The state rules are in the California guide. This page covers San Jose and Santa Clara County: a court where the building depends on the case type, and criminal courthouses outside San Jose.
Getting the court facts right
The Superior Court of Santa Clara County lists these locations:
- Downtown Superior Court, 191 North First Street, San Jose: civil, probate, and small claims. The probate clerk's office is in Room 107.
- Family Justice Center Courthouse, 201 North First Street, San Jose: family, juvenile dependency, drug court, traffic, and self-help.
- Old Courthouse, 161 North First Street, San Jose: civil.
- Hall of Justice, 190 West Hedding Street, San Jose: criminal.
- Palo Alto Courthouse, 270 Grant Avenue, Palo Alto, and South County Morgan Hill Courthouse, 301 Diana Avenue, Morgan Hill: criminal, plus traffic in Morgan Hill.
The court lists the Santa Clara Courthouse on Homestead Road as temporarily closed. Details like that change, which is why we check court pages again before each page goes live.
One county, three court towns
Clients search with the name of the place they live. In Santa Clara County, the court itself sits in San Jose, Palo Alto, and Morgan Hill, so a criminal defense page for a client in the north or south of the county may need to name a courthouse outside San Jose. A county page that names the buildings by case type usually beats a page per city.
Where San Jose differs
In San Francisco, probate and family matters share one courthouse. In San Jose they sit in separate buildings on North First Street, and criminal matters are elsewhere. A firm serving both markets needs separate pages; the San Francisco market guide covers that court.
What we build for San Jose firms
- Practice-area pages that name the right Santa Clara County courthouse for each case type
- County pages that cover San Jose, Palo Alto, and Morgan Hill court locations where you take those cases
- Answer posts for the local questions clients ask before they call
See the estate planning guide and the criminal defense guide, and our answer on whether a small firm can compete in AI search.
Common questions
Where are family law cases heard in Santa Clara County?
The court lists family matters at the Family Justice Center Courthouse, 201 North First Street, San Jose. Probate and civil matters are at the Downtown Superior Court, 191 North First Street.
Does a San Jose criminal defense page need to mention Palo Alto or Morgan Hill?
If you take cases heard there, yes. The court lists criminal departments at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, the Palo Alto Courthouse, and the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse.