Superior Court of Los Angeles County
 Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Grand Ave entrance |
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California Los Angeles County |
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The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The Superior Court operates 47 courthouses throughout the county. As of 2017[update], the Presiding Judge will be Daniel Buckley. Sherri R. Carter is the Executive Officer/Clerk. They, together with 5,400 employees, operate the nearly 600 courtrooms throughout the county, with an annual budget of $850 million.
When California declared its statehood in 1849 and became a part of the United States, the first California Constitution authorized the legislature to establish municipal and such other courts as it deemed necessary. The 1851 California Judiciary Act divided the state into districts, placing Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties into one district. Each district had its own court, below which were County and then Justice of the Peace Courts. Judge Agustin Olvera of the County Court and Judge Jonathan R. Scott of the Justice of the Peace Court were the first judges of these lower courts. Almost immediately the District Court system was burdened by the vast expanse of the district. District Judges was required to hold court proceedings where the cases were filed. Because of the distance District Court Judges had to travel to conduct trials and the sudden growth in population due to California Gold Rush, the District Court system became ineffective and non-responsive to the needs of its constituency.
In 1879 California adopted a new constitution and with it a revised court system. The District Courts became appeals courts below the State Supreme Court. To take over the District Courts original function the county Superior Courts were created. The new Superior Court of Los Angeles County began with two judges: Ygnacio Sepulveda and Volney E. Howard. In 1905, juvenile delinquency and dependency hearings were put under the Superior Court's jurisdiction, as were mental health hearing in 1914. Eventually the Superior Court’s jurisdiction came to include all civil, felony criminal, family law, Juvenile Delinquency and Dependency, and probate cases in the county.
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