Criminal
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Overview of services – criminal
Legal Advice
Please be aware that Superior Court staff is not authorized by law to give legal advice. If you are seeking legal advice, you should consider consulting a licensed attorney. You may also want to visit the San Joaquin County Law Library or the Superior Court’s Self-Help Center for additional information and forms.
What I Need to Bring to Court
- Proper identification
- Copy of citation, Promise to Appear
- Any documents which prove compliance with judicial orders and/or probation terms
Case Search
You may obtain information by conducting a case search. If the case has not been updated, you will need to contact the Clerk’s Office by phone or at the counter.
Case Records
If you would like to view a case file or request copies of documents from a case file, please visit the Records Management. You may also visit the Criminal counter to request a single or a small number of documents on cases filed 2015 through the current year. Older cases or requests for a large number of documents will be processed by Records Management.
Fees, Fines, and Bail Schedule
If you would like to view fees and fines and the bail schedule associated with criminal cases, please click on the links that follow:
Fines and Fees or Felony Bail Schedule
Criminal Court
Criminal courts have jurisdiction over misdemeanors – offenses generally punishable by fine and/or county jail term – preliminary felony hearings and felony trials. Criminal courts conduct arraignments, criminal readiness, trials, motions, sentencing, probation hearings, and Mental Health proceedings.
The non-judicial support for criminal courts consists of Court Clerks, a Criminal Calendar Department, and Interpreters. Court Clerks assist the judges in the courtroom by preparing minutes, scheduling events, marking exhibits and various other duties. The Criminal Calendar Department transfers information from the courtrooms and other outside sources to various computer systems to create indexes, calendar and minutes. The Interpreters provide interpreting services for the Court in both the verbal and written form.
Criminal Proceedings
With the unification of the Municipal and Superior Courts, Superior Court has criminal jurisdiction over all misdemeanors, preliminary felony hearings, and felony trials. The Court conducts arraignments where accused individuals are informed of the specific charges against them and are advised of their rights. The court holds preliminary hearings on felony charges to determine if there is sufficient evidence to require a defendant to stand trial.
T-Visa and U-Visa
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 established forms of immigration relief under the issuance of a T-Visa or U-Visa for immigrants within the United States who are not lawful permanent residents or naturalized citizens and who are:
- the victims of certain qualifying criminal activity, and
- was/is being helpful or is likely to be helpful to law enforcement, prosecutors, judges or government officials in the detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction
or sentencing of qualifying criminal activity.
In order to be eligible for either type of Visa, the applicant must obtain a declaration or certification from a certifying agency as outlined in Penal Code section 679.10 and Penal Code section 679.11. A judge is included on the list among those who can act as a certifying official. Certification by itself does not grant immigration status to the applicant as there are additional eligibility requirements that must be met. The Department of Homeland Security has the sole authority to grant or deny a T-Visa or U-Visa.
For the most up to date information, forms and instructions regarding the U Nonimmigrant Status Visa (I-918), visit the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website at https://www.uscis.gov/I-918.
For the most up to date information, forms and instructions regarding the T Nonimmigrant Status Visa (I-914), visit the US Citizenship and Immigrations Services’ website at https://www.uscis.gov/i-914.
Submitting a declaration or certification request to the court for consideration
When submitting a U-Visa request for certification, submit to the following to the Stockton Criminal Department:
- Form I-918 Supplement B, U Nonimmigrant Status Certification, with Part 1 – Victim Information completed; Must be typed or printed in black or blue ink
- Any additional supporting documentation for the reviewing judicial officer’s consideration
- A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with the appropriate postage affixed so that your document and any supporting documentation can be returned to you
When requesting a T-Visa declaration for consideration, submit the following to the Stockton Criminal Department:
- Form I-914 Supplement B, Declaration of Law Enforcement Officer for Victim of Trafficking in Persons, with Part A – Victim Information completed; Must be typed or printed in black ink
- Any additional supporting documentation for the reviewing judicial officer’s consideration
- A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with the appropriate postage affixed so that your document and any supporting documentation can be returned to you
After judicial review, the original declaration or certification, either granted or denied, will be returned to the party along with any supporting documents.
Pursuant to Penal Code 679.10 and 679.11, a certifying entity shall process a Form I-914 Supplement B declaration or Form I-918 Supplement B certification, within 30 days of request, unless the noncitizen is in removal proceedings, in which case the declaration or certification shall be processed within 7 days of the first business day following the day the request was received.
By statute, the court must report and make available the number of victims who requested either type of Visa, the number that were signed and the number that were denied. Click here for San Joaquin County Superior Court’s activity here.