Trinity County covers more than 3,000 square miles of mountains and national forest, but its criminal cases all come back to one small courthouse in the county seat. The Superior Court of California, County of Trinity hears every adult criminal matter, whether the arrest happened in Weaverville, Hayfork, Lewiston, Trinity Center or along Highway 299. California abolished its separate municipal and justice courts around the turn of the century and folded them into one superior court per county, so there is no local or “city” court to deal with lesser offenses. The Trinity County Courthouse is at 11 Court Street, Weaverville, CA 96093, and the court does not split out a separate criminal clerk line: the main number, (530) 623-1208, reaches the Court Services Department, which handles criminal filings and questions.

Because there is just one courthouse and a small bench, criminal calendars share space with civil, family and juvenile matters. Tap a charge group to follow a typical Weaverville case.

Trinity County has no incorporated cities, so most arrests are made by the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office or the California Highway Patrol, and the Trinity County District Attorney files the resulting misdemeanor charges. A deputy will often issue a citation that lists a court date instead of booking the person. A person held at the Weaverville jail must be brought before a judge inside 48 hours, skipping Sundays and holidays.

Trinity's first hearing, the arraignment, covers the charge, the plea and any release conditions. For defendants who can’t afford private counsel, representation comes through a contract: Trinity County does not have a staffed public defender department and instead pays a private firm or group of attorneys to serve as the public defender, with additional conflict attorneys available when needed. The judge appoints that counsel at the arraignment, and California no longer bills defendants for appointed lawyers. For many Trinity misdemeanors, the lawyer can go to court alone.

Pretrial conferences in Weaverville close most of these by plea, reduction or dismissal. Judges can also grant misdemeanor diversion, which leads to a dismissal once the person finishes the conditions set by the court; Trinity bars DUI, domestic violence and registrable sex cases from that option. If a case goes to trial, a 12-person jury drawn from county residents hears it, within 30 days of arraignment for a jailed defendant or 45 days for one who is free, unless the defense waives time.

Six months and $1,000 is the normal ceiling, with a few Trinity misdemeanors allowing a year. Weaverville judges usually choose probation, fines, classes or service hours. A Trinity misdemeanor tends to finish within weeks or a few months.

A Trinity felony begins when the DA files a written complaint. A person held in the Weaverville jail must be arraigned within 48 hours of arrest, and the judge takes up bail or release at that hearing. The California Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in In re Humphrey requires a judge setting bail to weigh the defendant’s ability to pay. In re Kowalczyk (2026) adds that the Weaverville court may not set bail a defendant could never post.

The contract public defender is appointed for qualifying defendants at the start of the case. Because the county’s indigent defense contract requires more than one level of conflict counsel, a second or third attorney can step in when co-defendants or other conflicts prevent the primary lawyers from taking a case.

Unless waived, a preliminary hearing comes within 10 court days of arraignment. A Weaverville judge then weighs the evidence and either sends the case on or ends it. The District Attorney can alternatively take the case to a grand jury for an indictment, which skips the preliminary hearing. A case that advances gets an information from the Trinity DA, a second arraignment and a 60-day trial deadline unless waived. Most Trinity defendants waive time, and deals end most of these cases.

After a conviction, the Trinity County Probation Department prepares a presentence report, and sentencing usually follows within 20 court days. Realignment in 2011 moved much lower-level felony punishment from state prison to the Weaverville jail. Trinity can also file certain crimes, the wobblers, as misdemeanors or lower them later. Trinity felonies often run several months and may go past a year.

Trinity sees few violent cases. When one comes up, it moves through arraignment, a preliminary hearing or indictment and trial like any felony, with much higher stakes. In a violent or sex-assault felony, a Weaverville judge may deny bail when clear and convincing evidence shows release would likely end in great bodily harm. Defendants in these cases frequently remain in custody until the case ends.

These crimes are generally strikes. Trinity defendants with one strike already on record face double terms; with two, 25 years to life is on the table. Since 2018, striking these enhancements has been within a judge’s discretion.

• Murder: the law sets 25 years to life for a first-degree killing and 15 years to life for a second-degree killing. Special circumstances, such as murder during a rape, leave only two sentences in Trinity: death or life without parole. A death case can only be brought by the Trinity DA, and California has executed no one since its 2019 halt.
• Armed robbery: the robbery count by itself allows a sentence of up to nine years. Firearm enhancements add 10 years for using a gun, 20 for firing it, and 25 years to life when someone suffers great bodily injury or death. A violent felony conviction also carries a requirement to serve at least 85% of the prison term.
• Rape: a base sentence reaching eight years, longer if aggravated, and registration at the highest level.

In a capital case, two qualified defense attorneys are appointed. Trinity victims hold Marsy's Law rights: advance word of hearings, time to speak before sentence and repayment. The DA's office assists them. Investigation and expert work stretch Weaverville violent cases to one to three years, and murders to five or beyond.

• Trinity courthouse: 11 Court Street, Weaverville, CA 96093 · 530-623-1208

In Weaverville, the Trinity County Superior Court accepts CourtCall for certain hearings, so a party can join by phone or video through that privately owned service for a fee. Judges decide which matters fit; the person in the case can set up an account and book, a court fee waiver pays for it, and free court video is often offered.

Federal charges from Weaverville and the Trinity Alps go to the Eastern District of California, opening before a magistrate judge at Sacramento federal courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 501 I Street, Suite 5600, Sacramento, 916-930-2030.

Weaverville's court handles 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

• Trinity 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.

Call the Sheriff's Office at (530) 623-3740. It serves warrants for Hayfork, Lewiston and the mountain towns from an office near the courthouse, and a deputy searches names through local and California files. The Superior Court's online services page covers payments, and the clerk can speak to the case itself. The clerk at 11 Court Street handles new dates and can mail the notice to you. Local lawyers can arrange your surrender at the Correctional Facility, 701 Tom Bell Road, or request a recall from the judge.