The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, informally known as the Sacramento County Superior Court, is the California Superior Court located in Sacramento with jurisdiction over Sacramento County.
The Gordon D. Schaber downtown courthouse is the main courthouse of the court. As well as providing the main trial courtrooms, the courthouse contains the administrative offices of the court (including the Presiding Judge), and the general civil and criminal case processing support services of the court system. The Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse is located at 720 9th Street.
Family law and probate cases
Small claims, traffic, and unlawful detainer cases
Civil Law and Motion and Civil Settlement Conferences
Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Dependency cases
Criminal cases
Pursuant to California Government Code ç 68070 and the Judicial Council California Rules of Court ç 10.613, the Sacramento County Superior Court has adopted Local Rules for its government and the government of its officers.
There are several officers of the court, including judges, jurors, commissioners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and court reporters.
The current judges are:
A commissioner is a subordinate judicial officer elected by the judges of the Court and given the power to hear and make decisions in certain kinds of legal matters, similar to the United States magistrate judge. Their jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, traffic matters, family law and juvenile cases, criminal misdemeanors, and criminal felony cases through the preliminary hearing stage.
The Sacramento County Superior Court has 8 commissioners assigned as follows:
Benjamin Cassady - Criminal Arraignments
Marlene E. Clark - Family Law, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Restraining Orders
Richard Clark - Family Law, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Restraining Orders
Ryan Davis - Family Law
Scott P. Harman - Family Law/Child Support
Alicia Hartley - Family Law/Child Support
Heath T. Langle - Probate
James Morris - Traffic
The Sacramento County District Attorney, currently Thien Ho, prosecutes crimes before the court on behalf of California, Sacramento County, and all cities and special districts within Sacramento County.
The Sacramento County Public Defender provides criminal defense services for those unable to afford private counsel. The current public defender is Amanda M. Benson.
For cases where the public defender has a legal conflict or is otherwise unable to provide services, services are provided by a group of private attorneys compensated by the Court. The County of Sacramento coordinates this process through the Conflict Criminal Defenders Office.
The functions of the bailiff are carried out by Sacramento County Sheriff under contract.