Superior Courts
California has 58 trial courts, one in each county. In trial (superior) courts, a judge and sometimes a jury hears witnesses' testimony and other evidence and decides cases by applying the relevant law to the relevant facts. The California courts serve the state's population of more than 39 million people.
Listing of all Superior Courts
California Judicial Branch Fact Sheet
A Visitors' Guide to the California Superior Courts
Before June 1998, California's trial courts consisted of superior and municipal courts, each with its own jurisdiction and number of judges fixed by the Legislature. In June 1998, California voters approved Proposition 220, a constitutional amendment that permitted the judges in each county to merge their superior and municipal courts into a "unified," or single, superior court. As of February 2001, all of California's 58 counties have voted to unify their trial courts. Learn More.