ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE LOCATIONS AND HOURS

Criminal Division Hours:
Monday thru Friday:
8:00am – 4:00pm

Court Appearance:
Click here to read about court appearances and advancing your court date.

Drop Box Information:

Drop boxes or door slots are located at each of the courthouses below, with 24/7 access. Payments and properly completed documents placed in drop boxes before 4:00pm on an open court day will be considered received on the same date.

Central Justice Center
700 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701Criminal Division – 1st Floor
Collections Office – 1st Floor
Self-Help Center – 1st Floor, Room G-100
Harbor Justice Center- Newport Beach Facility 
4601 Jamboree Rd.
Newport Beach, CA 92660-2595Criminal Division – 1st Floor
Collections Office – 1st Floor
Self-help – 1st Floor, Room 150
Making Payment...
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Pretrial Service Agencies on the Attack While Ignoring their Own Failures

BEHIND THE PAPER WITH BRIAN NAIRIN

PJIBlind

As we move further along in the Pretrial Justice Institute’s self-declared Bail Month, I wanted to point out a recent story out of Minnesota that I believe should open people’s eyes to the real failures of the pretrial community. This morning the Star Tribune published an article about the 100s of people with mental illness languishing away in Minnesota jails. Now, it is important to understand that this is not an article that the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) was behind. Nor was it a story that the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) was behind. How do I know? I know, because it doesn’t point the finger at commercial bail as the cause and the problem...

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Court Etiquette

  • Weapons of any sort are prohibited
  • Drugs are prohibited
  • Electronic devices are not to be used in the courtrooms (unless approved by the court)
  • Do not chew gum while testifying
  • Stand up straight and speak clearly
  • Pay attention to any instruction given by the employees of the court and the Judge
  • It is permissible to respond with,”I don’t recall” if you do not remember some details
  • Answer only the question that you are asked. Do not volunteer information
  • If you do not want to answer a question, do not ask the judge whether you must answer it. If it is an improper question, your attorney will rise and state an objection.
  • Do not shake your head to indicate a “yes” or “no” answer. Use words to answer every question.
  • When in court, federal magistrates are to be referred to as “Your...
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Understanding Bail: Your Rights

  • You are innocent until proven guilty
  • You are entitled to a fair and speedy trial
  • You are entitled to make a phone call after being arrested
  • You are entitled to know what you are being charged with
  • You are entitled to an attorney or a public defender
  • You are entitled to have your property returned to you when you are released form jail (Excluding evidence)
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How Bail Works

When someone is arrested on a bailable offense and bail is set, the defendant can forfeit his/her right to see a judge within 72 hours of arrest (weekends and holidays excluded) and bail out.

This is done most commonly using one of two methods:

The defendant or someone other than the defendant will post cash bail at the jail.
This dollar amount is 100% of the set bail for the defendant’s offense.
If the set bail is $5000, then $5000 cash will need to be posted.
When the defendant has fulfilled all of his/her obligations by appearing in court on all matters until the case is resolved the cash posted for his/her release will then be returned to the party who posted it.
If neither the defendant nor any family members or friends have access to the entire bail amount...

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The Legal Process

The defendant is charged with a crime by the arresting agency.
The District Attorney reviews the case and makes a decision whether or not to file charges.

If the District Attorney does not file charges, the case is dismissed.

If however, the District Attorney does file charges, there will be an arraignment where the defendant would plead either innocent or guilty.

If the defendant pleads guilty he/she would be sentenced and the case would be closed, if defendant pleads innocent then a court date would be set.

The court would then hear the case, reach a verdict, and the case would be closed

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