The Superior Court of California for and in the County of Santa Clara is the state trial court in and for

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

. The Santa Clara Superior Court serves the public by providing equal justice for all in a fair, accessible, effective, efficient, and courteous manner; resolving disputes under the law; applying the law consistently, impartially, and independently; instilling public trust and confidence in the court.

History

San Jose was chosen as the initial site for the state's capitol in 1849, which it held until 1851, when legislators voted to move to Vallejo. After Santa Clara County was formed on April 25, 1851, a contest was held to select a design for a new building worthy of being a state capitol in 1860. The winning entry, designed by Levi Goodrich, was constructed from 1866 to 1868 at a cost of . The courthouse was destroyed by fire in May 1931. Reconstruction work began in December 1931 and completed in August 1932; a dedication ceremony for the reconstructed courthouse was held on September 17. As originally completed in 1868, the courthouse was topped by a copper-covered dome; the copper sheathing melted in the intense heat from the 1931 fire and the dome was removed during reconstruction. After the disastrous 1931 fire and rebuilding, it survives today as the Old Courthouse, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as part of the St. James Square National Historic District in 1979. A modern courthouse was completed in 1964, replacing an older Hall of Records which had been built adjacent to the county courthouse. The Hall of Justice, located a few blocks to the north, was completed in 1991. The Family Justice Center was completed in 2016, consolidating court operations from six different facilities in a single building. The doctrine of

corporate personhood Corporate personhood or juridical personality is the legal notion that a juridical person such as a corporation, separately from its associated human beings (like owners, managers, or employees), has at least some of the legal rights and respons ...

in US law is commonly traced to the 1886 decision of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in ''

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad ''Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company'', 118 U.S. 394 (1886), is a corporate law case of the United States Supreme Court concerning taxation of railroad properties. The case is most notable for a headnote stating that the Equal ...

'', which started in this court.

Courthouses

* Downtown Superior Court,

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose. History The town was first settled in 1777. T ...

* Family Justice Center, Downtown San Jose * Hall of Justice, San Jose * Juvenile Justice Courthouse, San Jose * Old Courthouse, Downtown San Jose * Palo Alto Courthouse,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

Santa Clara Courthouse Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

, Santa Clara *

South County Courthouse South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

;Closed * Park Center Family Court, Downtown San Jose (closed August 15, 2016) * Notre Dame Courthouse, Notre Dame Avenue, Downtown San Jose (closed August 22, 2016) * Ruff Drive Courthouse, Ruff Drive, San Jose (closed 2008) * Sunnyvale Courthouse,

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

(closed August 15, 2016) * Terraine Courthouse, Terraine Street, Downtown San Jose (closed August 22, 2016)

Areas Served

The Court serves the Incorporated Cities, Towns & Census Designated Places of Santa Clara County. (Incorporated Cities and or Towns are marked with an asterisk (*).) * Alum Rock * Burbank *

Cambrian Park Cambrian is a neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in West San Jose. Though most of the neighborhood is incorporated as part of San Jose, a small portion exists as an unincorporated census-designated place called Cambrian Park. History ...

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

* *

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

* * East Foothills * Fruitdale * Gilroy* * Lexington Hills * Los Altos* *

Los Altos Hills Los Altos Hills (; ''Los Altos'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 8,4 ...

* *

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located in the San Franci ...

* * Loyola *

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

* *

Monte Sereno Monte Sereno (Spanish for "Serene Mountain") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 3,479 at the 2020 census. The city is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about southwest of San Jose, ...

* *

* * Mountain View* *

* * San Jose* * San Martin * Santa Clara* * Saratoga* *

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Judges

Present

The following judicial officers serve on the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, as of June 2019: *Charles F. Adams * Javier Alcala * Julia L. Alloggiamento * Mary E. Arand * Jacqueline M. Arroyo * Kenneth Paul Barnum * Thang Nguyen Barrett * Paul R. Bernal * Brooke A. Blecher * Arthur Bocanegra * Griffin M. J. Bonini * Shelyna V. Brown * David A. Cena *

Sharon A. Chatman Sharon Ann Chatman (December 15, 1947 – December 22, 2020) was an American college basketball coach, a lawyer, and a judge. Chatman was the head coach at San Jose State from 1976 to 1986. Chatman subsequently change careers, graduated from law ...

* Vincent J. Chiarello *Frederick S. Chung *

Linda R. Clark Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake ...

* L. Michael Clark * Paul O. Colin * Le Jacqueline Duong * Julie A. Emede * Andrea E. Flint * Maureen A. Folan * Jose S. Franco * Eric S. Geffon * Matthew S. Harris *Robert Hawk * Roberta S. Hayashi *Cindy Seely Hendrickson * Joseph H. Huber *Audra Ibarra *Nahal Iravani-Sani *Nicole Isger * Peter H. Kirwan * Nona L. Klippen * Thomas E. Kuhnle * Sunil R. Kulkarni * Edward Frederick Lee * Cynthia C. Lie * Patricia M. Lucas * Katherine Lucero * Stephen V. Manley * Socrates Peter Manoukian * JoAnne McCracken * Beth A. R. McGowen * Michele McKay McCoy * William J. Monahan * Daniel T. Nishigaya * Carol W. Overton * Lori E. Pegg * Evette D. Pennypacker *Elizabeth C. Peterson * Mark H. Pierce * Hector E. Ramon *Amber Rosen * Christopher G. Rudy * Deborah A. Ryan *Panteha E. Saban * Shawna M. Schwarz * Stuart J. Scott * Cynthia A. Sevely * James L. Stoelker * Julianne Sylva * Drew C. Takaichi * Ronald I. Toff * Patrick E. Tondreau * James E. Towery * Jesus Valencia, Jr. * Brian Walsh * Joshua Weinstein * Helen E. Williams * Charles E. Wilson, II * Erica R. Yew * Theodore C. Zayner * Vanessa A. Zecher * Carrie A. Zepeda

Commissioners

* Christine Copeland * Jillian M. Laxton * Rebeca Esquivel-Pedroza * Benjamin Williams * Erik S. Johnson

Notable past judges

LaDoris Cordell LaDoris Hazzard Cordell is an American retired judge of the Superior Court of California and former Independent Police Auditor for the city of San Jose, California. She is an advocate for improving transparency into charges of police misconduct. ...

* Edward J. Davila *

Jeremy Fogel Jeremy Don Fogel (born September 17, 1949)Eugene Michael Hyman *

Lucy H. Koh Lucy Haeran Koh (born August 7, 1968) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the Unit ...

* Jack Komar * Mary Jo Levinger *

Aaron Persky Michael Aaron Persky (born 1962) is an American attorney and former judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2003 to 2018. He gained attention after his ruling in the case ''People v. Turner'', in which he in June 2016 sentenced Stan ...

, Recalled by voters in 2018 after his sentencing of

Brock Turner ''People v. Turner'', formally ''The People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner'' (2015), is a high-profile criminal case in which Brock Allen Turner was convicted by jury trial of three counts of felony sexual assault. On Janua ...

People v. Turner ''People v. Turner'', formally ''The People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner'' (2015), is a high-profile criminal case in which Brock Allen Turner was convicted by jury trial of three counts of felony sexual assault. On Januar ...

References

External links

Official websiteCase information
{{California topic, , Superior Court, title=

Superior Courts of California Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...

, exclude-regions=yes, exclude-cities=yes, exclude-suffix=yes

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

Santa Clara