San Francisco County Superior Court

View of trial court, Superior Court for San Francisco County

The San Francisco County Superior Court is a branch of the California Superior Court with jurisdiction over the City and County of San Francisco. Katherine Feinstein (daughter of Senator Dianne Feinstein) had been the presiding judge of the court for twelve years, through 2012.[1][2] Judge Cynthia Ming-Mei Lee was elected the new presiding judge on June 27, 2012. The court is composed of 52 judges and twelve commissioners.[3] The court currently has two commissioners.[4]

In 1976 the Court helped to create the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project,[5] a nonprofit organization that helps to provide alternative punishments for misdemeanors and parking violations, in an attempt to divert petty offenders from overcrowded courtrooms.[6]

In December 2016, John Stewart, chief judge at the court, discarded 66,000 arrest warrants for criminal infractions, like sleeping on the sidewalk, public urination and public drunkenness, stating "You're putting somebody in jail because they're poor and can't pay a fine. We got a lot of criticism, but we thought it was the right thing to do."[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Presiding Judge". Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Katherine Feinstein retiring as judge", San Francisco Chronicle, December 19, 2012
  3. ↑ Yuen, Michael (January 13, 2011). "Superior Court News Release" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ "San Francisco Superior Court Alphabetical Listing" (PDF). April 20, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ "San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project website". Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ Landsittel, Sue (December 10, 2003). "Parking Break". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  7. ↑


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