Every criminal charge filed in Merced County, whether the arrest was in Atwater, Livingston, Dos Palos, or Gustine, lands in the Superior Court of California, County of Merced. Towns here lost their own municipal courts about 2000, when the state folded them into one countywide court, so no Merced city runs a criminal court of its own. The court’s general information line is (209) 725-4100, and its administrative offices are at the Old Merced Courthouse, 627 West 21st Street, Merced, CA 95340. Criminal cases are heard at two locations:

• N Street criminal courthouse (N Street building), 2260 N Street, Merced, CA 95340: the main criminal courthouse, handling arraignments, preliminary hearings and trials for most of the county. Phone: (209) 725-4100
• Los Banos justice center, 1159 G Street, Los Banos, CA 93635: criminal, traffic and civil matters for the west side of the county. Phone: (209) 725-4124

Traffic tickets go to a separate Traffic Building at 720 West 20th Street in Merced. Your citation or release paperwork will say which courthouse to report to. Choose a charge type below for an outline of the process.

One office, the county District Attorney, files every Merced misdemeanor, since the towns have no prosecutors of their own. Often an officer just writes a ticket, and the person signs and promises to show up in Merced or Los Banos. If he is booked and kept, a judge has to see him inside 48 hours, with Sundays and court holidays skipped.

At the arraignment, the judge reads the charges, takes a plea (usually not guilty at this point) and sets the terms of release. The Merced County Public Defender, which has offices in both Merced and Los Banos, is appointed for defendants who face possible jail time and can’t afford a lawyer. The office notes that misdemeanor appointments are currently handled by phone, so people are encouraged to call before their court date. Defendants in California are no longer charged a fee for court-appointed lawyers. In many misdemeanor cases, a lawyer can appear for the defendant without the defendant attending.

Next come pretrial meetings, where most Merced misdemeanors end in a deal, a smaller charge, or a dropped case. A judge can also offer diversion, where completing counseling or classes leads to dismissal. DUI, domestic violence and offenses that require sex offender registration can’t be diverted this way. If the case is tried, a 12-person jury decides it. The trial must begin within 30 days of arraignment for a jailed defendant or 45 days for one who is out, unless the defense waives that time, which is common.

The cap on most of these is six months behind bars and a $1,000 fine, with a handful reaching one year. In real life people usually get probation, a fine, classes, or service hours. Most Merced misdemeanors close in a month or two, though some run several months.

A Merced felony opens with the prosecutor's written complaint. Anyone held in jail person must be arraigned inside 48 hours, usually at the N Street courthouse. Release comes up at that first hearing, and under the 2021 state Supreme Court case In re Humphrey, any bail amount has to fit what the accused can actually pay. Since the 2026 Kowalczyk decision, Merced and Los Banos judges also cannot use unpayable bail as a back-door detention.

People who qualify get a free lawyer at that hearing, usually from the county Public Defender. When co-defendants need different lawyers, Merced hands the extra client to a separate contract defense office.

Within 10 court days of arraignment, unless time is waived, comes the preliminary hearing. At that hearing a judge looks at the proof and decides if there's enough to go to trial. The District Attorney also has the option of seeking a grand jury indictment, which takes the place of a preliminary hearing. If the judge sends it on, Merced prosecutors file a trial charge sheet known as an “information,” a second Merced arraignment is held, and the 60-day trial clock starts unless waived. Most do give it up, and most Merced felonies finish with a plea deal.

After a conviction, the Merced County Probation Department prepares a report on the defendant’s background and the offense, and sentencing generally occurs within 20 court days of the verdict. Since the state’s 2011 realignment, lots of lower-level felony time is served in the county jail, not a state prison. Some crimes, nicknamed “wobblers,” can be charged either way and knocked down to misdemeanors later. Plan on a Merced felony lasting a few months or well over a year.

Violent crimes follow the felony path described above, but bail works differently. The state constitution lets a Merced judge deny release on a violent felony or sexual assault charge when there is clear and convincing proof that letting the person go would very likely lead to someone being badly hurt. That is why so many people facing these charges stay locked up in Merced until the case ends.

California’s Three Strikes law treats these offenses as strikes. A single earlier strike doubles the prison term, and two earlier strikes can mean 25 years to life. On a violent felony, he must also serve no less than 85% of his sentence.

• Murder: the sentence runs 15 years to life for second-degree murder and 25 years to life for first-degree murder. If a special circumstance is proven, for example a murder committed in a rape or robbery, Merced jurors weigh only two outcomes: execution, or prison until death with no parole. The District Attorney, and nobody else, picks whether to pursue death, and nobody has been executed in California under the 2019 moratorium.
• Armed robbery: the robbery alone can bring as long as nine years. A gun adds 10 years if shown or used, 20 if shot, and 25 to life if someone was seriously hurt, though a judge may drop these add-ons under a 2018 change.
• Rape: as long as eight years, more when aggravating facts are found, plus top-tier sex offender registration.

When death is on the table in Merced, the defense gets a pair of lawyers trained for capital work. Marsy’s Law gives victims hearing notices, a voice at sentencing, and restitution. Forensic testing, experts, and pretrial motions stretch these cases over one to three years in Merced, and murders sometimes take over five.

• Downtown courthouse: 627 West 21st Street, Merced, CA 95340 · 209-725-4100
• Courts building: 2260 N Street, Merced, CA 95340 · 209-725-4100
• Old courthouse: 720 West 20th Street, Merced, CA 95340 · 209-725-4107
• Juvenile courthouse: 2840 West Sandy Mush Road, Merced, CA 95341 · 209-725-4119

The Eastern District of California hears Merced's federal cases at Fresno federal courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721. A magistrate judge handles the first hearing, Pretrial Services reports, and the detention hearing follows, sometimes after a short wait the rules allow (three days if Merced's federal prosecutor asks, five if the defense asks). Anyone kept in custody is placed by the Marshals; office U.S. Marshals Service, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, 559-442-2858.

Merced court dates don't change because of an ICE detainer. SB 54 blocks extra holding; a release date reaches ICE only when state law's serious or violent list applies. Discuss immigration status with defense counsel. TRUTH Act notice is required before an ICE interview. San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers Merced; detainees go to:

• 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

• Merced County Inmate Search: county jail by name.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): custody statewide.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal; pretrial: 559-442-2858.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): state prison.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; then 415-365-8800.

Call the court's main line at 209-725-4100, or the Los Banos branch at 209-725-4124 for west-side cases. Give his full name and birth date or the case number, and ask for the date, time, and department.

The Sheriff's Office serves warrants throughout the county. Give the name and birthday at (209) 385-7445, and deputies on the Merced line will search the valley's file and the state's before answering. The court's case records search lets you look up cases from Atwater, Los Banos and the county seat. Counsel can help you surrender at the Main Jail, 700 West 22nd Street, or file to recall the warrant. The downtown courthouse clerk at 627 West 21st Street handles new dates and can say what paperwork to bring.