Monterey County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Monterey County is located on the Pacific Coast in the United States. It was established on February 18, 1850, with a population of 437,609 (2022). It was named after Monterey Bay and has its county seat in Salinas. The Superior Courts are the highest in Monterey County and have jurisdiction over all cases. The courts are the backbone of the court system.

There are 2 Superior Courts in Salinas, one in Monterey, and the last in Marina. Each Superior Court has a distinct function and jurisdiction over specific types of cases. The Superior Court in Salinas hears criminal, juvenile dependency, juvenile truancy, and delinquency cases. It also has a drug treatment court. The Monterey County Superior Court in Monterey has jurisdiction over civil, family law, probate, and domestic violence cases; and also issues restraining orders. The Superior Court in Marina hears juvenile traffic, adult traffic, child support, and small claims, while the juvenile division of the Superior Court, located in Salinas, hears only juvenile delinquency matters and has a probation department.

The annual court statistics report of the Judicial Council of California, published the number of caseloads handled by trial courts statewide. There were 4,407,174 million cases during the fiscal year 2021-2022. On a county basis, the number of cases filed in Monterey County was 50,844 cases and 56,807 disposed cases in the 2023 report. Annually, the county handles approximately 53,000 cases. Court records are filed and maintained at the Clerk of Superior Court Office at the Salinas Courthouse. The website of the Superior Court Clerk of Monterey Country serves as a repository for the public to view court records. The public has access to electronic or paper-based case records in the courthouse or remotely on their devices. The Clerk of the Superior Court is vested with the authority of keeping court records. Members of the public can request court records by mail or in person. Juvenile Court records are sealed from public disclosure and only minors, their parents, legal guardian(s), and attorneys may obtain copies of court minute orders and selected court documents by appearing at the juvenile records counter with photo identification. In addition to juvenile records, search warrant affidavits are also sealed by court order.

Monterey County has a unified court system that is at the helm of all judicial proceedings. The Superior Courts are the highest and only courts of jurisdiction, handling both minor and serious offenses. They hold jury trials to resolve cases and hear several cases ranging from traffic violations, domestic violence, civil commitment, and small claims cases to mention a few. Monterey County has a well-structured court system for obtaining court records, as the means to inspect and retrieve copies of court records are well-detailed on the Monterey County Superior Court website.