How to Access Madera County Court Records?

Madera County was created in 1893 and is historically known for its lumber industry. Its land area is 2,136.9 square miles, and its population is 156,255. Madera City is the county's seat of government and largest city. 

Courts in Madera County

Madera County has a single unified trial court, which is the Madera County Superior Court. Cases before the court are heard by the relevant division of the court, which handles the kind of matter. The criminal division of the court handles felony cases such as murder, rape, and robbery, as well as misdemeanors like vandalism and petty theft. However, traffic infractions and misdemeanors fall within the authority of the court’s traffic division. Likewise, juvenile delinquency and dependency cases come before the juvenile division.

The court also has a civil division that handles a wide range of non-criminal matters, including claims to money or property, disputes over contracts, and tort cases. These cases are classified as civil unlimited and civil limited. Civil unlimited claims involve an amount exceeding $35,000, while the jurisdiction of the court is limited to amounts between $10,000 and $35,000 in civil limited cases. There is also a separate class of civil limited cases, which include matters involving less than $10,000.

In addition to the civil division, there is also a small claims division which handles minor civil matters under informal rules. The division’s monetary jurisdiction is limited to $12,500 if the claimant is an individual and $6,250 if the claimant is a business.

The court’s probate division handles matters involving rights over a deceased property including cases on wills, guardianships, and conservatorships. Matters relating to marriage and family, such as divorce, nullity, and child support, come before the court’s family division.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Madera County

The Clerk of the Madera County Superior Court maintains court records in the county. These records are physically accessible at the relevant division that heard the case or upon a written request sent to the division by mail. Requesters have to provide the relevant case information, such as the parties’ names, case numbers, and specific documents, to be able to access court records. Otherwise, they would have to pay a search fee to the division. Furthermore, all requesters are to pay for copies of court records that they seek to obtain.

The Superior Court’s case information is also available electronically on the court’s public search portal. To use the portal, researchers have to create an account before logging in.

Types of Public Court Records in Madera County

Court records are documents and materials filed by parties or generated by the court in cases. In Madera County, many of these records are open to members of the public who make the appropriate requests. Some examples of such records are:

• Small claims records
• Probate records
• Name change records
• Felony case records
• Traffic case records
• Civil unlimited claims records

Confidential Court Records in Madera County

Court records in Madera County are considered confidential when a law or court order prevents the public from accessing such records. Some examples of confidential court records in Madera County are:

• Juvenile delinquency records
• Juvenile dependency records
• Fee waiver records
• Probation records

Madera County is located in the state of California with a total of 156,890 residents and was established in 1893.

Madera county court records are vital records that are available in most cases to the general public. Some Madera courthouses are very busy with many different types of cases, and some courts see very few, some do not. It depends on the court structure and the number of homeowners. 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 search engines to find California court records.

Public vital records for Madera 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 187,922 were filed in the county. As of 2018, 77% of the cases were criminal cases. The busiest courts in the county were Superior Court.

Finding Madera County court records is possible using the California court system website at https://www.courts.ca.gov/, and even easier through Madera 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 Madera County court.

Madera County Court Caseload Data and Trends

Depending on the local government practices, and political and economic climates, court case numbers will vary from year to year in specific areas of Madera County, CA.

The Madera County court system consists of 1 court type, Superior Court. In 2018, Superior Court recorded 24,584 filings, which indicates an increase of 3% from 23,838 in 2017. Review the table below for number of cases in the county.

Most Popular Court Cases

You can tell a lot about an area by the types of legal proceedings that appear in county courts.

Madera 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 24,584 cases filed in the county for the year 2018. The most popular type of court case is criminal comprising 77% of the total filings. The next most popular types of court cases are family law and civil cases. Check out the table below to review the filing information for a specific court case type in county.

There are various choices to lookup for a Madera County court case using someone’s name, the court type, the courthouse or county name, and other information.

Madera County was created in 1893 and is historically known for its lumber industry. Its land area is 2,136.9 square miles, and its population is 156,255. Madera City is the county's seat of government and largest city. 

Courts in Madera County

Madera County has a single unified trial court, which is the Madera County Superior Court. Cases before the court are heard by the relevant division of the court, which handles the kind of matter. The criminal division of the court handles felony cases such as murder, rape, and robbery, as well as misdemeanors like vandalism and petty theft. However, traffic infractions and misdemeanors fall within the authority of the court’s traffic division. Likewise, juvenile delinquency and dependency cases come before the juvenile division.

The court also has a civil division that handles a wide range of non-criminal matters, including claims to money or property, disputes over contracts, and tort cases. These cases are classified as civil unlimited and civil limited. Civil unlimited claims involve an amount exceeding $35,000, while the jurisdiction of the court is limited to amounts between $10,000 and $35,000 in civil limited cases. There is also a separate class of civil limited cases, which include matters involving less than $10,000.

In addition to the civil division, there is also a small claims division which handles minor civil matters under informal rules. The division’s monetary jurisdiction is limited to $12,500 if the claimant is an individual and $6,250 if the claimant is a business.

The court’s probate division handles matters involving rights over a deceased property including cases on wills, guardianships, and conservatorships. Matters relating to marriage and family, such as divorce, nullity, and child support, come before the court’s family division.

Where to Find Public Court Records in Madera County

The Clerk of the Madera County Superior Court maintains court records in the county. These records are physically accessible at the relevant division that heard the case or upon a written request sent to the division by mail. Requesters have to provide the relevant case information, such as the parties’ names, case numbers, and specific documents, to be able to access court records. Otherwise, they would have to pay a search fee to the division. Furthermore, all requesters are to pay for copies of court records that they seek to obtain.

The Superior Court’s case information is also available electronically on the court’s public search portal. To use the portal, researchers have to create an account before logging in.

Types of Public Court Records in Madera County

Court records are documents and materials filed by parties or generated by the court in cases. In Madera County, many of these records are open to members of the public who make the appropriate requests. Some examples of such records are:

• Small claims records
• Probate records
• Name change records
• Felony case records
• Traffic case records
• Civil unlimited claims records

Confidential Court Records in Madera County

Court records in Madera County are considered confidential when a law or court order prevents the public from accessing such records. Some examples of confidential court records in Madera County are:

• Juvenile delinquency records
• Juvenile dependency records
• Fee waiver records
• Probation records

Juvenile Delinquency in Madera, CA

Unfortunately, in many areas of the Madera County, juvenile delinquency issues are on the rise. There are many reasons for the rise in youth offenders. The juvenile sentence in California often depends on the severity of the crime, the number of crimes, and other family matters.

In 2017, a total of 592 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of Madera County. Of that total, 59% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 347 court cases. Another 41% were dependency cases that accounted for 245 of the juvenile cases.

A lot of counties, including, Madera County, are focusing on family therapy and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future Madera County juvenile delinquency numbers will show whether or not this approach is working.

Government of Madera County, CA

https://www.ca.gov/

County Seat:	Madera
Government Type:	County
Authority:	Dillon's Rule
Year Organized:	1893
Total Square Miles:	2,153
2019 Population:	156,890
Persons/Square Mile:	0.01
County Contact:	200 W 4Th St County Government Center Madera , CA 93637-3548 http://www.madera-county.com

Madera County, CA Courts