Sacramento County
Sacramento County was founded in 1850 and was named after the Sacramento River. The county's largest city, the City of Sacramento, is the seat of government and California's capital. Stretching about 994 square miles, Sacramento County is inhabited by an estimated 1.5 million people.
Sacramento County residents and business entities are served by the Superior Court of California. This court hears witnesses' testimony and evidence and decides cases by applying the appropriate laws. The Superior Court of California in the county operates through several departments. They include the Civil, Criminal, Probate, Appeals, Small Claims, Traffic (Adult/Juvenile), Family and Children, and Juvenile Dependence/Justice departments. These departments operate from several court locations across the county.
In Sacramento County, public court records are records of all legal proceedings in a court, including those of criminal, traffic, and civil suits that are not confidential. These records may be in the form of documents, information, or judgment and are maintained by the Clerk of Courts for each department. Generally, the clerk of each court/department in the county makes records of cases within their jurisdictions available to the public, and such cases include the following:
- Civil cases
- Probate cases
- Criminal cases
- Family law cases
- Juvenile cases
- Traffic cases
Each court/department of the Sacramento County Superior Court charges certain fees for obtaining physical copies of public court records. Some even charge some fees (typically $15) for searching files or records that take longer than 10 minutes. However, the county provides a Public Case Access System that allows the public to search and locate records of the Superior Court of California, Sacramento County, online and free of charge.
