How to Access Kern County Court Records?
Kern County is the third-largest County by land mass in California. It covers an area of 8134.7 square miles. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county's population was 909,235 as of 2020. Kern County has about 301,009 housing units and an average household income of $66,234. It is home to Bakersfield, which also serves as its County seat.
Courts in Kern County
Kern County’s residents are served by a superior court with divisions based on case type. Case types may include criminal, civil, small claims, family, probate, juvenile, and traffic. There are various Courthouse locations with jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. These include drug offenses, felonies, misdemeanors, domestic violence, and homicide.
Delano, Mojave, Ridgecrest, Shafter, and Lamont Courthouses have jurisdiction over civil, criminal, traffic, family, and small claim cases. On the other hand, the Juvenile Justice Center, as the name implies, holds jurisdiction over cases involving minor and juvenile delinquencies. In addition to juvenile arraignment and hearings, the court attends to cases involving probate.
The Metropolitan Division Justice courthouse has jurisdiction over civil, small claims, and family cases. The Metropolitan Traffic Division handles traffic law matters with designated hearing times. The Metropolitan Division also attends to criminal cases, such as felonies and misdemeanors.
Where to Find Public Court Records in Kern County
Copies of court records are available to the public except those sealed by court orders. Although case files can not be accessed online, transcripts of court proceedings are available and can be requested via the Internet. Interested persons can visit the court or send requests by filling out an online form.
Kern County courthouses may also grant requests for paper copies of court records mailed to them at a specified fee. However, the requesting party must send a self-addressed stamp alongside the required information.
Type of Public Court Records in Kern County
The following court records are available to the public in Kern County:
- Probate Court Records
- Family Court Records
- Civil Court Records
- Limited Civil Records
- Adoption Court Records
Confidential Court Records in Kern County
Some court records are considered confidential and are therefore exempt from disclosure to the public. These court records can only be obtained through valid court orders. They include:
- Criminal Court Records
- Domestic Violence Protective Orders
- Medical and Health Records
- Juvenile Records
Kern County is located in the state of California with a total of 893,119 residents and was established in 1866.
Kern county court records are public documents that are available in most cases to the anyone upon request. Some Kern local judicial offices are very busy with many different types of cases, and others have few cases. It depends on the court structure and the number of natives. Many counties have court records posted online on their website for easy access in California. However, in some cases, you will have to visit a few different online tools to find California court records.
Public court documents for Kern County will include criminal cases (both felonies and misdemeanors), civil cases (like personal and business lawsuits), bankruptcies, marriages and divorces, liens, tax issues, small claims, traffic court cases, evictions, family law cases and more.
Since 2012, a total of 1,497,981 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 83% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.
Finding Kern County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through Kern County court records search tools like Infotracer. With just a name search, the user can review hundreds of available court records and cases from any Kern County court.
Kern County Court Caseload Data and Trends
Depending on the local authorities practices, and political and economic climates, court case tallies will vary from year to year in specific areas of Kern County, CA.
The Kern County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 186,068 filings, which indicates a decrease of 6% from 197,172 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.
| Courts Type | Number of filings in 2018 |
|---|---|
| Superior Court | 186,068 |
Most Popular Court Cases
You can tell a lot about an area by the types of legal issues that appear in county courts.
Kern County court records data dates back to 2012. Some may date back further, but they started formally recording them since 2012. There was a total of 186,068 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 83% of the total filings. The next most popular types of court cases are civil and family law cases. Check out the table below to review the filing information for a specific court case type in county.
There are various solutions to find for a Kern County court case using someone’s name, the court type, the courthouse or county name, and other information.
| Cases Type | Number of filings in 2018 |
|---|---|
| Criminal | 154,730 |
| Civil | 16,362 |
| Family Law | 12,424 |
| Delinquency | 1,039 |
| Probate | 828 |
| Dependency | 685 |
Kern County is the third-largest County by land mass in California. It covers an area of 8134.7 square miles. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county's population was 909,235 as of 2020. Kern County has about 301,009 housing units and an average household income of $66,234. It is home to Bakersfield, which also serves as its County seat.
Courts in Kern County
Kern County’s residents are served by a superior court with divisions based on case type. Case types may include criminal, civil, small claims, family, probate, juvenile, and traffic. There are various Courthouse locations with jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. These include drug offenses, felonies, misdemeanors, domestic violence, and homicide.
Delano, Mojave, Ridgecrest, Shafter, and Lamont Courthouses have jurisdiction over civil, criminal, traffic, family, and small claim cases. On the other hand, the Juvenile Justice Center, as the name implies, holds jurisdiction over cases involving minor and juvenile delinquencies. In addition to juvenile arraignment and hearings, the court attends to cases involving probate.
The Metropolitan Division Justice courthouse has jurisdiction over civil, small claims, and family cases. The Metropolitan Traffic Division handles traffic law matters with designated hearing times. The Metropolitan Division also attends to criminal cases, such as felonies and misdemeanors.
Where to Find Public Court Records in Kern County
Copies of court records are available to the public except those sealed by court orders. Although case files can not be accessed online, transcripts of court proceedings are available and can be requested via the Internet. Interested persons can visit the court or send requests by filling out an online form.
Kern County courthouses may also grant requests for paper copies of court records mailed to them at a specified fee. However, the requesting party must send a self-addressed stamp alongside the required information.
Type of Public Court Records in Kern County
The following court records are available to the public in Kern County:
- Probate Court Records
- Family Court Records
- Civil Court Records
- Limited Civil Records
- Adoption Court Records
Confidential Court Records in Kern County
Some court records are considered confidential and are therefore exempt from disclosure to the public. These court records can only be obtained through valid court orders. They include:
- Criminal Court Records
- Domestic Violence Protective Orders
- Medical and Health Records
- Juvenile Records
Juvenile Delinquency in Kern, CA
Unfortunately, in many areas of the Kern County, juvenile delinquency offenses are on the rise. There are many reasons for the inflation in youth offenders. The juvenile sentence in California often depends on the severity of the crime, the number of charges, and other family matters.
In 2017, a total of 989 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of Kern County. Of that total, 0% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 1 court cases. Another 100% were dependency cases that accounted for 988 of the juvenile cases.
A lot of counties, including, Kern County, are focusing on family counseling and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future Kern County juvenile delinquency tallies will show whether or not this approach is working.
| Juvenile Cases | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Delinquency | 1,065 |
| Dependency | 4,459 |
| Status | 1,615 |
Government of Kern County, CA
| County Seat: | Bakersfield |
| Government Type: | County |
| Authority: | Dillon's Rule |
| Year Organized: | 1866 |
| Total Square Miles: | 8,163 |
| 2019 Population: | 893,119 |
| Persons/Square Mile: | 0.01 |
| County Contact: | 1115 Truxtun Ave Fl 5
County Administration Center Bakersfield , CA 93301-4617 https://www.kerncounty.com/ |
Kern County, CA Courts
-
Kern County Superior Court
Address: 1415 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: 661-868-5393