The Kings County Superior Court of California has four different places in Kings County California. The King County Courts are located within the cities of Hanford, Avenal, Corcoran, and Lemoore.
The Kings County Superior Court has jurisdiction over Small Claims, Civil, Criminal, Family, Juvenile, Restraining Orders, and Traffic matters. Some related Kings County agencies are the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, the Defense Attorney Contract Coordinator, the Hanford Police Dept., Kings County Sheriff’s Department, Kings County Clerk/Recorder, Kings County Administrative Office, the City of Hanford, and the Kings County Probation Dept.
The primary web site for the King County Courthouses are at www.KingCounty.gov. There is no parking close to most of the Kings County court houses, but there are nearby parking locations that one must pay for. Similar to many courts and government offices, they assume many people use public transportation, but most people do not.
Several (pay) parking lots are located on fourth and fifth Avenues, south of the courthouse. Two more pay lots are available at Second Avenue and James Street, west of the courthouse. Most lots offer discounts for all-day parking, though the lots often fill up early in the morning. I prefer courts with plenty of free parking, or at least those with metered parking.
The weather in Kings County, California is average, ranging from 34 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 96 degrees in July. The rest of the year, the temperature is very moderate. For me, living in New Hampshire, that’s pretty warm. Kings County is fairly dry, and there is not much umbrella usage, as it receives only about eight inches of rain a year. I recommend worldclimate.com to get this kind of information.
Just like other California courts, the Kings County court fees are $395 for an unlimited civil ($25,000 or more) complaint, or other first paper filed, for any kind of case.
For a limited civil case (less than $25,000), it costs $370 for a complaint or other first paper filed. The court fee is $385 for unlawful detainer cases less than $25,000. In Small Claims Court, the free is $181 for a case, or the first papers filed. For a complete list of their fees, visit www.kings.courts.ca.gov/feesforms/feesforms.asp and click on the current fees schedule for a PDF.
What I like most about the Kings County Superior Court, is that they have all their information on their web site. You can check just about anything on their website having to do with any case. You can get general information too, such as about being called in for jury duty, etc. You can also apply for a job on their website. Another thing I like, is you can get a detailed judgment status on their web site.
On the court’s web site, I have been able to look up judgments that have been awarded. You can also see if they have been satisfied, or not satisfied. Unfortunately, most judgments are never satisfied. The question is, what can you do once you get a judgment awarded to you in Kings County? You either must recover the judgment yourself, or find a judgment enforcer or judgment broker. Remember, only the judgment debtor’s available assets can be used to satisfy a judgment.