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Santa Clara County Superior Court
Santa Clara County Superior Court
	Seal of the Court
Jurisdiction	California; Santa Clara County
Composition method	Non-partisan election
Authorised by	Constitution of California
Appeals to	California Court of Appeal; 6th Appellate District
Website	www.scscourt.org
Presiding Judge
Currently	Hon. Theodore C. Zayner

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.

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.^[1] 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 US$173,737.96 (equivalent to $3,980,000 in 2023).^[2]

The courthouse was destroyed by fire in May 1931.^[3]^[4]^[5] Reconstruction work began in December 1931^[6] and completed in August 1932;^[7] a dedication ceremony for the reconstructed courthouse was held on September 17.^[8] 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.^[9] After the disastrous 1931 fire and rebuilding, it survives today as the Old Courthouse,^[10] which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the St. James Square National Historic District in 1979.^[11]

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.^[12] The Family Justice Center was completed in 2016, consolidating court operations from six different facilities in a single building.^[13]

The doctrine of corporate personhood in US law is commonly traced to the 1886 decision of the United States Supreme Court in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, which started in this court.

Courthouses

8km
5miles

6

5

4

3

2

1

Santa Clara County Superior Court locations:^[14]

1

Downtown Superior, 191 N 1st St (San Jose)
Family Justice, 201 N 1st St (San Jose)
Old Courthouse, 161 N 1st St (San Jose)
Notre Dame, 99 Notre Dame Ave (San Jose, closed 2016)
Park Center Family Court, 170 Park Ave (San Jose, closed 2016)
Terraine, 115 Terraine St (San Jose, closed 2016)

2

Hall of Justice, 190 W Hedding St (San Jose)
Juvenile Justice, 840 Guadalupe Pkwy (San Jose)
Ruff Drive, 935 Ruff Dr (San Jose, closed 2008)

3

Palo Alto, 270 Grant Ave (Palo Alto)

4

Santa Clara, 1095 Homestead Rd (Santa Clara)

5

South County, 301 Diana Ave (Morgan Hill)

6

Sunnyvale, 605 W El Camino Real (Sunnyvale, closed 2016)

Downtown Superior Court, Downtown San Jose
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
Santa Clara Courthouse, Santa Clara
South County Courthouse, Morgan Hill

Closed

Park Center Family Court, Downtown San Jose (closed August 15, 2016)^[15]
Notre Dame Courthouse, Notre Dame Avenue, Downtown San Jose (closed August 22, 2016)^[16]
Ruff Drive Courthouse, Ruff Drive, San Jose (closed 2008)^[17]
Sunnyvale Courthouse, Sunnyvale (closed August 15, 2016)^[18]
Terraine Courthouse, Terraine Street, Downtown San Jose (closed August 22, 2016)^[19]

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 (*).)

Judges

Present

The following judicial officers serve on the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, as of June 2019:

^[20]

Commissioners

Christine Copeland
Jillian M. Laxton
Johanna Thai Van Dat
Benjamin Williams
Erik S. Johnson

^[21]

Notable past judges

LaDoris Cordell
Edward J. Davila
Jeremy Fogel
Mary Greenwood
Eugene Michael Hyman
Lucy H. Koh
Jack Komar
Mary Jo Levinger
Aaron Persky, Recalled by voters in 2018 after his sentencing of Brock Turner in People v. Turner

References

^ "A Capital on Wheels: History of How Sacramento Became the Seat of Government". Press Democrat. February 14, 1903. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ Hall, Frederic (1871). History of San Jose and Surroundings. San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft and Company. pp. 301–304. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Fires Spreading Over State". Healdsburg Tribune. May 19, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "San Jose Fire". Calexico Chronicle. May 22, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Old San Jose Records Go in $250,000 Fire". Santa Cruz Evening News. May 19, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Work started on new Santa Clara County Courthouse". Santa Cruz Evening News. December 11, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Knife slayer to have trial in September". Oakland Tribune. August 10, 1932. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Dedication Date Set for Santa Clara Courthouse". Oakland Tribune. August 27, 1932. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Santa Clara County Courthouse". Emporis. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Old Courthouse History". Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "National Register Information System – St. James Square (#79000546)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
^ Deacon, John. "Santa Clara County". American Courthouses. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Fact Sheet: Superior Court of Santa Clara County, Santa Clara Family Justice Center Courthouse" (PDF). Judicial Council of California. October 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Courthouse Locations, Hours & Telephone Numbers" (PDF). Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2015.
^ "Family Courthouse". Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Notre Dame Courthouse". Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Superior Court Announces Relocation of Traffic Court" (PDF) (Press release). Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. April 23, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Sunnyvale Courthouse". Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Terraine Courthouse". Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
^ "Governor Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments 8.8.22". California Governor. August 9, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
^ "Santa Clara County Superior Welcomes Commissioner Johanna Thai Van Dat to the Bench" (PDF). Santa Clara County Superior Court. September 12, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.