Shasta County Superior Court Criminal Case Guide

Where Is the Shasta County Superior Court?

Criminal cases are heard at the Redding Main Courthouse, 1515 Court Street, Redding, CA 96001. The court’s locations page lists its courtrooms as Departments 21 through 64, on the second, fourth, fifth and sixth floors, with the jury assembly room on the first floor in Room 170.

The Criminal Clerk’s Office is in Room 219. It is open from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and its phone number is (530) 245-6789. The clerk can look up where a case is calendared, accept fine payments and arrange an interpreter. The clerk cannot tell you what to do about your case: the court states that clerks are prohibited by law from giving legal advice.

The courtroom rules are short. Shirt and shoes are required. Shorts and tank tops are not allowed, and neither are food, drinks or gum. Weapons are not allowed anywhere in the courthouse, and pagers and cell phones must be turned off. Courtroom doors generally open at 8:00 AM, and the court tells defendants to expect to be there for a substantial portion of the day.

How Do I Look Up a Shasta County Court Date?

Use the court’s Public Portal. It offers a Search Hearings function that finds court hearings within a date range, and a Smart Search for court records. The court also posts the calendar outside the Criminal Division Clerk’s Office, listing each name with a courtroom and a time.

Two cautions come with the portal. The court states that the information on it is not the official record of the court and may contain errors or omissions. And under California Rules of Court, rule 2.503, the court does not display documents remotely for certain case types. Those records can be viewed at the Records Department inside the courthouse.

If your name is not on the calendar and you believe it should be, the court’s instruction is to go to the Criminal Clerk’s Office with whatever paperwork you have. Name searches can be requested there in person or by mail, and they are limited to cases filed in Shasta County. The court does not give name index or case disposition information over the telephone.

If the question is about someone who was brought to court in custody, the court directs that inquiry to the Criminal Clerk’s Office as well, and asks for the person’s name, date of birth and arresting agency. The jail itself is run by the Sheriff’s Office, whose custody line is (530) 245-6100.

What Should I Bring to Court?

Bring photo identification and every piece of paper connected to the case. The court’s list includes your citation, any letter from the court or the prosecuting agency, your bail bond or cash bail receipt, jail release paperwork, and the name you were arrested under if it differs from your current name.

Be ready to show picture identification at the clerk’s window and in the courtroom. The court lists a driver’s license, a California ID card or other picture identification. If a case has already reached sentencing, bring those papers too: fine payment slips, a community service contract, anything you were given while in custody.

If you need an interpreter, the court provides them for all case types. In a criminal case, ask at the Criminal Clerk’s Office counter in Room 219 or ask the clerk in your courtroom. If no interpreter is available at the time of your hearing, the court may continue the case until one can be assigned.

If you do not have a lawyer and cannot afford one, the court will appoint counsel at arraignment if you meet the qualifications. It may later decide whether you can pay part of that cost and order you to do so.

Arraignment Is the First Hearing, Not the Main Event

The Shasta County court’s own description of arraignment is four things: the accused receives a copy of the complaint, is informed of the charges, is advised of constitutional rights and enters a plea. Nothing on that list involves arguing the evidence.

Jacob Levin makes the same point from the defense side in What Happens at Arraignment (My Cousin Vinny Got It Wrong). Arraignment is mainly procedural, the plea entered there is almost always not guilty, and most cases are not ready for factual argument because the defense has not yet received all of the evidence.

What arraignment does decide matters anyway. Custody and bail are addressed. Future dates are set, and the statutory clocks in the table above start to run from them. For anyone held in custody, the date of the next hearing matters as much as anything else said in the room.

Pretrial Hearings and the Preliminary Hearing

A pretrial hearing is where the case is negotiated and the record is built. A preliminary hearing, in a felony only, is where a judge decides whether the evidence is sufficient to hold the defendant for trial.

The court’s FAQ calls the pretrial hearing a conference between the prosecutor and the defendant about settling the case. Its criminal division page adds that this is where discovery is exchanged and where motions are filed, including motions to set aside the complaint, to dismiss and to suppress evidence.

Penal Code section 859b sets the preliminary hearing clock in some detail. At arraignment on a felony complaint, the judge sets the hearing and must allow both sides at least two days, excluding Sundays and holidays, to prepare. The hearing must then be held within 10 court days of arraignment or plea unless both sides waive time or good cause is found. If the defendant has been in custody for 10 or more court days solely on that complaint, the complaint must be dismissed unless the defendant personally waived time or the prosecution showed good cause.

When the hearing is set past the 10 court days, section 859b requires the defendant’s release under section 1318 unless an exception applies. The exceptions are a delay the defendant asked for, a capital charge where the proof is evident, a witness made unavailable by the defendant, the illness of counsel, counsel’s unexpected engagement in a jury trial, and an unforeseen conflict requiring new counsel. Beyond all of that sits the 60 day outer limit.

For the defense, the preliminary hearing is also the first time a prosecution witness answers questions under oath in this case, and a transcript of those answers exists from then on.

Trial, Time Waivers and What Comes After

At trial the attorneys select a jury, witnesses testify and evidence is presented, and the jury decides guilty or not guilty. The court’s FAQ describes a criminal jury as twelve members of the community. A defendant can instead agree to a court trial, where the judge decides.

Time waivers are where most trial dates move, and Penal Code section 1382 treats two kinds differently. A general waiver of the 60 day requirement lets the court set or continue trial without the sanction of dismissal; if the defendant later withdraws it in open court, trial must begin within 60 days of the withdrawal. A defendant who only requests or consents to a specific later date, without a general waiver, must be brought to trial on that date or within 10 days after it.

After a conviction, the case is not necessarily the end of the record. The court accepts petitions for dismissal from people who were not sentenced to state prison and have completed probation or the sentence, including fines and fees. A granted petition changes the record to show a dismissal rather than a conviction. The court also accepts petitions for a certificate of rehabilitation, which serves as an application to the governor for a pardon.

Missing a Court Date in Shasta County

A missed appearance can turn a manageable case into a warrant. The court may issue a warrant for your arrest, the prosecution may ask to add charges for failing to appear, and you can be punished by jail or a fine regardless of how the original charge ends.

Penal Code section 1214.1 also allows a civil assessment of up to $100 against a defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear. The assessment cannot take effect until at least 20 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice, and the court must vacate it if the defendant appears within that time and shows good cause.

If the missed date left a failure to appear hold on your driver’s license, the court’s FAQ says its office removes it electronically within 24 to 48 hours of your court appearance.