Kern County - Ridgecrest Jail Criminal Court Process
Criminal Court Process for Kern County California
From Arrest to Verdict: Kern County Criminal Courts
Kern County stretches from the vineyards around Delano to the high desert at Ridgecrest and Mojave, but a criminal charge filed anywhere in it lands in the same place: the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. There is no Bakersfield city court. Since court unification around 2000, a single Kern Superior Court takes every criminal matter, from a shoplifting ticket up to a death-penalty murder. Its center of gravity is the Metropolitan Division, 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301, reachable at (661) 610-6000, which is also the number the court lists for criminal questions. Criminal matters are heard in these locations:
- Metropolitan Division, 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301: the main criminal courthouse for metro Bakersfield. Phone: (661) 610-6000
- Metropolitan Division Justice Building, 1215 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301: additional downtown courtrooms in the same complex. Phone: (661) 610-6000
- Delano Courthouse, 1122 Jefferson Street, Delano, CA 93215: north Kern. Phone: (661) 610-7300
- Shafter Courthouse, 325 Central Valley Highway, Shafter, CA 93263: northwest valley communities. Phone: (661) 610-7200
- Lamont Courthouse, 12022 Main Street, Lamont, CA 93241: southeast of Bakersfield. Phone: (661) 610-7100
- Mojave Courthouse, 1773 State Highway 58 Business, Mojave, CA 93501: east Kern. Phone: (661) 610-7400
- Ridgecrest Courthouse, 132 E. Coso Avenue, Ridgecrest, CA 93555: the Indian Wells Valley. Phone: (661) 610-7450
Look on the ticket or release papers for the courthouse and department, then double-check the date on Kern's online case lookup. Because the outlying branches cover enormous distances, it is worth double-checking the location before making the drive. Choose a Kern charge type below for the usual sequence.
- Kern misdemeanor cases: minor theft, first DUI, battery, trespassing on property
- Kern felonies (burglary, grand theft, dealing, felony DUI)
- Kern's most serious cases (murder, rape, robbery with a gun)
- Kern County Superior Court locations
- Federal cases from Kern County
- ICE detainers and Kern cases
- Custody searches after a Kern arrest
- How do people in Bakersfield find out about a warrant?
1. Kern misdemeanor cases: minor theft, first DUI, battery, trespassing on property
In Kern County, every misdemeanor is filed by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, including those arising inside Bakersfield city limits; the city does not run its own criminal prosecution unit. Many Kern misdemeanor suspects never see the inside of a jail. An officer issues a ticket, the person signs it as a promise, and the court date is printed there or mailed later. Those who are booked into the county’s jail system, whether at the downtown Central Receiving Facility or the Lerdo detention facilities north of Bakersfield, must see a judge within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays not included.
That first appearance is called the arraignment. At arraignment a Bakersfield judge reads the counts, takes an early not-guilty plea in most cases, and settles release. If jail is possible and he cannot hire counsel, Kern's Public Defender is appointed, free of charge. In a lot of misdemeanor cases the defendant does not even have to be in the room; a lawyer can appear on the person’s behalf.
Most Kern misdemeanors close at a later pretrial conference with a deal, a lesser count or dismissal. Diversion is another path: finish the classes or treatment and the Kern charge disappears. DUI, domestic violence and offenses requiring sex-offender registration are not eligible. When a case goes to trial, 12 jurors decide it. An in-custody defendant is entitled to trial within 30 days of arraignment; someone out of custody, within 45 days. Defense lawyers often give up that deadline to get more time.
Kern misdemeanors mostly top out at half a year locked up plus a $1,000 fine; a few go to a year. In practice, informal or summary probation, fines, community service and programs such as DUI school are the norm. Most misdemeanors in Kern County are resolved over a span of several weeks to a few months.
2. Kern felonies (burglary, grand theft, dealing, felony DUI)
Kern felonies open with the DA's complaint; anyone held at Lerdo or downtown sees a judge inside 48 hours of arrest. Most Bakersfield-area felonies begin at the Metropolitan Division on Truxtun Avenue, while some cases from outlying communities start at the branch courthouse that covers them. The judge takes up release and bail at this hearing. Since the California Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in In re Humphrey, bail cannot simply be set at a figure the person has no way of paying; ability to pay has to be considered. The 2026 Kowalczyk opinion adds that Kern judges cannot use impossible bail as a stand-in for detention.
Appointed counsel is in place from the opening hearing. The Kern County Public Defender, headquartered at 1315 Truxtun Avenue, represents most defendants who qualify. If ethics bar that office, because it already speaks for a codefendant or witness, Kern uses private conflict panel lawyers.
