How to Prepare for Your First Court Date in San Bernardino

Apr 27

9 min read

Updated: Sep 6

Before your first court appearance in San Bernardino, you should confirm the exact date, time, courthouse, and department; hire a criminal defense attorney or arrange to request one; gather the documents that bear on release and on your case; plan to arrive early and dress appropriately; and decide with counsel whether to enter a not guilty plea, request a bail review, or ask for a continuance. The first appearance in a criminal case is the arraignment. It is short, but the decisions made there, about your plea, your custody status, and any protective order, set the course of the case. This article explains how to prepare for arraignment in San Bernardino County, from the San Bernardino Justice Center to the branch courthouses across the county.

Where Will My Case Be Heard in San Bernardino County?

The San Bernardino Justice Center, on West Third Street in downtown San Bernardino, is the county's main courthouse and handles most felony matters and many misdemeanors from the central part of the county, including San Bernardino, Highland, Colton, Rialto, and the mountain communities. The Rancho Cucamonga courthouse serves the west end, including Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Upland, Chino, Chino Hills, and Montclair. The Fontana courthouse handles many misdemeanor and traffic matters from Fontana and surrounding areas. The Victorville courthouse serves the High Desert, including Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, and Adelanto. The Joshua Tree courthouse serves the Morongo Basin, including Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley. Cases are also heard in Barstow and Needles for the eastern desert.

Your citation, release paperwork, or bail bond receipt will list the courthouse. If you were in custody, the jail's release documents will list it. If you are unsure, the Superior Court of San Bernardino County's online case access lets you search by name and shows the courthouse and department once a case is filed. Do not assume a courthouse based on where you live. Go to the courthouse listed on your paperwork.

Confirming Your Court Date

Court dates written on citations at the time of arrest are a promise to appear on that date, but they are not always the date the court ultimately uses. Sometimes the prosecutor has not filed charges by that date. Sometimes the court has reassigned the matter to a different department. Confirm a few days in advance by checking the court's online case index or calling the clerk's office for the courthouse listed. If your attorney has already been retained, the attorney's office will confirm for you.

If you check and find no case filed under your name, do not simply skip the date. Appear at the courthouse, go to the criminal clerk's window, explain that you have a citation to appear, and ask the clerk to note that you appeared and that no complaint has been filed. Get the clerk's name if you can. This protects you if the prosecutor later files and claims you failed to appear. Then keep your mailing address current with the court, the jail, and the bail agent, because notice of a later filing comes by mail.

What Arraignment Looks Like in San Bernardino County

Arraignment courtrooms are busy. In the San Bernardino Justice Center, a morning misdemeanor arraignment calendar may have dozens of cases. The courtroom will have a judge or commissioner, a clerk, a court reporter or recording system, a bailiff, a deputy district attorney handling the calendar, and public defenders handling in-custody and appointed cases. Private attorneys check in with the clerk and wait for their cases to be called. In-custody defendants appear from the holding area or by video.

When your case is called, you will step forward to the defense table or the microphone. The court will confirm your name and date of birth, state the charges or take a waiver of the formal reading, advise you of your rights, and ask for your plea. If you do not have a lawyer, the court will ask whether you want the public defender appointed, which requires a brief financial eligibility screening, or whether you want time to hire private counsel, which the court will ordinarily grant once by continuing the arraignment.

The court then addresses custody status. For out-of-custody defendants, the question is usually whether to continue release on the existing terms. For in-custody defendants, the court considers bail and own recognizance release under Penal Code section 1275 and the principles of In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135, which requires consideration of ability to pay and less restrictive alternatives. San Bernardino County's pretrial services program may have prepared a report with a risk assessment and recommended conditions.

If the case involves an alleged victim, particularly in domestic violence or assault cases, the prosecutor will request a criminal protective order. The court will typically grant it at arraignment. Whether that order allows peaceful contact or bars all contact, and whether it removes you from a shared home, is something your attorney should be prepared to address at that moment, because a full no-contact order can separate you from your children and your residence for the life of the case.

