Contra Costa County Superior Court | |
---|---|
Established | 1850 |
Jurisdiction | Contra Costa County, California |
Location | |
Appeals to | California Court of Appeal for the First District |
Website | cc-courts |
Presiding Judge | |
Currently | Hon. Edward Weil |
Since | Jan 1, 2019 [1] |
Lead position ends | Dec 31, 2020 |
Assistant Presiding Judge | |
Currently | Hon. Christopher Bowen |
Since | Jan 1, 2019 [1] |
Court Executive Officer | |
Currently | Kate Bieker |
Since | May 14, 2018 [2] |
The Contra Costa County Superior Court, officially known as the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa, is the California Superior Court with jurisdiction over Contra Costa County. It has four courthouses: Martinez, Pittsburg, Richmond and Walnut Creek. [3]
Contra Costa was one of the original counties formed when California gained statehood in 1850. The original courthouse in Martinez, the county seat, was condemned following the 1868 Hayward earthquake and a replacement courthouse was completed in 1901. Court functions moved to the Hall of Records (since renamed the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse) following its completion in 1933; the former (1901) and current (1933) courthouses were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and 1991, respectively. [4] [5]
The 1901 courthouse, adjoining jail, and 1944 jail annex occupy the block bounded by Court, Main, Pine, and Escobar streets. William H. Toepke and Charles I. Havens were credited as the architects for the courthouse, and William S. Mosser was the architect for the jail. Originally, the 1901 courthouse was surmounted by a cupola and dome, but this was removed following the 1957 San Francisco earthquake which had left the structure in a precarious state. [4]
The 1933 courthouse, originally built as the Contra Costa County Hall of Records, occupies the block bounded by Court, Ward, Pine, and Main, adjacent to the 1901 courthouse across Main Street; it was built to add space for court functions, driven by the population growth of the county. The design is credited to architect E. Geoffrey Bangs, who had worked with John Galen Howard to design buildings for the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Foundation work began on February 18, 1932; the cornerstone was laid on September 23, and the building was dedicated on April 9, 1933. [5]
Samuel Conti was a Superior court judge in the Contra Costa County from 1968 to 1970, when he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. [6]
On November 11, 2003, just days before he left office after an unprecedented recall vote, California Governor Gray Davis appointed Barry Goode to serve on the Contra Costa County Superior Court. [7]
In June 2019, Judge John Laettner was found guilty of willful misconduct by a three-person panel appointed by the California Commission on Judicial Performance, upon its findings that he had "engaged in misconduct on numerous occasions over the past decade, making inappropriate comments to women and increasing a defendant’s bail without a hearing..." Deputy public defender Rebecca Brackman of the Contra Costa Public Defenders Association, was quoted by San Francisco Chronicle as stating that the outcome is an “overwhelming rebuke of Judge Laettner’s actions” and that “This sends a clear signal that judges need to uphold our community values of fairness, equity, and basic dignity and respect, regardless of gender, race, and background”. Laettner's attorney, Laettner's attorney, James Murphy maintained that the outcome was a product of a "smear campaign", having stated, on April 26, during the hearing, that "the public defender’s office from Contra Costa County was out to get Judge Laettner”. [8]
The main courthouse complex is in Martinez, including two separate courthouses (named for Wakefield Taylor and A.F. Bray) and a Family Law Center (Spinetta). There are also three branch locations in Richmond (George D. Carroll), Pittsburg (Richard E. Arnason), and Walnut Creek. [9]
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Pacheco is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California. The population was 3,685 at the 2010 census. It is bounded by Martinez to the north and west, Concord to the east, and Pleasant Hill to the south.
The Yellow Line is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line in the San Francisco Bay Area that runs between Antioch and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Some morning trains and all trains after 9 pm are extended from SFO to serve Millbrae station when the Red Line is not running. It serves 28 stations in Antioch, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Oakland, San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae. It is the most-used BART line, and the only line with additional trains on weekdays. It runs for 62.2 miles (100.1 km), making it the system's longest line.
Tri Delta Transit, formally the Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, is a joint powers agency of the governments of Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, and Contra Costa County that provides bus service for the eastern area of Contra Costa County, California, United States. Tri Delta Transit local buses connect to the BART rapid transit system at Antioch, Pittsburg Center, Pittsburg/Bay Point and Concord. Tri Delta Transit buses also connect with County Connection bus service. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,304,700, or about 4,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
Area code 925 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for a northern part of the U.S. state of California. It was created in an area code split of area code 510 in 1998. The numbering plan area comprises the inland portions of the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.
The Contra Costa Canal is a 47 mi (76 km) aqueduct in the US state of California. Its construction began in 1937, with delayed completion until 1948 due to World War II shortages in labor and materials. A portion of the canal's right of way has been developed as the Contra Costa Canal Regional Trail, a biking and walking trail, and is managed by the East Bay Regional Park District.
Samuel Conti was an American jurist who was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions as the trial court for both criminal and civil cases filed in Alameda County.
The Superior Court of California, County of Ventura County, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Ventura County.
The Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo is the California superior court with jurisdiction over San Mateo County.
Diana Becton, also known as Diana Becton Smith, is a former trial judge and is currently both the first woman and first African American to be elected district attorney in the history of Contra Costa County in California.
The Superior Court of California, County of Placer, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Placer County. The main court was in the county seat of Auburn from its inception, with satellites in the county's townships, until it moved to Roseville in 2008.
Bradford Island is a 2,172-acre (879 ha) island of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Bradford Island is inaccessible by roads, and is served by a ferry across the False River from nearby Jersey Island. Approximately 48 people lived on the island as of 2020. Other uses of land include wheat farming, cattle grazing, and natural gas extraction.
The Superior Court of California, County of Yolo County, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Yolo County.
Mallard Island is a small island in Suisun Bay, at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. It is part of Contra Costa County, California. Its coordinates are 38°02′31″N121°55′07″W, and the United States Geological Survey measured its elevation as 3 ft (0.91 m) in 1981. It appears in a 1953 USGS map of the area.
The Superior Court of California, County of Inyo, also known as the Inyo County Superior Court or Inyo Superior Court, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Inyo County.
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The Superior Court of California, County of Kings, also known as the Kings County Superior Court or Kings Superior Court, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Kings County.
The Superior Court of California, County of Nevada, also known as the Nevada County Superior Court or Nevada Superior Court, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Nevada County.
The Superior Court of California, County of Orange, also known as the Orange County Superior Court or Orange Superior Court, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Orange County.