Red Bluff is where criminal cases in Tehama County are decided. Whether an arrest happens in Corning, Los Molinos, Gerber, Red Bluff itself or along Interstate 5, the case is filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Tehama, the county’s only trial court. Tehama has no separate court for small cases. A 1998 constitutional amendment rolled the old local courts into Tehama Superior Court. The Tehama County Courthouse sits at 1740 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080, and the court’s main line is (530) 527-3484. Misdemeanor and felony hearings are held there, and the Criminal Division clerk can be reached at (530) 527-3563, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The court stresses that appearances are mandatory in both misdemeanor and felony cases, so the date and time on a release form or arraignment letter matter. On arrival, check the posted calendar for the courtroom; if the name isn’t listed, go to the clerk’s office. Choose a charge group to see how a Red Bluff case unfolds.

Charges for low-level offenses can come from several agencies, including the Red Bluff and Corning police departments, the CHP and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, but the Tehama County District Attorney decides what is actually filed. In Red Bluff and Corning, many misdemeanor stops end with a signed ticket, not a booking. People who are taken to the Tehama County Jail at 502 Oak Street in Red Bluff and held must be brought to court within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays.

The Tehama arraignment covers the charge, the plea (usually not guilty) and whether the person stays out. Tehama has no public defender's office. Contract lawyers take the cases of people without money, assigned by the judge at arraignment or soon after. A defendant with appointed counsel in California is no longer billed for that representation. In many misdemeanor cases, the defense attorney is allowed to appear without the client being present.

Red Bluff pretrial conferences then settle most cases by deal, a smaller charge or dismissal. Diversion is another path in Tehama: the case pauses, and finishing the assigned program gets it dismissed. DUIs, domestic violence and offenses that require sex-offender registration are not eligible. Defendants who want a trial get a jury of 12. The deadline is 30 days after arraignment for someone held in jail and 45 days for someone who is out, unless the defense waives it.

Penalties top out at six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for most misdemeanors, and a few allow up to a year. Many convictions end in probation, fines, community service or required classes instead. A typical Tehama County misdemeanor case is over within a few weeks or a few months.

The Tehama County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies from its offices on Oak Street in Red Bluff, a short distance from the jail. A felony starts with a complaint, and a defendant who is in custody must be arraigned on it within 48 hours of arrest. Release and bail are taken up at that hearing. Since In re Humphrey (2021), a Tehama judge must ask whether the defendant can afford whatever bail is set. Red Bluff judges must also apply the 2026 Kowalczyk ruling: money bail must usually be within reach.

Defendants who cannot hire a lawyer are assigned one of the county’s contract defense attorneys at the outset of the case. If that attorney has a conflict, as when two people are charged together, the court appoints separate conflict counsel so each defendant has an independent lawyer.

Within 10 court days of arraignment, unless the defense agrees to a later date, a preliminary hearing is held to test whether the evidence justifies a trial. Prosecutors can instead seek an indictment from the county grand jury, though that is unusual. A Tehama holding order brings the DA's information and a new arraignment, with trial due inside 60 days. Most defendants waive that time, and most felony cases settle through a plea agreement without a trial.

After a guilty verdict or plea, the Tehama County Probation Department prepares a report for the judge, and sentencing ordinarily takes place within 20 court days. Under California’s 2011 realignment, many non-serious, non-violent felonies are punished with time in county jail rather than state prison. “Wobblers,” offenses that can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor, are sometimes reduced along the way. A felony case in Tehama County generally lasts several months, and can run beyond a year.

These cases use the same Red Bluff courtrooms and steps as other felonies, but they carry far heavier penalties and take longer. A Tehama judge may order no bail at all on a violent or sex-assault felony when clear and convincing evidence shows freedom would likely bring great bodily harm to another person. For that reason, a good share of these Tehama defendants stay jailed until the verdict.

Under the Three Strikes law, these crimes typically count as strikes. With one prior strike, the sentence is doubled; with two, it can become 25 years to life. A person convicted of a violent felony must serve at least 85% of the prison sentence.

• Murder: the punishment is 15 years to life for second-degree murder, increasing to 25 years to life for first-degree murder. With proven special circumstances, a robbery killing for one, Tehama's sentence is execution or permanent prison. The Tehama DA holds the sole power to pursue death, and no one has been executed in California since the 2019 pause.
• Armed robbery: a robbery conviction can bring up to nine years. Gun add-ons run 10 years for use, 20 for firing and 25 to life for serious injury, and since 2018 a Red Bluff judge may strike them.
• Rape: a base term capped at eight years, extended when aggravated, and highest-tier registration that never ends.

When the prosecution seeks death, two qualified defense attorneys are appointed by the court. Marsy's Law lets Tehama victims hear about court dates in advance, speak at sentencing and seek restitution. The DA's Victim Witness staff answer at (530) 527-4296. Lab work, experts and defense prep keep Red Bluff violent cases open one to three years, and murders five or more.

• Tehama courthouse: 1740 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 · 530-527-3484

Red Bluff and Corning federal cases may start before the Redding magistrate judge, then continue at Sacramento federal courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 in the Eastern District of California. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 501 I Street, Suite 5600, Sacramento, 916-930-2030.

Red Bluff judges handle the case normally. SB 54 limits ICE notice to a serious or violent conviction. Ask counsel about immigration. ICE: San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800; sites:

• 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

• Tehama County Inmate Search: county jail.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): statewide.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal; pretrial 916-930-2030.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): prison.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; 415-365-8800.

Tehama warrants, from Gerber to the Corning orchards and the river towns, are served by the Sheriff's Office, and families there call it first. Dispatch at (530) 529-7900 will check a name, and deputies cover statewide records during that call. The Superior Court's online services page focuses on payments and forms, so the clerk is your best source for case status. Attorneys often arrange surrender at the Oak Street jail, number 502, or move to recall the warrant. The clerk at 1740 Walnut Street handles new dates.