Sacramento County Court Records Search

How to Access Sacramento County Court Records?

Sacramento County has a population of about 1.5 million residents. The county is home to 46 cities, including the City of Sacramento, which serves as its county seat and is also the capital of California State.

Courts in Sacramento County

Sacramento County has several departments under the county’s Superior Court that handle legal matters within its jurisdiction. These departments comprise courthouses that hear different cases, such as civil, criminal, small claims, family, and probate matters.

The William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse consists of the family law, probate, and juvenile dependency divisions of the Superior Court. In this court, cases related to divorce, child custody and visitation, probate matters, adoption, and child support are heard.

For juvenile delinquency cases, the Sacramento Superior Court holds probation hearings, arraignments, detention hearings, and settlement conferences at the Juvenile Court.

The  Carol Miller Justice Center consists of the traffic, small claims, and unlawful detainer (landlord/tenant) Superior Court divisions. This courthouse handles traffic misdemeanors and infractions proceedings, landlord and tenant disputes under $25,000, and small claims cases.

The Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice hears only criminal cases in Sacramento County, including domestic violence and felony pre-trial motions.

Civil and criminal cases in Sacramento County are under the jurisdiction of the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse. Cases heard in this court include small claims cases, family relations matters, DUI cases, and civil and criminal pretrial proceedings.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Sacramento County

The Superior Court departments in Sacramento County are responsible for providing the general public with access to court records they maintain. Public court records, such as civil, probate, and family law case information, are available online on the Sacramento Superior Court’s Public Case Access System. The Superior Court departments accept requests for copies of public court records by mail or in person at the courthouse where the case occurred.

Types of Public Court Records in Sacramento County

In Sacramento County, the Superior Court divisions may provide the following types of public court records:

  • Probate Records
  • Divorce Records
  • Marriage Records
  • Criminal Records
  • Traffic Records

Confidential Court Records in Sacramento County

Sacramento County maintains confidential and non-confidential court records. Confidential court records contain case information or proceedings that are unavailable to the public, while non-confidential court records are accessible to anyone. Confidential court records are exempt from public disclosure due to state laws or court orders. Only the parties involved and their lawyers can legally view or copy sealed or confidential documents in Sacramento County.  Examples of confidential records include:

  • Juvenile records
  • Adoption proceeding records
  • Family conciliation court records
  • Court-ordered diagnostic reports
  • Parental rights termination proceedings

The following information in court records is also exempted from public disclosure:

  • Jury information identification
  • Medical information
  • Reports concerning prisoners with mental disorder
  • Social Security numbers
  • Personal financial information

Sacramento County is located in the state of California with a total of 1,530,615 residents and was established in 1850.

Sacramento county court records are public records that are available in most cases to the everyone. Some Sacramento 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 Sacramento 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 2,262,992 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 69% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.

Finding Sacramento County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through Sacramento 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 Sacramento County court.

Sacramento 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 Sacramento County, CA.

The Sacramento County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 281,114 filings, which indicates an increase of 10% from 253,336 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.

Courts Type Number of filings in 2018
Superior Court281,114

Most Popular Court Cases

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

Sacramento 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 281,114 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 69% 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 Sacramento 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
Criminal194,644
Civil65,809
Family Law16,909
Probate1,951
Delinquency929
Dependency872

Sacramento County has a population of about 1.5 million residents. The county is home to 46 cities, including the City of Sacramento, which serves as its county seat and is also the capital of California State.

Courts in Sacramento County

Sacramento County has several departments under the county’s Superior Court that handle legal matters within its jurisdiction. These departments comprise courthouses that hear different cases, such as civil, criminal, small claims, family, and probate matters.

The William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse consists of the family law, probate, and juvenile dependency divisions of the Superior Court. In this court, cases related to divorce, child custody and visitation, probate matters, adoption, and child support are heard.

For juvenile delinquency cases, the Sacramento Superior Court holds probation hearings, arraignments, detention hearings, and settlement conferences at the Juvenile Court.

The  Carol Miller Justice Center consists of the traffic, small claims, and unlawful detainer (landlord/tenant) Superior Court divisions. This courthouse handles traffic misdemeanors and infractions proceedings, landlord and tenant disputes under $25,000, and small claims cases.

The Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice hears only criminal cases in Sacramento County, including domestic violence and felony pre-trial motions.

Civil and criminal cases in Sacramento County are under the jurisdiction of the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse. Cases heard in this court include small claims cases, family relations matters, DUI cases, and civil and criminal pretrial proceedings.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Sacramento County

The Superior Court departments in Sacramento County are responsible for providing the general public with access to court records they maintain. Public court records, such as civil, probate, and family law case information, are available online on the Sacramento Superior Court’s Public Case Access System. The Superior Court departments accept requests for copies of public court records by mail or in person at the courthouse where the case occurred.

Types of Public Court Records in Sacramento County

In Sacramento County, the Superior Court divisions may provide the following types of public court records:

  • Probate Records
  • Divorce Records
  • Marriage Records
  • Criminal Records
  • Traffic Records

Confidential Court Records in Sacramento County

Sacramento County maintains confidential and non-confidential court records. Confidential court records contain case information or proceedings that are unavailable to the public, while non-confidential court records are accessible to anyone. Confidential court records are exempt from public disclosure due to state laws or court orders. Only the parties involved and their lawyers can legally view or copy sealed or confidential documents in Sacramento County.  Examples of confidential records include:

  • Juvenile records
  • Adoption proceeding records
  • Family conciliation court records
  • Court-ordered diagnostic reports
  • Parental rights termination proceedings

The following information in court records is also exempted from public disclosure:

  • Jury information identification
  • Medical information
  • Reports concerning prisoners with mental disorder
  • Social Security numbers
  • Personal financial information

Juvenile Delinquency in Sacramento, CA

Unfortunately, in many areas of the Sacramento 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 998 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of Sacramento County. Of that total, 0% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 1 court cases. Another 100% were dependency cases that accounted for 997 of the juvenile cases.

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

Juvenile Cases Number of cases
Delinquency3,080
Dependency1,023
Status1,430

Government of Sacramento County, CA

County Seat: Sacramento
Government Type: County
Authority: Home Rule
Year Organized: 1850
Total Square Miles: 994
2019 Population: 1,530,615
Persons/Square Mile: 0.00

Sacramento County, CA Courts