Orange County Juvenile - Youth Guidance Center

Start with Orange County Inmate Search. The Intake Release Center processes everyone booked into and released from the county jail system, and then people may move to the Central Men's and Women's Jails, the jail in Orange, or the Irvine jail. The Sheriff also keeps a booking log. For bail and court questions at the jail in Orange, the records line is 714-935-6940.

The Sheriff's Department says bail information usually appears two to three hours after booking, though another page gives about six hours. New bookings can post bail only after booking is finished or after a judge sends the person back to custody. Confirm his full name, booking number, and exact amount with Inmate Records before you pay.

Go to the cashier's office at the Intake Release Center, 550 North Flower Street, Santa Ana. It is open 24 hours a day, and its number is 714-647-6085. Bail bonds are accepted there around the clock too. The cashier at the jail in Orange, 501 The City Drive South, 714-935-6905, is only for people held at the jail in Orange and has shorter hours.

The Sheriff lists the cashier at the jail in Orange as open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It takes bail bonds daily from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Another Sheriff page gives different evening hours for that office, so call 714-935-6905 before you drive over. If he is in the Santa Ana building, use that cashier, which never closes.

At the Intake Release Center the Sheriff accepts cash, bank cashier's checks, money orders, traveler's checks, and some personal checks. A cashier's check must be for the exact amount and made out to the County of Orange, Sheriff's Department. A personal check needs two forms of ID, must be drawn on a California bank, and is limited to $7,500 per account. Business checks are refused.

The Sheriff's Department cannot recommend or direct you to any bail bond agent or company. Anyone other than a licensed agent who brings a bond to the window is fingerprinted and has identity checked. State insurance regulators say bondsmen usually charge 10 percent, and that fee stays with the bondsman even if charges are dropped.

Bail for courts outside Orange County must be paid in cash, the Sheriff says. Some defendants must pay in cash or check only. Posting bail won't get him out when some other county or agency has placed its own hold on him. Ask the cashier at 714-647-6085 about holds before you put money down.

The Superior Court's schedule, effective January 1, 2026, lists: misdemeanor DUI first offense, $2,500; felony DUI, $50,000; domestic battery, $10,000; felony drug possession, $20,000; possession for sale, $25,000 and up; assault with a deadly weapon, $25,000; residential burglary, $50,000; felony corporal injury to a partner, $50,000; first-degree robbery, $100,000; most murders, $1,000,000. After the first appearance, a judge may set a different amount.

Many new arrests are heard in Department CJ1, a courtroom inside the Central Men's Jail at Building 50, 550 North Flower Street. It handles misdemeanor arraignments, felony complaint arraignments, and some probation violations from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The court's number is 657-622-6878. Hearings from the Central, Harbor, and North justice centers may be held there.

The court's website points to Penal Code 825, which allows up to 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays. Not every case goes to the jail courtroom. Otherwise you go where the paperwork says: the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, or another justice center. Appearances are generally set for 8:30 a.m.

Some do. The Santa Ana Police Department has a jail attached to its building at 60 Civic Center Plaza. Its front lobby, 714-245-8100, is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Other cities also list jails or holding areas. Search first, then ask the arresting agency, since a person may move to the county jail later.

A lawyer may push for a smaller figure or release on a promise to appear, known as own recognizance, under Penal Code 1318. In April 2026 the California Supreme Court, in In re Kowalczyk, held that a judge may not set bail at an amount the person cannot reach, and should first ask whether conditions short of money would work. Bring proof of income, housing, and family ties.

The schedule shows no bail for murder with special circumstances. California Constitution article I, section 12 allows judges to deny bail in some capital and violent or sexual felony cases. Penal Code 1270.1 requires a hearing before release on serious or violent felonies and certain domestic violence charges. Sentenced inmates cannot post bail at all, the Sheriff says.

The judge assigns a public lawyer at the first hearing. The Orange County Public Defender is at 801 Civic Center Drive West, Suite 400, Santa Ana, 657-251-6090, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the office has a conflict, the independent Alternate Defender or Associate Defender may take the case.

The county's Probation Department runs Juvenile Hall at 331 The City Drive in Orange, 714-935-6660. Juvenile Court Services is in the Manchester Office Building at 301 The City Drive, 714-935-7411. Records for teens are kept private, so anyone under 18 is missing from the adult jail lookup.

