| Established: | 1852 |
| Jurisdiction: | Tulare County, California |
| Appealsto: | California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District |
| Chiefjudgetitle: | Presiding Judge |
| Chiefjudgename: | Hon. David Mathias[1] |
| Chiefjudgetitle2: | Assistant Presiding Judge |
| Chiefjudgename2: | Hon. Juliet Boccone |
| Chiefjudgetitle3: | Court Executive Officer |
| Chiefjudgename3: | Stephanie Cameron |
The Superior Court of California, County of Tulare, also known as the Tulare County Superior Court, is the branch of the California superior court with jurisdiction over Tulare County.
Tulare County was formed in 1852 from parts of Mariposa County.[2]
The first Tulare County Courthouse was a small log cabin "surrounded by a cheap fence" in the county seat of Visalia, California. The fence enclosed the county jail, which was five tree stumps with attached iron rings; prisoners were chained to the rings for security, and county officials stored records "in their hats and pockets." E. Jacobs described Visalia as "a weak and primitive settlement".[3] A more permanent courthouse and jail were erected after a March 1854 County Board of Supervisors meeting.[4] The second county courthouse was built in 1859, a two-story brick structure with a basement and a footprint of 40×.[4]
The state legislature authorized the county to issue bonds to build a new courthouse in 1875. However, since the Southern Pacific railroad had bypassed Visalia when it built its route through Tulare County in 1872, the choice to locate the courthouse in Visalia was controversial, and the citizens of Visalia campaigned to have the new courthouse built in the city to ensure its survival.[4] The County Board of Supervisors met on April 10, 1876 to plan for the erection of a new courthouse;[3] the cornerstone was laid on October 28.[4] The original County Courthouse and Jail was sold at auction.[3] The 1876 Courthouse was designed by A. A. Bennett, Esq., of San Francisco and had two courtrooms (one for the county, and one for the district). The brick building had a footprint of 60× (W×D),[5] with wings on either side measuring 12× (W×D).[3]
Planning for a new courthouse started in November 1922, when the Board announced it had obtained an option to purchase five blocks for the new facility.[6] [7] The new courthouse was not completed until 1935.[8]
The present courthouse was completed in 1957 to a design by David Horn.[8] Upon completion, payments to Horn were delayed over allegations of poor workmanship and faulty design.[9] [10] [11]
The main courthouse for Tulare County Superior Court is in Visalia, with two satellite courthouses in Porterville and Dinuba. In addition, there are separate juvenile and family law facilities in Visalia.[12]