Nevada County Superior Court

Branch of California superior court with jurisdiction over Nevada County
    • Nevada City (county seat)
    • Truckee
Coordinates39°15′50″N 121°01′05″W / 39.26390°N 121.01814°W / 39.26390; -121.01814Appeals toCalifornia Court of Appeal for the Third DistrictWebsitenevada.courts.ca.govPresiding JudgeCurrentlyHon. S. Robert Tice-Raskin[1]Assistant Presiding JudgeCurrentlyHon. Linda J. Sloven[1]Court Executive OfficerCurrentlyJason B. Galkin[1]

The Superior Court of California, County of Nevada, also known as the Nevada County Superior Court or Nevada Superior Court, is the branch of the California superior court with jurisdiction over Nevada County.

History

1864 Nevada County Courthouse
Original appearance (c. 1868)
After 1900 remodel (c. 1904)
After 1937 remodel (2010)

Nevada County was partitioned from Yuba County in 1851.[2] Thomas H. Caswell was elected the first County Judge in May 1851[3]: 56  and Nevada City was named the county seat.[4] The first courthouse was a log building completed in 1851 on Broad Street.[5]

In its early years, Nevada City was regularly swept by fires, including March 1851, September 1852, November 1854, and February 1855; a particularly disastrous fire, fanned by winds on July 19, 1856, destroyed most of the city, including the first county courthouse.[4]: 84  A second courthouse was built in 1856 as a two-story granite and brick building in the Greek Revival style;[6]: 20  it occupied the block bounded by Church, Pine, Washington, and Main overlooking the city's retail district on Broad.[5] It was saved from destruction in the fire of May 23, 1858, by wet blankets and bucket brigades; however, another disastrous fire on November 8, 1863, destroyed the second courthouse.[4]: 85–86  Some of the bricks were reused in the city's Masonic Hall.[6]

The third courthouse was built on the same site in 1864.[7] The 1864 courthouse was remodeled in 1900 to add a third storey.[8] In 1937, it underwent a more thorough remodeling under the guidance of architect George C. Sellon, funded by the Works Progress Administration and gaining an Art Deco / Streamline Moderne facade.[6]: 20 [9]: 10  An annex was added in 1964, designed by Mau & Barnum to expand County office space and the jail.[9]: 10 

Venues

15km
10miles
none
2
1
  
Map
Nevada County Superior Court locations:[10]
1
201 Church St (Nevada City)
2
10075 Levon Ave (Truckee)

The existing Nevada City courthouse complex, built and remodeled between 1864 and 1964, is approximately 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2) in total; it is considered "unsafe, undersized, substandard, overcrowded, lacks parking, and is functionally deficient", being non-compliant with seismic and fire codes and fails to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.[11] A planning study was completed in June 2022 to examine options to bring the Nevada City courthouse into compliance, including remodeling the existing complex or building a new courthouse, either at the existing site or at a new site near the County Government Center in Nevada City.[9] The judges of the Nevada County Superior Court expressed their support for option 2, which would be a new building at the existing site.[12]

The branch in Truckee handles all judicial affairs for the eastern part of the county except juvenile justice.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Judicial Assignments and Profiles". Superior Court of California, County of Nevada. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. ^ California State Assembly. "An Act to provide for the Organization of the Counties of Nevada, Placer, Trinity, and Klamath". Second Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 132 p. 516. direct URL
  3. ^ Wells, Harry Laurenz (1880). "XIX: Nevada County as a Political Body". History of Nevada County, California. Oakland, California: Thompson & West. pp. 55–58. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Wells, Harry Laurenz (1880). "XXVI: Nevada Township". History of Nevada County, California. Oakland, California: Thompson & West. pp. 78–89. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b Deacon, John (2015). "Nevada County". American Courthouses. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "National Register Information System – Nevada City Downtown Historic District (#85002520)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. ^ "Nevada County". California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Nevada County, California". Courthouse History. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. ^ a b c HOK (May 10, 2022). New Nevada City Courthouse Planning Study (PDF) (Report). Judicial Council of California. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Locations & Hours". The Superior Court of California, County of Nevada. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Nevada County, Nevada City Courthouse Study". The Judicial Branch of California. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Letter to Court Facilities Advisory Committee" (PDF). Superior Court of the State of California, County of Nevada. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

External links

  • Official website
  • California Courthouses (PDF). Judicial Council of California. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2019.