A judge may keep the posted money and send out a warrant for his arrest. When the bond is over $400, the clerk mails notice, and there are 180 days, plus five for mailing, to bring him in, under Penal Code 1305. Call the Criminal Division clerk and your agent at once, and ask a lawyer about reinstating the bond.

It can, but it is slow, and the release comes last. The court's instruction sheet L-861 says the equity must be twice the bail, counted after the homestead exemption is subtracted. You file with the Criminal Operations Division of the justice center that has the case. Expect to gather a notarized undertaking, a promissory note, a trust deed with the Superior Court clerk as beneficiary, a certified copy of today's deed, a title report, and a licensed California appraisal no more than seven days old. After the judge approves, the trust deed gets recorded wherever the property is located. The court orders release only after the recorded papers are delivered, so ask the cashier at 714-647-6085 about holds in the meantime.

The 2026 Kowalczyk decision says no, unless the court follows the strict constitutional rules for denying bail. Santa Ana and other Orange County judges must consider ability to pay, as Humphrey requires, and set an amount the person can reasonably reach.

Orange County's court runs several justice centers. Felony and misdemeanor cases from Anaheim, Santa Ana, Westminster, Fullerton and Newport Beach are spread among them. The court's main information line is 657-622-6878.

• Central justice center: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Civil complex center: 751 West Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Community court: 909 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Jail courtroom CJ1 (men's jail): 550 North Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703 · 657-622-6878
• Costa Mesa justice complex: 3390 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · 657-622-6878
• Harbor justice center: 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660 · 657-622-6878
• Juvenile and family center: 341 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868 · 657-622-6878
• North justice center: 1275 North Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832 · 657-622-6878
• West justice center: 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683 · 657-622-6878

Orange County federal cases belong to the Southern Division of the Central District of California, which sits in Santa Ana itself. The county schedule plays no part:

• The Marshals bring him before a magistrate judge at Santa Ana federal courthouse, 411 West 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701, normally the next court day.
• A Pretrial Services officer asks about work, family and record, then writes a recommendation.
• Under the Bail Reform Act the judge picks release with conditions or detention.
• A detention hearing can slide by three days at the U.S. attorney's request or five at his lawyer's.
• Held defendants are boarded by the Marshals at contract jails in Southern California, or at the federal jail downtown in Los Angeles: the Metropolitan Detention Center, 535 N Alameda St, Los Angeles (213-485-0439).

Santa Ana Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 411 West 4th Street, Santa Ana, 714-338-4610.

State law SB 54 keeps the Sheriff from holding anyone extra hours for ICE. If the jail record shows a serious or violent conviction, the release time may be shared so agents can wait outside. Families should know the TRUTH Act: a written notice must come first if ICE asks to interview someone, and the person may refuse or ask for a lawyer.

Los Angeles ICE field office, 300 North Los Angeles Street, Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-830-7911 handles Orange County. People taken by ICE usually land at:

• Adelanto ICE Processing Center: 10400 Rancho Road (East) and 10250 Rancho Road (West), Adelanto, CA 92301 · 760-561-6100
• Desert View Annex: 10400 Rancho Road, Adelanto, CA 92301

• Orange County Inmate Search: start here with last name and first name. Results list his booking number, which Sheriff's jail has him, the bail figure and when he's due in court. Nothing? Try a shorter first name.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): choose California and enter the name. It lists whoever is in custody and where. Sign up for a text when he moves or is let go.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): for someone already sentenced in federal court, type the register number, or else his whole name. Pretrial federal defendants won't show; call 714-338-4610.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): after a state prison sentence, search the CDCR number or last name. New prisoners can take a couple of weeks to appear.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): enter the A-number, or the name plus country of birth. Results give the detention center and its phone. If he's missing, call 213-830-7911.

Phone the jail cashier at the Intake Release Center, 714-647-6085, which answers around the clock. With his legal name and birth date in hand, ask for:

• the booking number and which Sheriff's jail holds him;
• the bail total for each charge;
• whether a judge has changed the schedule amount.

For a court date or a judge's bail order, the court's criminal line is 657-622-8459.

