Madera County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Created in 1893, Madera County is characterized by its diverse population. It has an estimated population of 157,200 residents, and its county seat is located in Madera City. The Madera County Superior Court represents the judicial branch of the county government, which is responsible for upholding the law. Furthermore, it is the only trial court with jurisdiction over all criminal and civil matters. The Superior Court performs its duties through its divisions, which handle civil, criminal, small claims, traffic, probate, juvenile, and family law cases.

Most of the Madera County Superior Court divisions are situated in a single courthouse in Madera City. This centralized system allows court users easier access to all of the different court services. The Civil Division deals with cases where an individual seeks money damages exceeding $10,000 from another individual. Conversely, the Small Claims Division hears simpler lawsuits involving claims that are less than $10,000. The Criminal Division handles misdemeanor and felony matters in which the potential penalty is a fine or imprisonment in a county jail. The Probate Division addresses legal matters related to trusts, wills, and estates of deceased persons. Family law cases such as spousal support, marriage dissolution, child custody, and visitation are handled by the Family Law Division. The Juvenile Division has statutory authority over legal cases involving children under the age of 18 years, such as delinquency and dependency cases.

According to the 2023 Court Statistics Report published by the Judicial Council of California, the Madera County Superior Court handled an astonishing total of 20,549 case dispositions during the fiscal year 2021-2022. The majority of these cases were categorized as limited civil, misdemeanor, and infraction cases. To promote transparency in the judicial system, the superior clerk maintains the court records of cases filed within the county and provides them upon request. Additionally, the Madera Superior Court Public Portal provides remote access to certain court records, except juvenile delinquency and dependency records.

Finally, the Madera County judicial system ensures that cases are handled efficiently through specialized divisions. The public has remote access to only the case indexes, calendars, and registers of actions of court records containing sensitive information such as divorce, civil harassment, criminal proceedings, and child custody. Nevertheless, actual court records are available for personal inspection at the courthouse. This strikes a balance between individual privacy rights and the right of the public to access case information.