San Diego County
Founded in 1850, San Diego County covers about 4,200 square miles in southern California with a population of over 3.3 million. The county is the second most populous of California's 58 counties and the fifth most populous in the United States.
The Superior Court of California serves San Diego County residents through several divisions. The divisions include Probate, Civil, Criminal, Family, Juvenile, and Appellate Division. The county's Probate Division of the Superior Court presides over cases involving estates and trusts, wills, and conservatorship of adults and guardianship of minors who cannot manage their financial resources or provide personal needs. In contrast, the Civil Division largely hears suits filed by individuals and/or establishments to enforce, redress, or protect private rights. Such cases include civil harassment restraining orders, small claims, and tenant-landlord matters.
Matters relating to emancipations, adoptions, juvenile justice, and dependency involving under-18 children and non-minor dependents aged 18 to 21 are handled by the Juvenile Division of the San Diego County Superior Court. The county's Criminal Courts exercise jurisdiction over felony, infraction, and misdemeanor cases heard in the South County, Central County, East County, and North County courthouses. The Family Division is responsible for hearing most family-related cases. It also handles legal separation, divorce, child and spousal support, child custody, domestic restraining orders, and visitation cases. Appeals on trial court decisions for infractions, misdemeanors, or limited civil cases (with controversy $35,000 or less) are presided over by the Appellate Division of San Diego County Superior Court.
Public court records in San Diego County are documents of court cases filed/heard in the county. They include filings, orders, transcripts, and judgments and can be accessed within the records section of each court's business office. In line with California Rules of Court, rule 2.400(a), interested persons can view and obtain the following court records in San Diego County:
- Civil case records
- Criminal case records
- Probate case records
- Family law case records
- Juvenile matter records
While San Diego County public court records can be viewed and copies obtained in person, searching and viewing them online is also possible. The Superior Court of California, San Diego County, provides an Online Case Search Portal to enable the public to find records of legal proceedings located in the county.
