Why So Many Legal Courts in S.F.?

Longtime listener Henry Lie was driving through San Francisco one day when he realized the staggering number of legal courts located in the heart of the city. Upon further investigation, he realized we had all levels of court on the state side, and all except the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal side. Wowsa! How did so many end up here? KQED's Molly Lacob takes us through some legal history. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to This story was reported by Molly Lacob. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why So Many Legal Courts in S.F.? is an episode from Bay Curious by KQED.

This episode is 17:07 long.

This episode was published on Mar 9, 2026.

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