Criminal FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions: Criminal Cases
The court date and time are on the Citation, Bail Bond or Jail Cite you received. You may obtain that information from the Court's website at www.stanct.org. The Clerk's Office may also obtain that information for you. If the case has not been updated, you will need to come in and request to view your file.
Out of custodies are heard Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. In custodies are heard Monday - Friday at 1:30 p.m.
If you are currently represented by counsel and you wish to have your case placed back on calendar you must contact their office and they can assist you in placing the matter back on calendar. If you are not represented by counsel you must come into the Clerk's Office in person and apply. Your request cannot be handled by telephone. Only a judge may grant or deny an application for a court date.
Bench warrant information is not given over the telephone. You must come to the Clerk's Office and review your file.
We can usually get that information for you from the computer. If we are unable to pull that information out of the system, you will need to come in to the Clerk's Office and request to view your file. If you are unable to come into the office, you will need to submit a request by mail. You may also have someone else come view your file and get the information for you as most records are public records. A fee is charged for any copies requested from the file. The charge is $0.50 cents per page for a single-sided copy. If you do not have your case number, you may be charged for a clerk to research that information for you.
An attorney may file this motion for you. If you do not have an attorney, you may go to the Law Library and research how to file the motion with the Clerk's Office. A forms packet is available at the Clerk's Office. The cost is $2.50 or you can download the form packet here. Once you have the documents prepared, you will need to reserve a hearing date with the Clerk's Office. You may also go to the Self-Help section of the Judicial Council's Self Help website for assistance (http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-criminallaw.htm).
Any person over the age of 18 years who is not a party to the action may serve your documents. You may not serve your own documents.
Forms with instructions may be obtained from the Clerk's Office. You may obtain further information and assistance by going to the Judicial Council's Self-Help center at http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-criminallaw.htm.
The only motions for which a fee is charged are motions to vacate and exonerate bail and motions for change of venue.
Archive requests may be submitted in person or by mail. Please allow six to eight weeks to process your request.
The following information is required to do a search: Full name of defendant, any additional names used, date of birth, the year the charges were filed and the type of offense committed. If the year the offense was committed and the year the charges were filed are different, please include this information. A research fee of $15.00 will apply if you do not know your case number. Copies are $0.50 a page. If you are requesting a certified copy, the charge for certification is $40.00, which shall apply in addition to the cost of the copies made. If the file is located in our offsite storage facility there will be an additional $10.00 retrieval fee for each file.
Revenue Recovery is located at 1010 10th Street, Suite 2500 in Modesto. If you are submitting a payment by mail the address is P.O. Box 859, Modesto, CA 95353. The phone number is (209) 525-4450.
No. The defendant in the case must personally appear. An attorney may appear on behalf of a defendant unless the defendant is ordered by the Court to appear.
No. The Clerk's Office can advance your hearing (arraignments only) if your case is a misdemeanor. A request to continue a hearing date may only be granted by a judge.
If there is an attorney on the case, the attorney must submit the application for a hearing to request an extension of time to surrender. If there is no attorney, you may submit the application for a hearing. Only a judge may grant an extension on a surrender date.
Level I
If a defendant is requesting to be re-referred to Level I, please direct him/her to the Level I Program. The Court no longer handles the straight re-referrals to Level I. The Program will handle, regardless, if probation has expired.
Level II
If a defendant is requesting to be re-referred to Level II, please direct him/her to the Level II Program. The Court no longer handles the straight re-referrals to Level II. The Program will handle,regardless, if probation has expired.
If a defendant was originally referred to Level I and needs to be referred to Level II, the Clerk’s Office will prepare a minute order. If the case has an open bench warrant the attorney or, if no attorney, the defendant must request to be placed on the Court's calendar.
For the Court to order re-enrollment in the Deferred Judgment Program, you or your attorney may apply for a hearing date to request your re-enrollment into the program.