Background
Prior to June 1998, California's trial courts consisted of Superior and Municipal courts, each with its own jurisdiction and
with its number of judges fixed by the Legislature; prior to 1951, the Santa Rosa Justice Court was one of twelve such inferior
courts in the County. The Justice Court (also known as the Santa Rosa Justice's Court; more formally designated as the State
of California's Justice Court for Santa Rosa), had jurisdiction over the City of Santa Rosa and surrounding area of central
Sonoma County, California. The Santa Rosa Justice Court was reorganized in 1952 as part of the State of California's inferior
court reorganization program authorized by the voters as California Proposition 3 in 1950, which combined the offices of the
township justices of the peace and city police court judges; the Santa Rosa Justice Court and other, local municipal courts
were combined as the Santa Rosa Judicial District Court, or more formally, the State of California's Municipal Court for the
Santa Rosa Judicial District on Jan. 1, 1952.
Restrictions
Property rights reside with the Sonoma County Library. The Sonoma County Library has made this collection available and believes
that the collection is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its
copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Collection may not be in the Public Domain under the laws
of other countries. Preferred credit line is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and
reuse information at
Availability
Materials stored offsite, but collection is open to research. In many cases, further details on individual volumes can be
found by calling staff at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library. To view these materials, please call staff at
to request they be brought from the Archives to the Library