California Superior Court Information

There are a total of 58 superior courts covering each of California’s 58 counties. Most court cases in California begin in one of these superior courts. There are separate websites for each superior court in California. For example, if you live in Los Angeles County, visit the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles website, http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/. The citizens of Orange County need to visit their local Superior Court website, http://www.occourts.org/. If you want general information about California Superior Court they can visit http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/trial/. If you are interested in learning about California state courts in general visit http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/.

California Superior Court: Organization and Jurisdiction   

There are four separate court departments which come under the authority of the California Superior Court. Visit the website http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/ to get an idea about the court system structure.

Civil court has jurisdiction over matters such as:
•    Unlawful Detainer Actions
•    Conversion actions which involves filing for the return of property
•    Personal injury and property damage actions

Small claims court has authority over cases in which the amount of the dispute is limited to $7,500. Some of the cases which come to the small claims court include:
•    A person who caused damage to another person’s car is unwilling to pay for the repairs.
•    A store does not fulfill the warranty commitment for the goods sold.
•    Damage to your house by the tenant not covered totally by the security deposit.
•    Security deposit dispute between the landlord and the tenant.
•    A debtor unwilling to repay the loan amount to a creditor.

Juvenile court deals with offenses committed by children below the age of 18 which mainly include:
•    Traffic law violations
•    Curfew violations
•    Evading fares

Family court has jurisdiction over matters such as:
•    Divorce
•    Child and spousal support
•    Civil harassment
•    Petition for child custody

Probate court deals with matters such as trust proceedings and guardianship proceedings.

Activities Performed by California Superior Courts

The main activities performed by the Superior Court of California include:
•    Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for civil Cases
•    California Dependency Online guide
•    Planning of self help services
•    Providing training for the court personnel which include programs like Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

Court Resources and Search Facilities

The most important court resources are the forms required for different activities of the court. Finding a form in Superior Court of California is easy and can be done from your home provided you have an internet connection. Just visit the website http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/. This page comes with a comprehensive search function which allows you to select a group of forms. You can search for forms by one of the following three fields
•    Form Number
•    Form Name
•    Recent Changes

If you need help to fill out the electronic form, visit the online self-help center of the Superior Court of California at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/forms/howtofill.htm. The general public can also search for records online at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/.