Big Bear Jail Criminal Court Process
Criminal Court Process for San Bernardino County California
Inside the San Bernardino County Criminal Court System
San Bernardino County covers more ground than any other county in the continental United States, running from the Inland Empire suburbs across the High Desert and Morongo Basin to the Colorado River. One court still handles all of its adult criminal cases: the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. California’s trial courts were unified around 2000, eliminating the municipal courts that once operated in individual cities, so a case from Ontario, Fontana, Hesperia or Twentynine Palms ends up in the same court system. Its flagship criminal building is the San Bernardino Justice Center, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415, reachable for criminal information at (909) 384-1888. Because of the county’s size, criminal cases are split among regional courthouses:
- San Bernardino Justice Center, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415: the county’s main criminal courthouse, serving San Bernardino and the surrounding central valley communities. Criminal information: (909) 384-1888
- Rancho Cucamonga District, 8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730: the West Valley, including Ontario, Upland, Chino, Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, plus drug court. Criminal/drug court information: (909) 350-9764
- Victorville District, 14455 Civic Drive, Victorville, CA 92392: the High Desert, including Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley and Adelanto. Phone: (760) 245-6215
- Joshua Tree District, 6527 White Feather Road, Joshua Tree, CA 92252: the Morongo Basin, including Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms. Phone: (760) 974-3048
Courthouse assignment follows the place of arrest and the stage of the case, so read the notice to appear or bail papers closely and check the court’s online case access before traveling. Choose a charge level below for a San Bernardino walk-through.
- San Bernardino misdemeanors: shoplifting, a first drunk-driving stop, simple battery, trespass
- San Bernardino felonies: burglary, theft of big-ticket items, narcotics sales, a DUI that leaves someone hurt
- Violent and serious felonies (murder, rape, armed robbery)
- San Bernardino Superior Court locations
- Federal cases from San Bernardino County
- ICE detainers in San Bernardino County courts
- San Bernardino County custody searches
- Confirming a San Bernardino County hearing
- How can I check a warrant from Victorville or Rancho courts?
1. San Bernardino misdemeanors: shoplifting, a first drunk-driving stop, simple battery, trespass
Picture a first DUI stop on the 15 near Hesperia or a shoplifting call in Ontario. In most such cases the officer issues a citation and lets the person go, and the citation names a court date at the regional courthouse. If he is booked and stays locked up, he sees a judge in 48 hours or less, leaving out Sundays and holidays. Misdemeanor charges in San Bernardino County are filed by the District Attorney’s Office.
Arraignment comes first. At that hearing the charges are explained, he answers (not guilty, nearly every time), and release terms are fixed. A lawyer is part of that hearing as well. If jail is possible and he has no money for a lawyer, the San Bernardino County Public Defender, with offices from the valley to the high desert, defends him at no cost. His lawyer can often attend misdemeanor dates alone, which spares him long drives across this huge county.
Pretrial conferences follow, and most San Bernardino misdemeanors end there through a deal, amended counts or dismissal. Diversion is an option a judge may grant, erasing the charge after he completes treatment, classes or other conditions; county judges can’t use it for drunk driving, domestic violence, or registrable sex crimes. A case headed to trial goes before 12 jurors. A jailed defendant may demand trial within 30 days of arraignment, a free one within 45, though lawyers often give up that window.
Six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine are the usual maximums, with certain misdemeanors carrying up to a year. Most cases end with probation, fines, classes or community service instead. A misdemeanor case usually runs a few weeks to a few months.
2. San Bernardino felonies: burglary, theft of big-ticket items, narcotics sales, a DUI that leaves someone hurt
Felony suspects are typically booked by the Sheriff’s Department into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, the Central Detention Center in downtown San Bernardino or the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto. The District Attorney files a felony complaint, and the defendant is arraigned within 48 hours of arrest. Release gets decided right then, and since the 2021 In re Humphrey ruling, the judge must think about what he can pay before naming a cash figure. A 2026 decision, In re Kowalczyk, adds that San Bernardino County bail must be reasonable and usually attainable.
If the defendant has no means to retain counsel, the court appoints the Public Defender at arraignment. When the Public Defender has a conflict, often because several people are charged together, contract conflict lawyers take the extra defendants.
Within 10 court days, unless the defense waives the deadline, the case reaches a preliminary hearing. A San Bernardino judge weighs the evidence there and rules on whether a trial should follow. The District Attorney may also seek an indictment from the grand jury, which takes the place of a preliminary hearing. Should it continue, a formal charging paper (the “information”) is filed, a second plea is entered, and he can insist on trial in 60 days unless he gives that up. Most defendants waive time, and the majority of felony cases end in negotiated pleas.
After a conviction, San Bernardino Probation sends the judge a background report, and sentencing usually lands within 20 court days. With 2011 realignment, many lower-level felony sentences are spent in a county facility like Glen Helen or West Valley. Wobbler offenses can be pursued or later reduced as misdemeanors. Felony cases in the county typically run several months to more than a year.
