Orange County, California Superior Court

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Orange County, California Superior Court
OC Courthouse 2.jpg
1968 Orange County Courthouse (2019)
Orange County, California Superior Court
33°45′02″N117°52′31″W / 33.75065°N 117.87534°W / 33.75065; -117.87534
Established1893
Jurisdiction Orange County, California
Location
Coordinates 33°45′02″N117°52′31″W / 33.75065°N 117.87534°W / 33.75065; -117.87534
Appeals to California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, Division Three
Website occourts.org
Presiding Judge
CurrentlyHon. Erick L. Larsh [1]
Assistant Presiding Judge
CurrentlyHon. Maria D. Hernandez [1]
Court Executive Officer
CurrentlyDavid Yamasaki [2]

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.

Contents

History

Orange County was partitioned from Los Angeles County in 1889. [3] An earlier attempt to partition what would have been Anaheim County (with its county seat at Anaheim) had failed in the State Senate after passing the Assembly in 1870. [4] :5 The name "Orange County" was coined in 1872, and additional attempts to partition the new county failed in 1876 (as "Santa Ana County") and 1881 (as "Orange County"); each of these early attempts fixed the northern border at the San Gabriel River, leaving Anaheim as a logical county seat, as it would be in the center. [4] :6–7

The city of Santa Ana was laid out by William H. Spurgeon in December 1870 and its fortunes were boosted when the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1877. The bill to create Orange County had, as a last-minute compromise, shifted the northern border to Coyote Creek instead, putting Santa Ana in the middle of the new county, which generated considerable antipathy from the citizens of Anaheim. Nevertheless, a majority of the citizens of the new Orange County first voted to divide themselves from Los Angeles County on June 4, 1889, then selected Santa Ana as the county seat (over Orange) on July 17 of the same year. [4] :6–8 The first session of court was held by Judge J.W. Towner on August 1, 1889, in the rented (and now-demolished) Congdon Building at 30212 E Fourth Street. [4] :8 Judge Towner was succeeded by J.W. Ballard, who presided over the superior court from 1897 to 1903, and Z.B. West, who succeeded Ballard in 1903. [5] :37

Exterior view of the Santa Ana (Orange County) Court House, 1905 (CHS-5367).jpg
as completed (1905)
Old Orange County Courthouse Santa Ana CA.jpg
as remodeled (2019)

In June 1893, the county purchased a site for a new permanent courthouse from Spurgeon for US$8,000(equivalent to $270,000 in 2023), in the block bounded by Sixth, Church, West, and Sycamore (now Santa Ana Blvd, Civic Center Dr, Broadway, and Sycamore, respectively); however, the first building erected on this site was the county jail, completed in 1897. [4] :9 In 1899, the county board of supervisors solicited plans for a new courthouse, approving a revised design by C. B. Bradshaw and John Parkinson on October 3, and submitting a bond measure to raise US$100,000(equivalent to $3,660,000 in 2023), which the voters passed on September 5. [4] :10 However, Bradshaw & Parkinson withdrew after two supervisors alleged a plastering contractor said "it would be $400 in my pocket" if the Bradshaw & Parkinson plans were approved, and the supervisors instead approved a design by Charles L. Strange on December 20. [4] :10–11 [5] :96 The Romanesque Revival design used red sandstone facing from Arizona and granite blocks from Temecula. [4] :12 [6] Blee & McNeill were selected as the constructors and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1900. [4] :12–13 When it was completed and accepted on September 23, 1901, it was the tallest building in the county, standing 135 ft (41 m) high at the top of the cupola with a footprint of 136 ft × 88 ft (41 m × 27 m). The courthouse was formally opened on November 12, 1901. [4] :15 The final cost of the 1901 courthouse was estimated to be US$117,000(equivalent to $4,290,000 in 2023). [5] :96 After it was damaged in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, the cupola was removed. [4] :27–28 [7]

