How to Access Orange County Court Records?
Orange County, located along the shores of Southern California, is the 3rd most populous county in California, with a population of over 3 million. Incorporated in 1889, it is the 47th largest county in California, having a landmass of 792 square miles. Orange County, often called The OC, has its county seat in Santa Ana and is known for its beautiful beaches, mild weather, and diversity.
Courts in Orange County
The Orange County court system consists of a single countywide trial court system. The county has 8 Superior Courts, which have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. The courts are organized into court divisions based on case type. Superior Courts Divisions in Orange County include civil, criminal, small claims, probate, family, juvenile, and traffic.
The Civil Division of the Superior Courts hears two classes of cases. Limited cases involve claims for disputes of $35,000 or less, while Unlimited civil cases preside over disputes without monetary value or disputes above $35,000.
The Criminal Division of the Superior Courts presides over felony criminal matters and misdemeanors. Some Justice Centers in the county handle matters such as search warrants and extradition proceedings. The Small Claims Division is a specialized court where disputes are resolved quickly and inexpensively. They adjudicate over general civil claims for less than $7500.
The Family Law Division handles cases involving families and children, including marriage dissolution, legal separation, child custody, paternity, and division of marital property. The Probate Division presides over matters relating to estate administration, such as trust, wills, guardianship, and conservatorship. The Juvenile Division handles court cases involving persons under 18 years. The Juvenile Courts are responsible for hearing cases involving child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, and children in need of supervision cases. The Traffic Division of the Superior Court of Orange County handles all traffic-related infractions, such as parking and offenses punishable by fines.
Where to Find Public Court Records in Orange County
The Clerk of the Superior Court in Orange County is the record custodian for public court records filed and heard in the state. Persons seeking public court records may obtain the document in person at the Clerk’s Office or mail a written request for the record. In addition, the Court Clerk provides online access to public court records for cases from all Superior Court Divisions in the county.
Types of Public Court Records in Orange County
The following court records are publicly available in Orange County:
- Civil Court Records: Including landlord/tenant disputes, Foreclosures, liens, ordinance violations, and small claims
- Criminal Court Records: Publicly available criminal court records include felonies, misdemeanors, traffic infractions, and ordinance violations
- Probate Court Records: Probate Court records open to the public include wills and estate, name change, guardianships, and trusts
- Family Law Court Records: Such as divorce records, child custody orders, and spousal support
- Traffic Court Records: Including traffic citations, notice to appear, and driving records
Confidential Court Records in Orange County
Confidential court records are court documents closed to the public by court order, state law, or federal statute. In Orange County, court records such as juvenile records, court records about ongoing litigation, and mental health records are unavailable to the public.
Furthermore, personal identifying information such as Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, tax insurance, and email addresses on a court record are unavailable to the public and are redacted from the document before release.
Orange County is located in the state of California with a total of 3,190,400 residents and was established in 1889.
Orange county court records are public documents that are available in most cases to the anyone upon request. Some Orange local judicial offices are very busy with many different types of cases, and others have few cases. It depends on the court structure and the number of natives. 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 online tools to find California court records.
Public court documents for Orange 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 3,702,741 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 78% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.
Finding Orange County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through Orange 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 Orange County court.
Orange County Court Caseload Data and Trends
Depending on the local authorities practices, and political and economic climates, court case tallies will vary from year to year in specific areas of Orange County, CA.
The Orange County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 411,896 filings, which indicates a decrease of 4% from 428,803 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.
| Courts Type | Number of filings in 2018 |
|---|---|
| Superior Court | 411,896 |
Most Popular Court Cases
You can tell a lot about an area by the types of legal issues that appear in county courts.
Orange 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 411,896 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 78% 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 solutions to find for a Orange County court case using someone’s name, the court type, the courthouse or county name, and other information.
| Cases Type | Number of filings in 2018 |
|---|---|
| Criminal | 320,222 |
| Civil | 60,021 |
| Family Law | 24,406 |
| Probate | 3,358 |
| Delinquency | 2,359 |
| Dependency | 1,530 |
Orange County, located along the shores of Southern California, is the 3rd most populous county in California, with a population of over 3 million. Incorporated in 1889, it is the 47th largest county in California, having a landmass of 792 square miles. Orange County, often called The OC, has its county seat in Santa Ana and is known for its beautiful beaches, mild weather, and diversity.
Courts in Orange County
The Orange County court system consists of a single countywide trial court system. The county has 8 Superior Courts, which have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. The courts are organized into court divisions based on case type. Superior Courts Divisions in Orange County include civil, criminal, small claims, probate, family, juvenile, and traffic.
The Civil Division of the Superior Courts hears two classes of cases. Limited cases involve claims for disputes of $35,000 or less, while Unlimited civil cases preside over disputes without monetary value or disputes above $35,000.
The Criminal Division of the Superior Courts presides over felony criminal matters and misdemeanors. Some Justice Centers in the county handle matters such as search warrants and extradition proceedings. The Small Claims Division is a specialized court where disputes are resolved quickly and inexpensively. They adjudicate over general civil claims for less than $7500.
The Family Law Division handles cases involving families and children, including marriage dissolution, legal separation, child custody, paternity, and division of marital property. The Probate Division presides over matters relating to estate administration, such as trust, wills, guardianship, and conservatorship. The Juvenile Division handles court cases involving persons under 18 years. The Juvenile Courts are responsible for hearing cases involving child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, and children in need of supervision cases. The Traffic Division of the Superior Court of Orange County handles all traffic-related infractions, such as parking and offenses punishable by fines.
Where to Find Public Court Records in Orange County
The Clerk of the Superior Court in Orange County is the record custodian for public court records filed and heard in the state. Persons seeking public court records may obtain the document in person at the Clerk’s Office or mail a written request for the record. In addition, the Court Clerk provides online access to public court records for cases from all Superior Court Divisions in the county.
Types of Public Court Records in Orange County
The following court records are publicly available in Orange County:
- Civil Court Records: Including landlord/tenant disputes, Foreclosures, liens, ordinance violations, and small claims
- Criminal Court Records: Publicly available criminal court records include felonies, misdemeanors, traffic infractions, and ordinance violations
- Probate Court Records: Probate Court records open to the public include wills and estate, name change, guardianships, and trusts
- Family Law Court Records: Such as divorce records, child custody orders, and spousal support
- Traffic Court Records: Including traffic citations, notice to appear, and driving records
Confidential Court Records in Orange County
Confidential court records are court documents closed to the public by court order, state law, or federal statute. In Orange County, court records such as juvenile records, court records about ongoing litigation, and mental health records are unavailable to the public.
Furthermore, personal identifying information such as Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, tax insurance, and email addresses on a court record are unavailable to the public and are redacted from the document before release.
Juvenile Delinquency in Orange, CA
Unfortunately, in many areas of the Orange County, juvenile delinquency offenses are on the rise. There are many reasons for the inflation in youth offenders. The juvenile sentence in California often depends on the severity of the crime, the number of charges, and other family matters.
A lot of counties, including, Orange County, are focusing on family counseling and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future Orange County juvenile delinquency tallies will show whether or not this approach is working.
| Juvenile Cases | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Delinquency | 166 |
| Dependency | 612 |
| Status | 5,639 |
Government of Orange County, CA
| County Seat: | Santa Ana |
| Government Type: | County |
| Authority: | Home Rule |
| Year Organized: | 1889 |
| Total Square Miles: | 948 |
| 2019 Population: | 3,190,400 |
| Persons/Square Mile: | 0.00 |
Orange County, CA Courts
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Orange County Superior Court
Address: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Phone: 657-622-6878