Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California
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The Superior Court of Santa Clara County resides in California. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...
Jurisdiction
This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]
| “ | In general, all California superior courts have jurisdiction over a person that lives in California or can be found in California, and businesses or organizations that do business in California.
So, as long as you are suing someone who lives in California or a company or organization that does business here, the superior court has personal jurisdiction.[2] |
” |
Judges
Elections
California is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in California, click here.
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2025
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2024
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2023
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2022
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2021
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2020
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2019
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2018
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2017
- California local trial court judicial elections, 2016
- California judicial elections, 2014
- California judicial elections, 2012
- California judicial elections, 2010
Selection method
- See also: Judicial selection in the states
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[3][4][5][6]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[3]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[3]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[3]
Judicial elections in California
- See also: California judicial elections
California is one of seven states that use nonpartisan elections to initially select judges and then use retention elections to determine whether judges should remain on the bench. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.
Primary election
Only candidates for the superior courts compete in primary elections.
- If a superior court judge runs unopposed for re-election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot and he or she is automatically re-elected following the general election.[7][8]
- Write-in candidates may file to run against an incumbent within 10 days after the filing deadline passes if they are able to secure enough signatures (between 100 and 600, depending on the number of registered voters in the county). In that case, the incumbent would appear on the general election ballot along with an option to vote for a write-in candidate.[8]
- In contested races, the candidate who receives a majority of all the votes in the primary wins the election. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary, the top two compete in the November general election.[9]
General election
- Superior court candidates who advance from the primary election compete in the general election.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Judicial Branch of California, "Jurisdiction and Venue: Where to file a case," accessed May 10, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed April 22, 2014
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