The 1901 courthouse was remodeled in 1964–65 to add four more courtrooms on the first floor and air conditioning, but the facilities remained inadequate and ground was broken on September 16, 1966 for a new 11-story courthouse, designed in part by Richard Neutra. [4] :45–46 The new courthouse was dedicated on January 10, 1969; some limited functions remained in the 1901 building until 1978. [4] :46 The 1969 courthouse consists of two buildings, the tower on the northeast corner and a lower three-story building to the west, joined by a glass-paneled entrance and covered walkway. [8]

Preservation efforts for the 1901 courthouse saw it named to the list of California Historical Landmarks (No. 837) on March 11, 1970, [4] :47 then to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. [9] A seismic evaluation in 1979 concluded the building did not meet current codes, and the last county employees were moved by October 30. [4] :50 The building was gutted and reconstructed with steel beams from 1983 to 1985. [4] :50–52 By 1992, the interior restoration was complete. [4] :55

Venues

Orange County, California Superior Court
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
5km
3miles
5
4
3
2
Orange County Superior Court locations: [10]
1
700 Civic Center Dr W (Santa Ana: Central)
     751 W Santa Ana Blvd (Civil Complex)
2
341 The City Dr S (Orange: Lamoreaux)
3
4601 Jamboree Rd (Newport Beach: Harbor)
4
1275 N Berkeley Ave (Fullerton: North)
5
8141 13th St (Westminster: West)

In addition to the main Central branch in Santa Ana, the Superior Court of Orange County operates from branches in Orange (Lamoreaux Justice Center), Newport Beach (Harbor Justice Center), Fullerton (North Justice Center), and Westminster (West Justice Center).

The 1901 Orange County Courthouse is being used as a museum by the OC History Center. Several motion pictures have filmed there, including Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Legally Blonde (2001). [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County, California</span> County in California, United States

Orange County is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, and more populous than 19 American states and Washington, D.C. Although largely suburban, it is the second-most-densely-populated county in the state behind San Francisco County. The county's three most-populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast: Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaheim, California</span> City in Orange County, California, U.S.

Anaheim is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most populous city in California, and the 55th-most populous city in the United States. The second most populous city in Orange County in terms of land area, Anaheim is known for being the home of the Disneyland Resort, the Anaheim Convention Center, and two professional sports teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It also served as the home of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 through 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Sheriff's Department</span> Law enforcement agency in California, US

The Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) is the law enforcement agency serving Orange County, California. It currently serves the unincorporated areas of Orange County and thirteen contract cities in the county: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Santa Ana</span> United States historic place

Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA), also called Downtown Orange County, is the city center of Santa Ana, the county seat of Orange County, California. It is the institutional center for the city of Santa Ana as well as Orange County, a retail and business hub.

Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a 63,414-acre (256.63 km2) Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant extended eastward from the Santa Ana River to the Santa Ana Mountains, with a length of more than 22 miles (35 km).

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The Old Orange County Courthouse, at one point also known as the Santa Ana County Courthouse, is a Romanesque Revival building that was opened in September 1901 and is located in Santa Ana's Historic Downtown District on Civic Center and Broadway streets. The Old Orange County Courthouse is officially recognized as California Historical Landmark No. 837 and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Judicial Governance" (PDF). Superior Court of California, County of Orange. March 2, 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  2. "CEO and Executive Structure" (PDF). Superior Court of California, County of Orange. June 25, 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  3. California State Assembly. "An Act to create the County of Orange, to define the boundaries thereof, to determine the county seat by an election, and to provide for its organization and election of officers, and to classify said county". Twenty-eighth Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. CX p. 123. direct URL
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Brigandi, Phil (2001). Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History . San Antonio, Texas: Historical Publishing Network. ISBN   1-893619-11-7. LCCN   00-111621 . Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Armor, Samuel (1921). History of Orange County, California. Los Angeles: Historic Record Company. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. "Orange County". California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. "Orange County, California". Courthouse History. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. Deacon, John (2015). "Orange County". American Courthouses. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. "National Register Information System  Orange County Court House (#77000321)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. "Locations". The Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  11. "Old Orange County Courthouse" (PDF). OC Parks. Retrieved 11 August 2022.