The RegistryCounty Record · California

Criminal Defense Attorneys in Santa Clara County, California

Counsel for the accused: from arraignment through trial and record clearance. In Santa Clara County, that work runs through the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. This directory presents criminal defense records from official State Bar of California data in neutral order.

The heart of Silicon Valley; its superior court's complex civil division hears many of the technology industry's trade secret, employment, and corporate disputes. Venue for most criminal defense matters arising in the county lies with the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, seated at San Jose.

Deadlines shape these cases before merits do · most misdemeanors: one year to charge; most felonies: three years (Cal. Penal Code §§ 799–802). Charging deadlines scale with the offense: crimes punishable by death or life imprisonment, and embezzlement of public money, may be prosecuted at any time (Cal. Penal Code § 799). After arrest, arraignment must generally occur within 48 hours (Cal. Penal Code § 825).

This page is the Santa Clara County chapter of the registry's statewide record · Criminal Defense Attorneys in California collects all 58 counties.

The clock & the court

Statute of limitations

Most misdemeanors: one year to charge; most felonies: three years.

Cal. Penal Code §§ 799–802

Charging deadlines scale with the offense: crimes punishable by death or life imprisonment, and embezzlement of public money, may be prosecuted at any time (Cal. Penal Code § 799). After arrest, arraignment must generally occur within 48 hours (Cal. Penal Code § 825).

Court of record

Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara.

County seat: San Jose

Main courthouse: Downtown Superior Court (DTS), 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113

Help with forms without a lawyer: the court's self-help center (source: The court's official website, read 2026-09-27).

Official court information, locations, and filing rules: santaclara.courts.ca.gov

Criminal Defense · Santa Clara County roster

625 attorneys on the official State Bar of California roll list criminal defense among their practice areas with an address of record in Santa Clara County.

605 of them hold an active licence; the remainder are recorded as inactive and are not currently eligible to practise.

The roster concentrates in San Jose (470), Palo Alto (69), Santa Clara (17) and Los Gatos (12).

11 hold a State Bar Certified Legal Specialist designation, a certification issued by the State Bar's Board of Legal Specialization, and not a rating or a ranking.

For 30, the registry records a language other than English, almost always from a firm website published in that language; that describes the website, not an attorney's own ability.

Admission years on this roster run from 1967 to 2026.

The employers most represented here are Santa Clara County Public Defender (47), Santa Clara County District Attorney (38) and Santa Clara District Attorney's Office (18).