With more than 3 million residents and 34 cities, Orange County handles a huge criminal caseload, yet every adult criminal case, from Anaheim and Santa Ana to Irvine, Huntington Beach and San Clemente, falls under a single court: the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. California eliminated its municipal courts by merging them into countywide superior courts around 2000, which is why there is no separate city court for crimes. The court’s central hub is the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Its main information line is (657) 622-6878, and criminal matters at every justice center go through one shared Criminal Operations line, (657) 622-8459, which offers automated information around the clock and live staff on weekdays. Criminal cases are heard at these locations:

• Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701: felony cases and central-county misdemeanors. Criminal: (657) 622-8459
• North Justice Center, 1275 N. Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832: north-county criminal matters. Criminal: (657) 622-8459
• West Justice Center, 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683: west-county criminal matters. Criminal: (657) 622-8459
• Harbor Justice Center, 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660: south-county criminal matters. Criminal: (657) 622-8459
• Department CJ1, inside the Men’s Central Jail complex, 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703: in-custody misdemeanor and felony complaint arraignments for cases from the Central, North and Harbor justice centers. Criminal: (657) 622-8459

The justice center listed on the citation or release paperwork is where the case starts; the Sheriff’s “Who’s In Jail” lookup shows where an in-custody defendant will appear. Each charge type below opens a walk-through of an Orange County case.

Which courthouse handles an Orange County misdemeanor depends on geography: north-county cases usually go to Fullerton, west-county cases to Westminster, south-county cases to Newport Beach and central-county cases to Santa Ana. The Orange County District Attorney prosecutes state-law misdemeanors throughout the county, while some cities, Anaheim among them, use their own city attorneys to prosecute violations of local municipal codes. Most misdemeanor arrests end with a citation and release on a written promise to appear. Anyone held instead at the Intake Release Center or Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana sees a judge within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays, often in Department CJ1 right inside the jail complex.

At that first hearing, called the arraignment, the judge reads the charges, he pleads (almost always “not guilty”), and release terms are set. When jail time is on the table and he lacks money for counsel, the Orange County Public Defender, with staff at every justice center, takes the case free of charge. For many lower-level charges, his lawyer may go to the hearings without him.

Next come pretrial conferences, where most Orange County cases end with a deal, a lesser charge, or dismissal. With diversion, a judge can drop many charges after he finishes counseling, classes or similar tasks, though it isn’t offered for DUI, domestic violence or sex crimes that require registration. Cases that don’t settle go to a 12-person jury. Trial is due within 30 days of arraignment if he is locked up, or 45 days if he is out, though defense lawyers often give up that deadline.

The usual top sentence is six months in jail plus a $1,000 fine; certain misdemeanors carry a year. Probation, fines, community service and treatment programs are the usual outcomes. Expect a misdemeanor here to take from several weeks to several months.

Felony prosecution in Orange County is the job of the District Attorney’s Office in Santa Ana, and felony cases are concentrated at the Central Justice Center in the Santa Ana civic center, close to the county’s main jails. An in-custody defendant is arraigned on the felony complaint within 48 hours of arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays, frequently in Department CJ1 at the Men’s Central Jail. Release is decided there. A 2021 California Supreme Court decision, In re Humphrey, requires judges setting bail to consider what the defendant can realistically pay. A 2026 ruling, In re Kowalczyk, adds that Orange County judges may not set bail out of reach to avoid a no-bail hearing.

Orange County’s indigent defense system has three separate offices. The Public Defender takes most felony cases at arraignment. A conflict of interest sends the file to the Alternate Defender or Associate Defender, separate offices inside the same agency; when none of them can, the court’s Alternate Defense Services program picks an outside lawyer from its panel.

A preliminary hearing comes within 10 court days of arraignment unless the defense agrees to wait; there a judge rules on whether there is enough evidence for trial. The District Attorney can instead present the case to the Orange County grand jury for an indictment, a route sometimes used in complex or high-profile cases. Once a judge sends it on, the prosecutor’s formal “information” replaces the complaint, he enters a new plea on it, and the jury trial must open within 60 days unless he agrees to delay. Waivers are the norm, and most felonies are resolved through plea agreements.

After a guilty verdict or plea, Orange County Probation writes a report, and the judge usually sentences within 20 court days. Since realignment in 2011, many non-violent and non-serious felonies are punished with county jail rather than state prison time. “Wobbler” offenses can be filed as or reduced to misdemeanors. Orange County also runs a range of collaborative courts, including drug, DUI, veterans and mental-health courts, that pair supervision with treatment for qualifying defendants. Felonies here commonly run from a few months to over a year.

Homicide, sexual assault and armed robbery cases are tried in the felony courtrooms of the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. Procedurally, they look like other felonies, with an arraignment, a preliminary hearing or grand jury indictment, and then trial. The big differences are custody and consequences. Under the state constitution, an Orange County judge may refuse bail entirely for violent felonies and sexual assault felonies whenever clear and convincing evidence points to a real danger of serious harm to someone if he is let out. Many people facing these charges remain in Orange County jail custody until the case is over.

