| Court Name: | Sacramento Superior Court |
| Established: | 1850 |
| Jurisdiction: | Sacramento County, California |
| Location: | Sacramento |
| Appealsto: | California Court of Appeal for the Third District |
| Terms: | 6 years |
| Chiefjudgetitle: | Presiding Judge |
| Chiefjudgename: | Hon. Bunmi O. Awoniyi |
| Chiefjudgetitle2: | Assistant Presiding Judge |
| Chiefjudgename2: | Hon. Lawrence G. Brown |
| Chiefjudgetitle3: | Court Executive Officer |
| Chiefjudgename3: | Lee Seale |
The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, alternatively called the Sacramento County Superior Court, is the California Superior Court located in Sacramento with jurisdiction over Sacramento County.[1]
The Gordon D. Schaber downtown courthouse is the main courthouse of the court. As well as providing the main trial courtrooms, the courthouse contains the administrative offices of the court (including the Presiding Judge), and the general civil and criminal case processing support services of the court system. The Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse is located at 720 9th Street.
Pursuant to California Government Code § 68070 and the Judicial Council California Rules of Court § 10.613, the Sacramento County Superior Court has adopted Local Rules for its government and the government of its officers.
There are several officers of the court, including judges, jurors, commissioners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and court reporters.
The current judges are:
A commissioner is a subordinate judicial officer elected by the judges of the Court and given the power to hear and make decisions in certain kinds of legal matters, similar to the United States magistrate judge. Their jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, traffic matters, family law and juvenile cases, criminal misdemeanors, and criminal felony cases through the preliminary hearing stage.
The Sacramento County Superior Court has 9 commissioners assigned as follows:
Benjamin Cassady - Traffic Arraignments
Marlene Clark - Juvenile Dependency
Richard Clark - Family Law, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Restraining Orders
Ryan Davis - Family Law
Scott P. Harman - Family Law/Child Support
Alicia Hartley - Criminal Arraignments
Heath T. Langle - Probate
James Morris - Traffic Arraignments
Martin E. Tejeda - Criminal Motions and Preliminary Hearings, Mental Health Hearings and Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
The Sacramento County District Attorney, currently Thien Ho, prosecutes crimes before the court on behalf of California, Sacramento County, and all cities and special districts within Sacramento County.
The Sacramento County Public Defender provides criminal defense services for those unable to afford private counsel. The current public defender is Amanda M. Benson.
For cases where the public defender has a legal conflict or is otherwise unable to provide services, services are provided by a group of private attorneys compensated by the Court. The County of Sacramento coordinates this process through the Conflict Criminal Defenders Office.
The functions of the bailiff are carried out by Sacramento County Sheriff under contract.