Within 10 court days of arraignment, unless the defense agrees to push it back, a judge holds a preliminary hearing to decide whether the evidence is strong enough to justify a trial. Prosecutors can bypass that step by seeking a grand jury indictment, though that is uncommon. A Kern defendant held to answer faces a new filing called an information and a second arraignment, with trial set by law inside 60 days. Time waivers are routine, and plea agreements resolve the clear majority of Kern felonies before a jury is ever seated.
Following a plea or guilty verdict, Kern probation prepares a background report, and sentencing tends to land within 20 court days. Many lower Kern felony sentences, ever since 2011 realignment, are spent at Lerdo instead of a state prison. Some charges, called wobblers, can be filed or knocked down as misdemeanors. Kern felonies often take several months from arrest to sentence, and plenty pass a year.
3. Kern's most serious cases (murder, rape, robbery with a gun)
Nothing about the court calendar is different for a homicide or sexual-assault case: there is still an arraignment, a preliminary hearing or indictment, and a trial. What changes is how harsh the punishment is and how slowly things move. Release is far less likely, too. Under article I, section 12, a Kern judge can refuse any bail in violent or sex-assault felonies when clear and convincing evidence points to likely great bodily harm upon release. Many defendants in these Kern cases therefore stay in county custody until the case ends.
Kern treats all three as strikes. One earlier strike doubles a Kern sentence; two earlier strikes may mean 25 years to life. Anyone convicted of a violent felony must complete at least 85% of the prison sentence before becoming eligible for release.
- Murder: 15 years to life for second degree, 25 years to life for first degree. A special circumstance, for instance killing during a robbery or rape, makes it death or lifelong prison. Kern's DA decides on seeking death, though a statewide halt since 2019 means no one is executed.
- Armed robbery: the robbery alone tops out near nine years. A gun add-on brings 10 years, 20 years or 25 years to life, for showing, firing, or seriously injuring with a gun. Kern judges may waive those add-ons under a 2018 law.
- Rape: up to eight years, more if aggravating factors are proven, along with sex-offender registration at the highest tier.
Kern capital defendants are given two qualified appointed lawyers. Marsy’s Law gives Kern victims and families notice of dates, a sentencing statement and restitution. Lab tests, experts and defense investigation keep such Kern cases going one to three years, while homicide files can top five.
4. Kern County Superior Court locations
- Metropolitan division: 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 · 661-610-6000
- Justice building: 1215 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 · 661-610-6000
- Juvenile justice center: 2100 College Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93305 · 661-610-6900
- Metropolitan traffic: 3131 Arrow Street, Bakersfield, CA 93308 · 661-610-7000
- Delano: 1122 Jefferson Street, Delano, CA 93215 · 661-610-7300
- Lamont: 12022 Main Street, Lamont, CA 93241 · 661-610-7100
- Mojave: 1773 State Highway 58 Business, Mojave, CA 93501 · 661-610-7400
- Ridgecrest: 132 East Coso Avenue, Ridgecrest, CA 93555 · 661-610-7450
- Shafter: 325 Central Valley Highway, Shafter, CA 93263 · 661-610-7200
5. Federal cases from Kern County
The Eastern District of California hears Kern's federal cases, with magistrate sessions in Bakersfield and the main courthouse at Fresno federal courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721. A magistrate judge handles the first appearance and the detention hearing, which a federal prosecutor can postpone up to three days (Kern defendants' lawyers may ask for five). Pretrial Services makes a recommendation. Federal detainees are held in Marshals contract jails; office: U.S. Marshals Service, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, 559-442-2858.
6. ICE detainers and Kern cases
A detainer doesn't affect the Kern Superior Court case. SB 54 bars extra holding, and release-date notice is limited to listed serious or violent convictions. Talk to defense counsel about immigration before pleading. ICE jail interviews require a TRUTH Act notice. San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers Kern, and detention centers inside the county include:
- Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
- Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
- California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505
7. Custody searches after a Kern arrest
- Kern County Inmate Search: name; shows housing, bail and court date.
- VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California and name; shows facility.
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name; pretrial: 559-442-2858.
- CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): number or name; covers Kern's state prisons.
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; then 415-365-8800.
8. How do people in Bakersfield find out about a warrant?
With a phone call to the Sheriff's Office, (661) 391-7500, which serves warrants from Delano to Ridgecrest. The website carries a most-wanted page, and for everyone else, deputies on that line search by name in Kern and California records alike. Use the Superior Court's case information search to look up the criminal case. The Justice Building clerk, 1215 Truxtun Avenue, handles new court dates. With that in hand, many people go with an attorney to the Lerdo complex on Industrial Farm Road and turn themselves in, and counsel can also move for a recall first.
This is a general look at how Kern County criminal cases proceed and does not constitute legal advice. Charged in Kern? Hire private counsel or phone the Kern County Public Defender at (661) 868-4799.
