Effective August 25, 2014, 13 unlimited civil courtrooms will be participating in a Court Reporter Pooling Pilot Project and official court reporters (i.e., court reporters employed by the Court) will only be provided in the following departments for trials and matters in which oral evidence will be presented. Click here to see the list of courtrooms and the entire announcement.

The Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (FACT) named the Superior Court of Orange County as a 2014 winner of its annual Top 10 Court Websites Award. The online announcement about the award can be viewed here. One of the FACT judges commented, “The site does a great job of presenting a lot of information in a manner that is attractive and accessible.” Another of the judges said, “‘Quick links to ‘Find Information For…’ and ‘How Do I…’ are nicely done! This website is very well done and user friendly.”

The Court has launched a mobile-friendly website. The website is designed to give users easy access to Court information on-the-go on any device. The website address remains the same, www.occourts.org. Our dedication to creating the best possible experience for the public is the motivation behind this effort. The state-of-the-art design elements allow users to readily access the website on-the-go from any mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone with Internet capability. The website uses a responsive design which automatically adjusts the layout and navigation for the site to the appropriate screen size, eliminating the need to zoom and pan to find information.

Several Orange County residents have recently reported receiving a phone call or voicemail from an individual claiming to be a law enforcement officer asking for payment to clear up a warrant that had been issued because the resident did not appear for jury service. These calls are fraudulent and have no connection to the Orange County Superior Court. Anyone receiving a phone call from someone demanding payment for an outstanding warrant should report it immediately as a crime to their local law enforcement agency.

Also, please note that Orange County Superior Court’s Jury Services staff does not ask past, current, or prospective jurors for information regarding credit card numbers, bank account information, or Social Security numbers. Please do not provide this type of information to anyone claiming to be associated with Jury Services.

The Self-Help Services website now has an interactive Self-Help Small Claims Online Interview available. The online interview is a free screening tool that self-represented litigants can use to quickly access specific information for their legal problem. The online interview is provided as a public service and is created as a self-guiding tool to services, resources, and options for help with a legal matter. It is not a tool that provides legal advice.

Based on the interviewees’ responses, the online interview produces a summary of information that can include court procedures, forms, and service referrals which may take the place of litigation. The online interview provides links to many alternative services.

On January 2, 2014, the Court begins a six-month transition toward exclusive use of electronic documents in criminal cases. The court will no longer create paper files for newly filed cases. Instead, all newly filed cases will be stored and accessed electronically. We will begin the process of converting older cases as well. It is the Court’s intent to have all criminal records with a court appearance converted to an electronic file by July 1, 2014. For more information on public case access click here.

Family Law Fillable Forms Can Be Filed With The Court Electronically at No Additional Cost.
Start or respond to a divorce, legal separation, nullity or paternity case with easy to use, fillable, “SmartForms” that can be completed and submitted to the Court 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer that has access to the Internet.

Click here to begin

Electronic Filing system (eFiling) and Electronic Service (eService).
24 hours/day, 7 days/week click here. Frequently asked questions can be accessed here.

On July 1, 2014 the Civil department launched its Proposed Order Module in accordance with rule 3.1312 of the California Rules of Court. All proposed orders and/or stipulations and orders are required to be submitted in a Word version along with a PDF. The only exceptions are those orders that are submitted on mandatory judicial council forms. The launching of this module will provide faster turnaround time for orders submitted to the courtroom and signed orders will now be returned via the original transaction submitted.

The Superior Court of California, County of Orange is holding money in its Trial Court Operations Fund. If you believe that you are entitled to claim any of the unclaimed funds, please file a Claim for Ownership of Funds  form and all supporting documents that you believe will assist the Court in determining the lawful owner.

The records of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange indicate that a trust fund has money eligible for distribution. These funds were deposited for an arbitration hearing between February 2007 to June 2008. If you believe that you are entitled to claim any of the civil deposits paid to the Court, please file an Arbitrator’s Fee Statement L-0190  form.

The Superior Court of Orange County is proud to present the Fiscal Year 2013-14 Approved Budget and the Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget at a Glance. The approved budget summarizes the Court's operating budget, provides detailed expenditure budget information for each cost center, and includes other summarized information that might be useful to Court staff and the general public. The Budget at a Glance is designed to be a two-sided tri-fold pamphlet providing high-level budget information.
(Please click on Approved Budget, Fiscal Year 2013-14 or Budget At A Glance, Fiscal Year 2013-14 to open the document)