Fresno County Superior Court

California Has Superior Courts, Not County District Courts

California does not have county district courts. The state uses one trial court per county, called the Superior Court. There are 58 of them, one for each county. Fresno County has its own, named the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno. The word district shows up in two other places. The Fifth District Court of Appeal sits in Fresno and hears appeals from nine counties. And the federal Eastern District of California is a U.S. District Court that covers Fresno on the federal side.

Before 1998, the state had a split system. Each county ran a superior court plus a set of municipal or justice courts for small cases. Voters changed that with Proposition 220 in 1998. The state then merged these lower courts into the superior court bench, county by county, and the last merger wrapped up in 2001. Since then, every Fresno trial judge sits on one court, and the county no longer has municipal, justice, or JP courts.

Fresno Superior Court Structure (Divisions)

The court is one body, but the workload is split into divisions. Each division has its own clerks, its own filing rules, and its own set of judges. A case may move between divisions if it crosses subject matter, but the case number stays with the court as a whole.

The main divisions in Fresno are Civil, Family Law, Criminal, Probate, Juvenile (delinquency and dependency), Small Claims, Traffic, and Appeals. The court also runs a group of Collaborative Courts that handle treatment-based dockets. Most civil and family filings go to the B. F. Sisk Courthouse on O Street. Criminal and juvenile dependency cases go to the Downtown Courthouse on Van Ness. Traffic and criminal infractions go to the M Street Courthouse on Tuolumne.

The court's website lists each division, with its own page for forms, hours, and contact info. The clerks at each courthouse can answer process questions but cannot give legal advice. For that, the court runs an ACTION Center, which is a self-help office on the first floor of the Downtown Courthouse, behind the jury assembly room.

Fresno Superior Court Locations

Fresno County uses three main courthouses plus an archives facility. The table below lists each one, its address, phone, and the case types it hears. File at the wrong courthouse and the clerk will reject the paperwork, so check first.

If a case is old or closed, the file may have moved to the Archives Facility on E Street. Pull-up time is not instant. Call ahead and ask the archives clerk to pull the file, then plan a trip a few days out.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal

The Fifth District Court of Appeal sits at 2424 Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Fresno. It is one of six Courts of Appeal in California. The Fifth District covers nine counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne. Most appeals from the Fresno Superior Court go here. The court does not hold trials. It reviews the trial record, reads briefs, and may hear oral argument.

Above the Court of Appeal sits the California Supreme Court. It takes only a small share of cases, mostly the ones with statewide impact, and it has the last word on state law. Death penalty appeals skip the Court of Appeal and go straight to the Supreme Court.

The Federal Eastern District of California

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California is a federal trial court. It is not part of the state system. It hears federal cases, such as federal crimes, federal civil rights claims, immigration appeals, and lawsuits under federal law. Fresno County sits in the Fresno Division of the Eastern District. The court website is at https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/. Bankruptcy cases for the same area go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California at https://www.caeb.uscourts.gov/.

Appeals from the Eastern District of California go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, not to the state courts. The Ninth Circuit sits in San Francisco. Beyond that, the U.S. Supreme Court may take a case. State and federal cases stay on their own tracks. A case filed in the Superior Court does not move to the federal court, and a federal case does not move down to state.

State Trial Court, State Appeals Court, and Federal Trial Court

Three courts sit in or cover Fresno County. The table below shows what each one does. Note that none of them is a county district court. That label does not exist in California state law.

Specialty and Collaborative Courts in Fresno County

Fresno runs a set of Collaborative Courts. These are not separate courts. They are dockets inside the Superior Court that pair a judge with treatment teams. The goal is to cut repeat offenses and to deal with the root cause, such as drug use, mental illness, or trauma.

The Collaborative Courts in Fresno County include DUI Court, Adult Behavioral Health Court, the CARE Act docket (which started December 2, 2024), Family Behavioral Health Court, Mental Health AB 1810 Court, Unity Court, and Veterans Treatment Court (which began June 17, 2016). Each docket has its own entry rules, but most need a referral from the assigned judge, defense counsel, and the District Attorney.

Jurisdiction by Case Type

Civil cases split into two tracks. Limited civil covers claims of $35,000 or less. Unlimited civil covers larger claims. Small claims is its own track, with a lower cap and no lawyers in court. Unlawful detainer (eviction) sits in the civil division at B. F. Sisk.

Criminal cases split into three levels. Infractions are the smallest, with a fine cap of $250 plus assessments and no jail. Misdemeanors carry up to one year in county jail. Felonies can lead to state prison, and in some cases the death penalty. Misdemeanor and infraction trials run at the M Street or Downtown courthouses, while felony trials sit downtown.

Family law cases run at B. F. Sisk. The court hears divorce, legal separation, custody, support, and domestic violence restraining orders. Probate at B. F. Sisk covers wills, trusts, conservatorships, and guardianships. The probate division has its own clerks at (559) 457-1888.

Traffic cases run at the M Street Courthouse. Most can be paid online, but a contested ticket needs a court date. See the traffic court records page for fines, payment plans, and trial by written declaration.

How a Case Moves Through the System

State cases start at the Superior Court. If a party loses and wants to appeal, the case moves up. The basic flow is short.

State path: Fresno Superior Court › Fifth District Court of Appeal › California Supreme Court

Federal path: U.S. District Court (E.D. Cal.) › Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals › U.S. Supreme Court

Inside the Superior Court, a civil case runs like this. A plaintiff files a complaint. The defendant files an answer. The two sides exchange discovery. The court may push the parties to mediation. If no deal, the case goes to trial. A judgment follows. The losing side has 60 days to file a notice of appeal.

A criminal case runs from arrest, to first appearance, to arraignment. For a felony, the court holds a preliminary hearing or the grand jury hands up an indictment. Then arraignment in superior court, pretrial motions, trial, and sentencing. Appeals from a felony go to the Fifth District. Appeals from a misdemeanor or infraction stay inside the Superior Court appellate division.

Searching Fresno Superior Court Records

The court offers an online Case Public Portal for some case types. Most filings since the move to electronic filing show up there. Older records may sit only on paper at the Archives Facility on E Street. Use the case number if you have one. If not, search by party name. For full lookup steps, see the court records guide. For day-of hearings, the court dockets page lists how to find the daily calendar.

Some records are sealed by law. Juvenile case files, mental health records, and adoption files are closed to the public. Family law files may have parts sealed. The clerk of court can confirm what is open and what is not before a request goes in.

The 2026 Case-Management System Upgrade

The Fresno Superior Court plans a case-management system upgrade for March 2026. The court has not said which exact dates will be down. Plan to file early in the month or wait until the system is back. Hearings should still go on, but online lookup and e-filing may pause. Watch the court's home page for outage notices.

After the upgrade, case numbers and online portal links may change. Old links may break. Save the case number on paper as a backup. For more on how the change may affect public access, see the FAQ.

Main Courthouse Contact Cards

Related Fresno County Resources

For case lookup and how to pull a file, see court records and court dockets. For Clerk contact info, see Clerk of Court. For arrests, jail, and warrants, start with arrest records.