How to Access San Francisco County Court Records?

Incorporated in 1850, San Francisco is a county on the West Coast of the United States. The county is spread over 46.7 square miles and is the 58th largest county in California by land area. As of the 2020 census, the county has over 406,628 housing units and a population of 873,965 people.

Courts in San Francisco County

The San Francisco Court system consists of Superior Courts, which are divided into divisions overseeing different types of cases. These Superior Courts operate in four facilities: the Civic Center Courthouse, Hall of Justice, Juvenile Justice Center, and Polk Street Annex.

The Civil Division of the court is the largest, and it handles non-criminal lawsuits among individuals or corporations. This division handles cases relating to breach of contract, personal injury, enforcement of private rights, etc. The Division operates in the Civic Center Courthouse facility.

The Court’s Criminal Division has jurisdiction over infractions, misdemeanor, and felony cases. The division conducts trials, motions, arraignments, preliminary hearings, probation hearings, and other types of criminal proceedings.  

The Unified Family Court Division hears cases relating to juvenile delinquency, child support, legal separation and nullity, adoption, divorce, and generally family law cases. The San Francisco Court system also has a Probate Division that handles cases relating to wills, estates, and guardianship.

Lastly, the Superior Court has a Traffic Court Division that handles violations of traffic laws and other minor offenses of state and county ordinances. Cases handled by this division include infractions like speeding, cell phone violations, expired registration, etc.

Where to Find Public Court Records in San Francisco County

Public court records are documents emanating from court proceedings that are made available to members of the public. To access these kinds of records in San Francisco County, interested members of the public can submit a records request form in person at the San Francisco County Clerk’s Office. The records can also be accessed online or by sending a mail request to the Clerk’s Office.

Types of Public Court Records in San Francisco County

Interested persons can put a request through to the County Clerk in San Francisco County to get access to any of the following public records:

• Civil Records
• Criminal Records
• Judicial Administrative Records
• Traffic Records
• Unified Family Court Records

Confidential Court Records in San Francisco County

Confidential court records are records withdrawn from public access. These records differ from public records in that only parties who are affected by the case, and their legal team may view such records. Non-parties require approval in advance from the court to view confidential records. Examples of confidential court records in San Francisco include:

• Juvenile Delinquency Records
• Wills Records
• Probate Records
• Criminal Exhibit Records
• Adoption Records

San Francisco County is located in the state of California with a total of 884,363 residents and was established in 1850.

San Francisco county court records are vital records that are available in most cases to the general public. Some San Francisco courthouses are very busy with many different types of cases, and some courts see very few, some do not. It depends on the court structure and the number of homeowners. 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 search engines to find California court records.

Public vital records for San Francisco 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 1,387,577 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 84% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.

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

San Francisco County Court Caseload Data and Trends

Depending on the local government practices, and political and economic climates, court case numbers will vary from year to year in specific areas of San Francisco County, CA.

The San Francisco County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 144,282 filings, which indicates a decrease of 20% from 172,966 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 legal proceedings that appear in county courts.

San Francisco 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 144,282 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 84% 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 choices to lookup for a San Francisco County court case using someone’s name, the court type, the courthouse or county name, and other information.

Incorporated in 1850, San Francisco is a county on the West Coast of the United States. The county is spread over 46.7 square miles and is the 58th largest county in California by land area. As of the 2020 census, the county has over 406,628 housing units and a population of 873,965 people.

Courts in San Francisco County

The San Francisco Court system consists of Superior Courts, which are divided into divisions overseeing different types of cases. These Superior Courts operate in four facilities: the Civic Center Courthouse, Hall of Justice, Juvenile Justice Center, and Polk Street Annex.

The Civil Division of the court is the largest, and it handles non-criminal lawsuits among individuals or corporations. This division handles cases relating to breach of contract, personal injury, enforcement of private rights, etc. The Division operates in the Civic Center Courthouse facility.

The Court’s Criminal Division has jurisdiction over infractions, misdemeanor, and felony cases. The division conducts trials, motions, arraignments, preliminary hearings, probation hearings, and other types of criminal proceedings.  

The Unified Family Court Division hears cases relating to juvenile delinquency, child support, legal separation and nullity, adoption, divorce, and generally family law cases. The San Francisco Court system also has a Probate Division that handles cases relating to wills, estates, and guardianship.

Lastly, the Superior Court has a Traffic Court Division that handles violations of traffic laws and other minor offenses of state and county ordinances. Cases handled by this division include infractions like speeding, cell phone violations, expired registration, etc.

Where to Find Public Court Records in San Francisco County

Public court records are documents emanating from court proceedings that are made available to members of the public. To access these kinds of records in San Francisco County, interested members of the public can submit a records request form in person at the San Francisco County Clerk’s Office. The records can also be accessed online or by sending a mail request to the Clerk’s Office.

Types of Public Court Records in San Francisco County

Interested persons can put a request through to the County Clerk in San Francisco County to get access to any of the following public records:

• Civil Records
• Criminal Records
• Judicial Administrative Records
• Traffic Records
• Unified Family Court Records

Confidential Court Records in San Francisco County

Confidential court records are records withdrawn from public access. These records differ from public records in that only parties who are affected by the case, and their legal team may view such records. Non-parties require approval in advance from the court to view confidential records. Examples of confidential court records in San Francisco include:

• Juvenile Delinquency Records
• Wills Records
• Probate Records
• Criminal Exhibit Records
• Adoption Records

Juvenile Delinquency in San Francisco, CA

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

In 2017, a total of 841 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of San Francisco County. Of that total, 46% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 385 court cases. Another 54% were dependency cases that accounted for 456 of the juvenile cases.

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

Government of San Francisco County, CA

https://www.ca.gov/

County Seat:	San Francisco
Government Type:	City-County Consolidation
Authority:	Home Rule
Year Organized:	1850
Total Square Miles:	232
2019 Population:	884,363
Persons/Square Mile:	0.00
County Contact:	1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place City Hall San Francisco , CA 94102-4689 http://sfgov.org/

San Francisco County, CA Courts