Glenn County Docket Search

Glenn County Superior Court operates from Willows and provides docket access for this small agricultural county in the northern Sacramento Valley. You can search court dockets online through a case index system hosted on the court website. The index covers civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic cases filed in Glenn County. The courthouse serves a population of around 28,000 people spread across farms, ranches, and small towns. Most cases involve local disputes, family matters, or minor criminal charges. Remote access to dockets is available at no cost but some older records may only exist in paper form at the courthouse.

Glenn County Case Index

The court maintains an online case index at www.glenn.courts.ca.gov/online-services/case-index. This tool lets you search for dockets by case number or party name. Results show basic case information and the register of actions. Each docket entry lists what happened on a given date. You can see filings, hearings, and court orders all in one place.

The index covers most case types. Civil lawsuits, small claims, unlawful detainers, and probate matters all appear. Criminal and traffic cases show up too. Family law dockets may have limited access due to privacy rules. If you cannot find the information you need online, call the clerk office to ask if you must visit in person to view the full file.

Searches are free. You do not pay to look up a case or view the docket entries. The system does not require a login or account. Just open the website and start searching. If you know the case number, use that for faster results. Name searches work but may return multiple matches in Glenn County.

Willows Courthouse

Glenn County has one courthouse. It sits at 526 West Sycamore Street, Willows, CA 95988. All court business for the county happens here. The clerk office is open on weekdays during business hours. You can call (530) 934-6446 to ask questions about case files or how to get copies of documents. Staff can also help you use the public computers to search for dockets if you visit in person.

The courthouse has a small staff. Wait times are usually short because the county has fewer cases than urban areas. Bring photo ID when you visit. Security checks everyone at the entrance. Public terminals in the lobby let you search for cases at no charge. The clerk can print copies of docket pages or documents from the file for a fee.

Parking is available near the courthouse. The building sits in downtown Willows close to other county offices. If you need to file papers or attend a hearing, arrive early to get through security and find the right courtroom in Glenn County.

Understanding Court Dockets

A docket lists every step in a case from start to finish. When someone files a lawsuit or gets charged with a crime, the court opens a new case and assigns a case number. That number links to a docket sheet that grows each time something happens in the case. You can track the entire history by reading the docket entries.

Civil dockets show who sued whom and why. They list the complaint, answer, and any motions the parties filed. Hearing dates appear with notes about what happened at each hearing. If the case goes to trial, the docket shows the trial dates and outcome. Many cases settle before trial. The docket will have a dismissal entry when that happens in Glenn County.

Criminal dockets track prosecutions. They list the charges, arraignment date, and plea. If the defendant fights the charges, the docket shows preliminary hearings and trial dates. Sentencing entries appear if the defendant is convicted. Probation terms and fines also get listed on the criminal docket. Traffic cases follow a similar pattern but usually resolve faster because most people just pay the fine.

Record Copy Fees

Searching dockets online costs nothing. The case index is free to use. You can look up as many cases as you want without paying. Fees apply when you need paper copies of documents from the file. The standard rate is fifty cents per page for regular copies. This is set by state law and applies across California.

Certified copies cost more. The clerk adds a forty dollar certification fee on top of the per page charge. Certification means the clerk stamps and signs the copy to confirm it is a true record from the court file. You need certified copies if you plan to file the document in another court or use it for official business like showing a bank or government agency in Glenn County.

Search fees can apply if the clerk has to spend more than ten minutes looking for your records. The fee is fifteen dollars for extended searches. This mostly affects very old cases that are not in the computer system. Recent cases show up fast in the online index so you will likely avoid this fee if your case is from the last twenty years or so.

Types of Cases

Glenn County handles the same case types as other California counties. Civil dockets include contract disputes, personal injury claims, property fights, and business litigation. The docket shows every filing and hearing. Many civil cases settle before trial. Small claims dockets cover disputes under ten thousand dollars. These cases move fast because parties represent themselves and the hearing is informal.

Criminal dockets range from traffic tickets to serious felonies. Misdemeanor charges like DUI or petty theft show up here. Felony prosecutions for crimes like assault or drug sales also appear. The docket tracks each court appearance and what happened. You can see if the defendant posted bail, entered a plea, or went to trial in Glenn County.

Family law dockets handle divorce, custody, child support, and restraining orders. These cases often have many hearings over months or years. The docket lists each hearing date and the orders the judge made. Probate dockets manage estates, wills, conservatorships, and guardianships. These cases can take a long time to close because the court has to oversee asset distribution and creditor claims.

Remote Docket Access

You can search Glenn County dockets from home or anywhere with internet. The case index works on phones, tablets, and computers. No account is needed. Just go to the court website and click the case index link. Enter the case number or party name. Results show up right away if the case is in the system.

Not all records are available online. Sealed cases do not appear in search results. Juvenile cases are confidential by law and also stay hidden. Some family law records may show limited information due to privacy rules. If you cannot find what you need online, call the courthouse to ask if you must visit in person to view certain records in Glenn County.

Appellate Court Records

Glenn County is part of the Third Appellate District. Appeals from the Superior Court go to the Court of Appeal in Sacramento. That court keeps its own docket system. You can search appellate cases at appellate.courts.ca.gov. The Third District covers Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties.

If a case gets appealed, the trial court docket will show a notice of appeal. The appellate court then opens a new case number. That new docket tracks the briefing and oral arguments. Once the Court of Appeal decides the case, it issues an opinion. You can find that opinion on the appellate court website. The trial court docket may also get updated when the appeal is done to show the final result.

Nearby Counties

Glenn County borders several other counties, each with its own court system: