info for CA Superior Courts
- Community Election Forum: Judge Voter Guide
- Community Rating/Review and Informational Resource: ratethisjudge.com
- California Court Records
Footnotes
- ↑ California Courts website
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 FindLaw, "California Code, Elections Code - ELEC § 8203," accessed August 17, 2021
- ↑ FindLaw, "California Code, Elections Code - ELEC §8140-8150," accessed August 17, 2021
- ↑ California Courts, "Judicial Selection: How California Chooses Its Judges and Justices," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ California Courts, "Rule 10.602. Selection and term of presiding judge," accessed March 27, 2023
- ↑ California Courts, "California Judicial Branch Fact Sheet," accessed May 7, 2020
- ↑ Constitution of California, Article VI Section 16, accessed January 19, 2021
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Alameda • Alpine • Amador • Butte • Calaveras • Colusa • Contra Costa • Del Norte • El Dorado • Fresno • Glenn • Humboldt • Imperial • Inyo • Kern • Kings • Lake • Lassen • Los Angeles • Madera • Marin • Mariposa • Mendocino • Merced • Modoc • Mono • Monterey • Napa • Nevada • Orange • Placer • Plumas • Riverside • Sacramento • San Benito • San Bernardino • San Diego • San Francisco • San Joaquin • San Luis Obispo • San Mateo • Santa Barbara • Santa Clara • Santa Cruz • Shasta • Sierra • Siskiyou • Solano • Sonoma • Stanislaus • Sutter • Tehama • Trinity • Tulare • Tuolumne • Ventura • Yolo • Yuba |