How to Access San Mateo County Court Records?
San Mateo County is known for its significant contributions to the tech and biotech industries due to its proximity to Silicon Valley. Established in 1856, it has an estimated population of 771,000 residents and covers an area of 741 square miles. The county seat is Redwood City, and it is situated in the San Francisco Bay Area on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Courts in San Mateo County
San Mateo County operates a unified court system, and the Superior Courts conduct all court proceedings. The Superior Court of San Mateo County presides over all criminal and civil cases. It has Civil, Criminal, Probate, Juvenile, Traffic, Family Law, and Small Claims Divisions.
The Criminal Division handles felonies and misdemeanors, such as murder, homicide, and vandalism. The Civil Division presides over monetary claims for cases less than $25,000 for limited cases and $25,000 for unlimited disputes. The Probate Division adjudicates matters concerning the administration of a decedent's estates, including wills and guardianship appointments.
The Juvenile Division handles cases involving juvenile delinquencies and child neglect and abuse. The Traffic Division presides over traffic-related offenses such as parking and other violations punishable by fines. The Family Law Division handles cases involving families, such as marriage dissolution, legal separation, child custody, and domestic violence. The Small Claim Division handles civil disputes for claims under $7,500.
Where to Find Public Court Records in San Mateo County
Public court records are papers and documents from a judicial process publicly available to San Mateo County residents. The Clerk of the Superior Court is the record custodian for all public court records filed and heard in the county. Record seekers may access public court records using the Odyssey Portal Smart Search. In addition, the Court Clerk permits in-person and mail requests for public court records.
Types of Public Court Records in San Mateo County
San Mateo County residents may publicly access, inspect, or obtain copies of any information contained in a public court record. The following types of court records are publicly available in San Mateo County:
- Civil Court Records: Complaints, petitions, small claims, personal injury claims, and contract breaches
- Criminal Court Records: Felonies and misdemeanors, including homicide, aggravated assaults, vandalism, and disorderly conduct
- Probate Court Records: Wills, letter of administration, trust, conservatorship, and guardianship
- Traffic Records: Citations, traffic violation records, and arrest reports
- Family Law Records: Child custody orders, spousal support orders, child support orders, and marriage dissolution records
Confidential Court Records in San Mateo County
Confidential court records are court documents that are not accessible to the public. Confidential court records are protected by state law, federal law, court rule, or court order. The following court records are not accessible to the public in San Mateo County:
- Juvenile Delinquency records
- Paternity cases
- Drug/Alcohol treatment information
- Medical and mental health information
- Trade secrets
In addition, personal identifying information in a court record is not open to the public. Personal identifying information, where disclosure may result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy or pose a security threat to the person named on the court document, is not open to the public. Therefore, the court excludes the information from the court record. Personal identifying information excluded from public court records includes:
- Social Security numbers
- Drivers license numbers
- Passport, student ID, or state ID
- Financial account numbers
- Victim identifying information on sexual assault cases
San Mateo County is located in the state of California with a total of 771,410 residents and was established in 1856.
San Mateo county court records are vital records that are available in most cases to the general public. Some San Mateo 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 Mateo 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 1,104,353 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 86% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.
Finding San Mateo County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through San Mateo 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 Mateo County court.
San Mateo 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 Mateo County, CA.
The San Mateo County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 122,323 filings, which indicates a decrease of 13% from 138,107 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.
| Courts Type | Number of filings in 2018 |
|---|---|
| Superior Court | 122,323 |
Most Popular Court Cases
You can tell a lot about an area by the types of legal proceedings that appear in county courts.
San Mateo 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 122,323 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 86% 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 Mateo 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 | 105,467 |
| Civil | 8,669 |
| Family Law | 4,133 |
| Probate | 2,381 |
| Delinquency | 1,024 |
| Dependency | 649 |
San Mateo County is known for its significant contributions to the tech and biotech industries due to its proximity to Silicon Valley. Established in 1856, it has an estimated population of 771,000 residents and covers an area of 741 square miles. The county seat is Redwood City, and it is situated in the San Francisco Bay Area on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Courts in San Mateo County
San Mateo County operates a unified court system, and the Superior Courts conduct all court proceedings. The Superior Court of San Mateo County presides over all criminal and civil cases. It has Civil, Criminal, Probate, Juvenile, Traffic, Family Law, and Small Claims Divisions.
The Criminal Division handles felonies and misdemeanors, such as murder, homicide, and vandalism. The Civil Division presides over monetary claims for cases less than $25,000 for limited cases and $25,000 for unlimited disputes. The Probate Division adjudicates matters concerning the administration of a decedent's estates, including wills and guardianship appointments.
The Juvenile Division handles cases involving juvenile delinquencies and child neglect and abuse. The Traffic Division presides over traffic-related offenses such as parking and other violations punishable by fines. The Family Law Division handles cases involving families, such as marriage dissolution, legal separation, child custody, and domestic violence. The Small Claim Division handles civil disputes for claims under $7,500.
Where to Find Public Court Records in San Mateo County
Public court records are papers and documents from a judicial process publicly available to San Mateo County residents. The Clerk of the Superior Court is the record custodian for all public court records filed and heard in the county. Record seekers may access public court records using the Odyssey Portal Smart Search. In addition, the Court Clerk permits in-person and mail requests for public court records.
Types of Public Court Records in San Mateo County
San Mateo County residents may publicly access, inspect, or obtain copies of any information contained in a public court record. The following types of court records are publicly available in San Mateo County:
- Civil Court Records: Complaints, petitions, small claims, personal injury claims, and contract breaches
- Criminal Court Records: Felonies and misdemeanors, including homicide, aggravated assaults, vandalism, and disorderly conduct
- Probate Court Records: Wills, letter of administration, trust, conservatorship, and guardianship
- Traffic Records: Citations, traffic violation records, and arrest reports
- Family Law Records: Child custody orders, spousal support orders, child support orders, and marriage dissolution records
Confidential Court Records in San Mateo County
Confidential court records are court documents that are not accessible to the public. Confidential court records are protected by state law, federal law, court rule, or court order. The following court records are not accessible to the public in San Mateo County:
- Juvenile Delinquency records
- Paternity cases
- Drug/Alcohol treatment information
- Medical and mental health information
- Trade secrets
In addition, personal identifying information in a court record is not open to the public. Personal identifying information, where disclosure may result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy or pose a security threat to the person named on the court document, is not open to the public. Therefore, the court excludes the information from the court record. Personal identifying information excluded from public court records includes:
- Social Security numbers
- Drivers license numbers
- Passport, student ID, or state ID
- Financial account numbers
- Victim identifying information on sexual assault cases
Juvenile Delinquency in San Mateo, CA
Unfortunately, in many areas of the San Mateo 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 1166 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of San Mateo County. Of that total, 72% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 834 court cases. Another 28% were dependency cases that accounted for 332 of the juvenile cases.
A lot of counties, including, San Mateo County, are focusing on family therapy and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future San Mateo County juvenile delinquency numbers will show whether or not this approach is working.
| Juvenile Cases | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Delinquency | 8,305 |
| Dependency | 5,974 |
| Status | 902 |
Government of San Mateo County, CA
| County Seat: | Redwood City |
| Government Type: | County |
| Authority: | Home Rule |
| Year Organized: | 1856 |
| Total Square Miles: | 741 |
| 2019 Population: | 771,410 |
| Persons/Square Mile: | 0.00 |
| County Contact: | 400 County Ctr
Hall Of Justice Redwood City , CA 94063-1662 http://www.smcgov.org/ |
San Mateo County, CA Courts
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San Mateo County Superior Court
Address: 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: 650-261-5100