How to Access Los Angeles County Court Records?

With a population of over 9.7 million people, Los Angeles County is considered the most populous municipality in California and the US. It is known for its cultural diversity, boasting 88 cities and over 185 languages spoken by residents. The county’s seat, Los Angeles, is home to Hollywood, which is dubbed the movie capital of the US.

Courts in Los Angeles County

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the single trial court with jurisdiction over all of Los Angeles County. The Court is classified into divisions that hear particular kinds of cases. The divisions include Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Juvenile, Traffic, Mental Health, Appellate, and Small Claims. Although the Superior Court is generally considered a court of unlimited jurisdiction, its jurisdiction is limited in certain instances. For example, when hearing a limited civil claim, the jurisdiction of the civil division is restricted to claims of $25,000 or less. A similar restriction applies to the small claims division, which can only entertain claims of $10,000 or less. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County conducts its proceedings in over 35 courthouses spread across the county.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Los Angeles County

Public court records in Los Angeles County are information and documents relating to court matters. They include records of cases, documents submitted in cases, documents in the court’s registries, and court judgments. Los Angeles public court records are accessible to residents upon appropriate request.  As such, interested persons can view and obtain copies of such records by visiting the Archives and Records Center of the Superior Court or by requesting them via mail. Los Angeles public court records can also be accessed online on the Superior Court’s online services portal. Note that physical records of cases filed after 2004 are only available at the courthouse where they were instituted. 

Types of Public Court Records in Los Angeles County

The Archives and Records Center grants public access to all court records except those that are considered confidential or sealed by court order. Interested members of the public can access court records on any of the following cases.

• Civil claims, such as claims based on contract, personal injury, and breach of duty
• Criminal cases, including misdemeanors and felony offenses
• Family law, such as cases on divorce and custody
• Probate matters and documents, such as wills and codicils

Confidential Court Records in Los Angeles County

Confidential court records refer to court documents that are protected from public inspection. This may be due to a statute declaring the record confidential or a court order sealing the record. In any case, such steps are usually taken to protect certain parties where public access to such documents would be detrimental to them. Records of the following matters are considered confidential under California law.

• Adoption
• Juvenile delinquency
• Paternity
• Mental health cases
• Unlawful detainer records
• Probation and diagnostic reports

To successfully apply to view or obtain confidential court records in Los Angeles, the applicant must have been a party to the case to which the record relates. The applicant must also present a valid government-issued ID at the time of request.

Los Angeles County is located in the state of California with a total of 10,163,507 residents and was established in 1850.

Los Angeles county court records are public records that are available in most cases to the everyone. Some Los Angeles courts are very busy with many different types of cases, and others see very few. It depends on the court structure and the number of residents. Many counties have court records posted online on their website for easy access in California. However, in some cases, you will have to visit a few different websites to find California court records.

Public court records for Los Angeles County will include criminal cases (both felonies and misdemeanors), civil cases (like personal and business lawsuits), bankruptcies, marriages and divorces, liens, tax issues, small claims, traffic court cases, evictions, family law cases and more.

Since 2012, a total of 14,820,440 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 75% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.

Finding Los Angeles County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through Los Angeles County court records search tools like Infotracer. With just a name search, the user can review hundreds of available court records and cases from any Los Angeles County court.

Los Angeles County Court Caseload Data and Trends

Depending on the law enforcement practices, and political and economic climates, court case statistics will vary from year to year in specific areas of Los Angeles County, CA.

The Los Angeles County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 1,521,413 filings, which indicates a decrease of 4% from 1,586,217 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.

Most Popular Court Cases

You can tell a lot about an area by the types of court cases that appear in county courts.

Los Angeles County court records data dates back to 2012. Some may date back further, but they started formally recording them since 2012. There was a total of 1,521,413 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 75% of the total filings. The next most popular types of court cases are civil and family law cases. Check out the table below to review the filing information for a specific court case type in county.

There are various options to search for a Los Angeles County court case using someone’s name, the court type, the courthouse or county name, and other information.

With a population of over 9.7 million people, Los Angeles County is considered the most populous municipality in California and the US. It is known for its cultural diversity, boasting 88 cities and over 185 languages spoken by residents. The county’s seat, Los Angeles, is home to Hollywood, which is dubbed the movie capital of the US.

Courts in Los Angeles County

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the single trial court with jurisdiction over all of Los Angeles County. The Court is classified into divisions that hear particular kinds of cases. The divisions include Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Juvenile, Traffic, Mental Health, Appellate, and Small Claims. Although the Superior Court is generally considered a court of unlimited jurisdiction, its jurisdiction is limited in certain instances. For example, when hearing a limited civil claim, the jurisdiction of the civil division is restricted to claims of $25,000 or less. A similar restriction applies to the small claims division, which can only entertain claims of $10,000 or less. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County conducts its proceedings in over 35 courthouses spread across the county.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Los Angeles County

Public court records in Los Angeles County are information and documents relating to court matters. They include records of cases, documents submitted in cases, documents in the court’s registries, and court judgments. Los Angeles public court records are accessible to residents upon appropriate request.  As such, interested persons can view and obtain copies of such records by visiting the Archives and Records Center of the Superior Court or by requesting them via mail. Los Angeles public court records can also be accessed online on the Superior Court’s online services portal. Note that physical records of cases filed after 2004 are only available at the courthouse where they were instituted. 

Types of Public Court Records in Los Angeles County

The Archives and Records Center grants public access to all court records except those that are considered confidential or sealed by court order. Interested members of the public can access court records on any of the following cases.

• Civil claims, such as claims based on contract, personal injury, and breach of duty
• Criminal cases, including misdemeanors and felony offenses
• Family law, such as cases on divorce and custody
• Probate matters and documents, such as wills and codicils

Confidential Court Records in Los Angeles County

Confidential court records refer to court documents that are protected from public inspection. This may be due to a statute declaring the record confidential or a court order sealing the record. In any case, such steps are usually taken to protect certain parties where public access to such documents would be detrimental to them. Records of the following matters are considered confidential under California law.

• Adoption
• Juvenile delinquency
• Paternity
• Mental health cases
• Unlawful detainer records
• Probation and diagnostic reports

To successfully apply to view or obtain confidential court records in Los Angeles, the applicant must have been a party to the case to which the record relates. The applicant must also present a valid government-issued ID at the time of request.

Juvenile Delinquency in Los Angeles, CA

Unfortunately, in many areas of the Los Angeles County, juvenile delinquency crimes are on the rise. There are many reasons for the increase in youth offenders. The juvenile sentence in California often depends on the severity of the crime, the number of offenses, and other family matters.

In 2017, a total of 15 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Of that total, 27% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 4 court cases. Another 73% were dependency cases that accounted for 11 of the juvenile cases.

A lot of counties, including, Los Angeles County, are focusing on family health and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future Los Angeles County juvenile delinquency statistics will show whether or not this approach is working.

Government of Los Angeles County, CA

https://www.ca.gov/

County Seat:	Los Angeles
Government Type:	County
Authority:	Home Rule
Year Organized:	1850
Total Square Miles:	4,751
2019 Population:	10,163,507
Persons/Square Mile:	0.00

Los Angeles County, CA Courts