3. Violent and serious felonies (murder, rape, armed robbery)
Being held without bail is a real possibility in these cases. A San Bernardino judge can withhold bail in violent felonies and sexual assault felonies under the state constitution if clear and convincing evidence shows letting him go would likely put others in danger of grave injury. Many defendants charged with homicide, rape or armed robbery in San Bernardino County therefore remain in a county detention center while the case moves through arraignment, a preliminary hearing or grand jury indictment, and trial.
The Three Strikes law treats each of these offenses as a strike. A defendant carrying a single strike gets twice the usual term; a defendant with two may face 25 years to life. A violent felony means doing 85% or more of the term before parole.
- Murder: second-degree murder means 15 years to life, and first-degree murder means 25 years to life. When jurors find special circumstances, like a homicide committed during a robbery or rape, the only sentences left are death or prison with no parole. That choice to seek death belongs to the prosecutor, while California has frozen executions since 2019.
- Armed robbery: a robbery conviction alone can mean as many as nine years. Displaying a gun brings 10 extra years, shooting it 20, and wounding or killing with it 25 to life; judges gained power in 2018 to strike those add-ons.
- Rape: a sentence reaching eight years, longer when facts are aggravated, plus registration on the highest tier.
The Public Defender typically assigns veteran trial lawyers to homicide cases, and the court must appoint two qualified attorneys whenever the prosecution seeks the death penalty. Victims in San Bernardino cases have Marsy’s Law rights to hearing notices, a statement at sentencing, and restitution. Such prosecutions usually need one to three years, and murder trials in San Bernardino can need five-plus.
4. San Bernardino Superior Court locations
- San Bernardino justice center (criminal): 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415 · 909-384-1888
- Family law courthouse: 351 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92415 · 909-521-3136
- Juvenile delinquency court: 900 East Gilbert Street, Building 2, San Bernardino, CA 92415 · 909-269-8840
- Juvenile dependency court: 860 East Gilbert Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415 · 909-269-8900
- Rancho Cucamonga district: 8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 · 909-350-9764
- Fontana district: 17780 Arrow Boulevard, Fontana, CA 92335 · 909-350-9322
- Victorville district: 14455 Civic Drive, Victorville, CA 92392 · 760-245-6215
- Barstow district: 235 East Mountain View Street, Barstow, CA 92311 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
- Big Bear district: 477 Summit Boulevard, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
- Joshua Tree district: 6527 White Feather Road, Joshua Tree, CA 92252 · 760-974-3048
- Needles district: 1111 Bailey Avenue, Needles, CA 92363 · 760-269-4962
Superior Court branches here in Barstow, Fontana, Joshua Tree, Needles, Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville and the county seat take CourtCall phone and video appearances before some judges, through a private company that charges for each. The judge picks which hearings qualify, the party can register for CourtCall and book it, a fee waiver applies, and the court runs free video links too.
5. Federal cases from San Bernardino County
Ontario, Fontana and Barstow federal arrests are prosecuted in the Central District of California. The magistrate judge at Riverside federal courthouse, 3470 12th Street, Riverside, CA 92501 handles the first hearing, then Pretrial Services and a detention ruling. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 3470 12th Street, Riverside, 951-276-6120. Some detainees go to the Metropolitan Detention Center, 535 N Alameda St, Los Angeles (213-485-0439); sentenced people may serve at the federal complex in Victorville.
6. ICE detainers in San Bernardino County courts
Local judges try the case without waiting on ICE. SB 54 controls jail release; a date can go to ICE only after a serious or violent conviction. Ask the public defender how a plea affects status. ICE office: Los Angeles ICE field office, 300 North Los Angeles Street, Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-830-7911; detention sites include Adelanto:
- 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
7. San Bernardino County custody searches
- San Bernardino County Inmate Search: Sheriff's jails.
- VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): statewide.
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal, including Victorville; pretrial 951-276-6120.
- CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): state prisons, including Chino.
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; 213-830-7911.
8. Confirming a San Bernardino County hearing
The county has courthouses from Rancho Cucamonga to Joshua Tree, so check first. Call 909-350-9764 for criminal court information, give the case number, and ask which courthouse, department and time. A held defendant's jail can confirm transport.
9. How can I check a warrant from Victorville or Rancho courts?
Sheriff's deputies serve warrants across the Inland Empire and high desert. A deputy at (909) 387-8313 can run a name through both county and California files; the Sheriff also points people to court records. The Superior Court's case information portal covers criminal cases from every district. Counsel can arrange your surrender at the Central Detention Center, 630 East Rialto Avenue, or another Sheriff's jail, or ask for a recall. The Justice Center clerk at 247 West Third Street handles new dates and answers questions about the next step.
Use this as a broad sketch of San Bernardino criminal cases, not advice on a specific charge. Talk to a defense attorney or phone the San Bernardino County Public Defender at (909) 382-3950.