Each of these crimes counts as a strike under the Three Strikes law. One earlier strike doubles the sentence; two earlier strikes can mean 25 years to life. A violent felony conviction means serving no less than 85% of the sentence.

• Murder: the punishment is 25 years to life when the murder is first degree and 15 years to life when it is second degree. In Orange County, once jurors find a special circumstance true (say, a killing in the middle of a robbery or rape), the choices shrink to execution or prison until he dies, without any parole. Seeking death is the prosecutor’s call alone, and California has paused executions since 2019.
• Armed robbery: as much as nine years, with 10 years, 20 years, or 25 years to life added when a gun is shown, fired, or causes serious injury. Courts have held the power to strike those enhancements since 2018.
• Rape: a prison term reaching eight years, extended when the facts are aggravated, plus lifetime-tier sex offender registration.

Capital defendants get two specially qualified lawyers appointed by the court. Marsy’s Law gives victims advance word of each court date, a chance to describe their harm aloud at sentencing, and repayment of losses, while the prosecutor’s victim services team helps them use those rights. Orange County’s most serious cases usually take one to three years because of lab tests, detective work and expert witnesses; homicides can pass five years.

Each justice center below hears criminal matters for its part of the county; the court's main information line is 657-622-6878.

• Central justice center: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Civil complex center: 751 West Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Community court: 909 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 · 657-622-6878
• Jail courtroom CJ1 (men's jail): 550 North Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703 · 657-622-6878
• Costa Mesa justice complex: 3390 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · 657-622-6878
• Harbor justice center: 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660 · 657-622-6878
• Juvenile and family center: 341 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868 · 657-622-6878
• North justice center: 1275 North Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832 · 657-622-6878
• West justice center: 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683 · 657-622-6878

Federal prosecutors in Santa Ana take the cases agents bring from Irvine, Huntington Beach and the rest of Orange County. The Central District of California holds the first hearing before a magistrate judge at Santa Ana federal courthouse, 411 West 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Pretrial Services reports on risk, the judge decides release or detention, and an Orange County felony then needs a grand jury indictment, normally within a month. Felony trials are heard by district judges in the same building. Detained people are housed by the Marshals (U.S. Marshals Service, 411 West 4th Street, Santa Ana, 714-338-4610); some go to the Metropolitan Detention Center, 535 N Alameda St, Los Angeles (213-485-0439).

An ICE detainer does not pause the Santa Ana or Fullerton case, and the judge still sets bail the usual way. The difference comes at release: SB 54 bars extra hours of holding, though a release date may be passed along when the record shows a serious or violent conviction. Defense lawyers must explain immigration consequences before a plea, so tell counsel about status early. Immigration court is a separate federal system and does not read the county file. ICE office: Los Angeles ICE field office, 300 North Los Angeles Street, Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-830-7911. Detention sites:

• Adelanto ICE Processing Center: 10400 Rancho Road (East) and 10250 Rancho Road (West), Adelanto, CA 92301 · 760-561-6100
• Desert View Annex: 10400 Rancho Road, Adelanto, CA 92301

• Orange County Inmate Search: Sheriff's jails.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): any California facility.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): sentenced federal prisoners; pretrial status from 714-338-4610.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): state prison.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; else 213-830-7911.

Teen cases do not go to the adult justice centers. They are heard at the county's juvenile court complex on The City Drive in Orange, next to Juvenile Hall at 331 The City Drive, 714-935-6660. Parents get notice of the detention hearing, which must happen within about three court days. Juvenile records are closed to the public, so the county inmate search will not list a minor.

Before driving to Santa Ana, Fullerton, Westminster or Newport Beach, call the criminal clerk at 657-622-8459 with the case number. Ask which justice center and department, and the start time. While he is held, the jail line, 714-647-6085, knows whether he is on the bus to court.

The Sheriff's Department and the county's 34 city police forces serve warrants. Call the Sheriff's line, (714) 647-7000, to confirm one; deputies check a name against statewide records on the same call. The Superior Court's case access page lets you look up the criminal case, which helps you understand what the judge wants. The Central Justice Center clerk at 700 Civic Center Drive West takes questions about new dates. Counsel can arrange your surrender at the Intake Release Center, 550 North Flower Street, or ask the judge for a recall, and many people find that the quickest route.