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Court Services/Transportation

Kern County Sheriff's Office
Kern County Sheriff's Bus

Courts and Transportation Division

From the time the first offender was arrested in Kern County, the Sheriff has always been faced with the task of transporting prisoners. Whether to court, medical appointments, other institution, or from other jurisdictions, prisoner transportation has always been an element of the Sheriff’s duties. The presence of the Sheriff has also long been required in the courts to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for the dispensing of justice. Not much has changed over the years in the way these duties are performed, except the volume of the prisoners, the number of courts, institutions, facilities, and the modes of travel.

The Metropolitan Court Unit maintains security at the Metropolitan Court Building which has 18 courtrooms utilized as adult Criminal Law Courtrooms. The courtrooms hear all misdemeanor and felony court hearings from arraignment to jury trials. The Metropolitan Court Building also oversees all adult in-custody criminal court calendars for the greater Bakersfield area, and some cases from outlying courts.

The Justice Court Unit maintains security at the Justice Court Building which has 12 courtrooms utilized as Family Law and Civil Law Courtrooms. On occasion, the Justice Court Building will hear low level, out-of-custody trial cases. The Justice Court Unit also provides security at two satellite court buildings in Bakersfield. One of the satellite court buildings is the Juvenile Justice Center which has four courtrooms utilized as Juvenile Law Courtrooms and one courtroom utilized as a Probate Law Courtroom. The other satellite court building is the Traffic Court Building which has two courtrooms utilized for hearings and trials involving low level traffic offences. On occasion, the Traffic Court Building will hear low level, out-of-custody trial cases.

The Transportation Unit is responsible for transporting inmates to and from the nine Superior Courts throughout the County. The unit transports inmates to and from medical appointments daily. Duties also include transporting inmates to and from other prisons, medical institutions, and facilities up and down the state. The unit coordinates moving inmates across the United States through extraditions.

The unit facilitates the transportation of Federal inmates in accordance with our contracts with the United States Marshal’s Service. These transports include moving inmates to and from our facilities to the Federal Court building, the Federal Airlift, and the Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles. The Transportation Unit also assists with other various types of transportation needs for the Sheriff’s Office.