Alpine County
1,043 people, served by 1 police agency that report to the FBI. Below: how a case moves here, from arrest to court.
How a case moves here
Alpine County follows California law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.
- Who decides release first
The superior court judges in each county adopt a bail schedule every year, and the jail, police, or court clerk can accept bail under it and release the person without a judge. A duty judge or commissioner can raise bail on an officer's sworn request, and a judge sets release at arraignment.
Cal. Penal Code 1269bCal. Penal Code 1270.1- Time to see a judge
An arrested person must be taken before a judge without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays.
Cal. Penal Code 825- Money bail
Money bail and county schedules remain, but in In re Humphrey (2021) the California Supreme Court held that a court setting money bail must consider the person's ability to pay and may not hold someone only because they can't afford it.
In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135, S247278Cal. Penal Code 1269b- Courts
California has one trial court, the superior court, in each county. It hears all criminal cases, felonies and misdemeanors alike.
Cal. Const. art. VI, sec. 4- Judges and magistrates
County voters elect superior court judges on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms. The governor appoints a judge to fill a vacancy until an elected judge's term begins.
Cal. Const. art. VI, sec. 16Cal. Const. art. II, sec. 6
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Which counties run jails through a department of corrections, and which counties have a public defender office, were not listed here. Los Angeles has used pre-arraignment release protocols with no money bail for most arrests since 2023 (see the bail-setters research note); not re-checked.
What this county does differently
- Pretrial practice
The Judicial Council funds a court pretrial release program here, run with a county agency (usually probation), which uses the Ohio Risk Assessment System Pretrial Assessment Tool (ORAS-PAT), and the county's superior court judges adopt a countywide bail schedule each year.
Judicial Council of California, Pretrial Release Program: Year 3 Report to the Legislature, Appendix B (April 2025, data for July 2023 to June 2024)Cal. Penal Code § 1269b(c)
Police agencies
Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.
Crime and arrests
No figures yet