Navigating the Criminal Courts of Solano County
Whether an arrest happens in Vallejo, Fairfield, Vacaville, Benicia, Suisun City, Dixon or Rio Vista, the criminal case that follows belongs to the Superior Court of California, County of Solano. Since California unified its trial courts around 2000, absorbing the old municipal courts into each county’s superior court, no city in Solano County has its own criminal court. The court’s campus in the county seat of Fairfield includes the Hall of Justice, 600 Union Avenue, Fairfield, CA 94533, along with the nearby Law and Justice Center and the Old Solano Courthouse; the court’s general information line is (707) 207-7373. The Criminal Division operates from two buildings:
- Hall of Justice, 600 Union Avenue, Fairfield, CA 94533: Solano's main criminal building, covering Fairfield plus the middle and north of the county. Criminal clerk: (707) 207-7380
- Solano Justice Building, 321 Tuolumne Street, Vallejo, CA 94590: the criminal branch for the southern end of the county. Criminal clerk: (707) 561-7880
The location printed on a citation or bail paperwork controls where a defendant must report, and assignments can shift as a case moves along. The sections below explain the usual path for each category of charge.
- Solano misdemeanor cases (shoplifting, first DUI, minor fights)
- Solano felony cases below the violent level (burglary, drug sales, grand theft)
- Violent and serious felonies (murder, rape, armed robbery)
- Solano Superior Court locations
- Solano federal cases
- ICE detainers in Solano court
- Solano custody searches
Solano misdemeanor cases (shoplifting, first DUI, minor fights)
In Solano County, the District Attorney’s Office, with offices in both Fairfield and Vallejo, prosecutes misdemeanors countywide, including those arising in the county’s seven cities. In Fairfield or Vallejo, a misdemeanor usually begins with a signed ticket instead of a night in jail. When someone stays locked up after booking at the Sheriff's Fairfield jail, the law requires a court appearance within 48 hours, with Sundays and holidays not counted.
The first Solano hearing covers the charge, the opening plea (often not guilty) and any release terms. This is also when the court appoints counsel for those who can’t pay for their own. Solano County has two county defense offices: the Solano County Public Defender takes most appointments, and the Alternate Public Defender steps in when the Public Defender has a conflict. Both have offices in Fairfield and Vallejo. Solano doesn't send a bill for an appointed lawyer. For many misdemeanors, the lawyer can appear in court on the client’s behalf.
Next come pretrial conferences, and that's where most Solano misdemeanors end, by plea, a lesser count or dismissal. Many offenses qualify for misdemeanor diversion, which ends in dismissal once the defendant completes counseling, classes or other conditions; DUIs, domestic violence and registrable sex charges are shut out of that program. Solano also runs treatment courts, including Adult Drug Court, Mental Health Diversion Court and Veterans Treatment Court. If a case is tried, a 12-person jury decides it. The deadline for trial is 30 days after arraignment for jailed defendants and 45 days for those released, although time is often waived.
Solano misdemeanors usually top out at six months and $1,000; a handful reach one year. Jail is rarer than probation, fines, work hours or classes. Expect weeks, or a few months at most.
Solano felony cases below the violent level (burglary, drug sales, grand theft)
Once a felony arrest is made, the case is in the hands of the Solano County District Attorney. A defendant held in the county jail in Fairfield is arraigned on the complaint within 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays, and the judge decides on bail or release at that appearance. California’s Supreme Court ruled in In re Humphrey (2021) that judges must consider a defendant’s ability to pay when setting bail, so the amount can’t simply be fixed by a schedule. The April 2026 Kowalczyk holding means Fairfield and Vallejo judges must set attainable bail.
Defendants who can’t afford counsel get an appointed attorney at the start. The Public Defender handles most of these cases; the Alternate Public Defender, and beyond that private court-appointed attorneys, take cases where conflicts arise, such as multiple co-defendants.
The preliminary hearing comes next. At this hearing a judge weighs the evidence and decides whether the defendant should be held to answer for trial. It must take place within 10 court days of arraignment unless the defense waives that timeline. Prosecutors also have the option of a grand jury indictment, which replaces the preliminary hearing. A held-over Solano case gets a DA filing called an information, then another arraignment. Trial is due within 60 days, though defendants usually waive that. Deals settle the bulk of Solano felonies.
Solano probation drafts a report after conviction, and sentencing tends to land within 20 court days. Realignment, passed in 2011, keeps a lot of lower-level felony time in Solano's own jails. Wobblers can be charged or lowered as misdemeanors. Solano County felony cases usually take from several months to over a year.
Violent and serious felonies (murder, rape, armed robbery)
Though the steps mirror other felony cases (arraignment, a preliminary hearing or grand jury indictment, then trial), violent and serious felonies carry much higher stakes and take much longer. From the first hearing, Fairfield judges may refuse bail on violent or sex-assault felony charges if clear and convincing proof suggests the defendant, once free, would probably hurt someone badly. Many defendants charged with these crimes in Solano County remain in custody until the case concludes.
Each one is a strike. In Solano, one earlier strike doubles a sentence, and two can mean 25 years to life. Violent felons serve no less than 85% of their prison time.
- Murder: second-degree murder is punished by 15 years to life; first-degree murder by 25 years to life. Once special circumstances such as a robbery-murder are proven, Solano jurors weigh only two penalties: death, or life with no parole. The Solano DA decides about death; executions have been frozen across California since 2019.
- Armed robbery: a maximum of nine years applies to the robbery. Firearm allegations can tack on 10 years when a gun is used, 20 when it is discharged, or 25 years to life when it causes great bodily injury; a 2018 law change gave judges power to strike them.
- Rape: eight years at the top of the base range, more if aggravated, and Tier 3 registration for life.
Defense in these cases comes from experienced trial attorneys in the Public Defender or Alternate Public Defender offices, or from qualified appointed counsel, and two attorneys are required whenever the District Attorney seeks death. Solano victims have Marsy's Law rights: hearing notices, a sentencing statement and restitution. Forensic testing and expert witnesses keep these Solano files open for one to three years; murders can run past five.
Solano Superior Court locations
- Fairfield hall of justice: 600 Union Avenue, Fairfield, CA 94533 · 707-207-7300
- Law and justice center: 530 Union Avenue, Fairfield, CA 94533 · 707-207-7300
- Old Solano courthouse: 580 Texas Street, Fairfield, CA 94533 · 707-207-7300
- Vallejo justice building: 321 Tuolumne Street, Vallejo, CA 94590 · 707-207-7300
Solano federal cases
Fairfield, Vallejo and Vacaville federal arrests go to the Eastern District of California, beginning with a magistrate judge at Sacramento federal courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 501 I Street, Suite 5600, Sacramento, 916-930-2030.
ICE detainers in Solano court
Solano judges handle the case without waiting on ICE. SB 54 limits notice to a serious or violent conviction. Ask defense counsel about immigration. ICE: San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800; sites:
- Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
- Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
- California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505
Solano custody searches
- Solano County Inmate Search: county jails.
- VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): statewide.
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal; pretrial 916-930-2030.
- CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): prison, including Vacaville.
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; 415-365-8800.
This overview of Solano criminal court is general, not legal advice. Want to confirm a Fairfield or Vallejo hearing, or get a lawyer appointed? Call the Solano Public Defender at (707) 784-6700 (Fairfield) or (707) 553-5241 (Vallejo).