Finally, the court sets the next date: a pretrial conference for a misdemeanor, or a preliminary hearing setting for a felony. The whole appearance usually takes a few minutes on the record, though you may wait an hour or more for your case to be called.

How to Dress and How to Conduct Yourself

Judges notice presentation, and so do prosecutors evaluating release and offers. Dress as you would for a job interview: a collared shirt and slacks, a blouse and slacks or a skirt, or a suit if you own one. Avoid shorts, tank tops, hats, sunglasses, clothing with slogans or images, and anything that references alcohol, drugs, or violence. Cover tattoos if you can. Remove piercings that draw attention.

Arrive at least 30 to 45 minutes early. Security screening at the San Bernardino Justice Center can involve a line, and parking downtown takes time. Leave weapons, pocket knives, and anything that will not clear a metal detector in your car. Turn your phone off, not just to silent, once you enter the courtroom. Do not eat, chew gum, or talk while court is in session.

Stand when the judge enters and when your case is called. Address the judge as Your Honor. Answer only the questions asked of you, and let your attorney do the rest. Do not argue with the prosecutor, react visibly to anything said, or try to explain your side of the facts; arraignment is not the hearing for that, and anything you say on the record can be used later. If you are frustrated, keep it off your face.

Documents to Bring to Your First Appearance

Bring your citation, release paperwork, or bail bond receipt, which proves you were told to appear and identifies the case. Bring a government photo identification. Bring your attorney's business card or contact information if you have retained counsel, so that you can give it to the clerk if needed.

If custody status will be contested, bring documents that support release: a recent pay stub or letter from your employer, proof of your address such as a lease or utility bill, proof of enrollment in school, and letters from family members or community members describing your ties to San Bernardino County or the Inland Empire. If you have already enrolled in counseling, treatment, or a class related to the alleged offense, bring proof of enrollment. Judges give real weight to concrete steps already taken; they give little weight to promises.

Do not bring evidence about the facts of the case to hand to the judge or prosecutor. Give it to your attorney. Arraignment is not the time to present your defense, and handing documents to the prosecutor without counsel's review is a mistake people regret.

Bail Review at the First Appearance

If you are in custody and the scheduled bail is beyond your means, your attorney can ask the arraignment judge to release you on your own recognizance or reduce bail. The argument is strongest when it is specific: this is where the client lives, this is where they work, these are the people who depend on them, this is why they will return to court, and these are the conditions that address any public safety concern. Electronic monitoring, alcohol monitoring, a stay-away order, and regular check-ins with pretrial services are all conditions San Bernardino County judges use.

If the arraignment judge does not grant release, a formal bail review can be set on a later date, typically with written notice to the prosecutor. Under Penal Code section 1270.2, a defendant held in custody is entitled to review of the bail order within a specified number of days of the original setting. Preparation for that hearing is the same, with more time to gather documentation.

Continuances: When to Ask and When Not To

A continuance is a postponement. At arraignment, the most common reason to request one is to hire private counsel. Courts will generally grant one continuance for that purpose, usually for two to four weeks. Ask for it at the first appearance; do not wait until the second date to say you are still looking for a lawyer.

Other reasons include a pending pre-filing review of charges, a medical issue, or coordination with a related family law matter, which is common in the Inland Empire when a criminal domestic violence case and a DV-100 restraining order or custody case are proceeding at the same time. Judges are less receptive to repeated continuances without a stated purpose, and a continuance at arraignment in a felony case may require you to waive time for the preliminary hearing under Penal Code section 859b. That waiver has consequences, and it should be discussed with counsel before you agree to it.

What a Defense Lawyer Does at the First Appearance

A retained defense attorney does more at arraignment than stand next to you. Before the hearing, counsel obtains the complaint, reviews the charges and the bail amount, checks for any protective order request, and prepares the release argument with supporting documents. Counsel confirms the courthouse and department so that you go to the right place.

In court, counsel enters the plea, which in nearly every case is not guilty, and handles the waiver of formal reading and advisement. Counsel argues for OR release or reduced bail, opposes or seeks modification of a criminal protective order, and requests discovery from the prosecutor under Penal Code section 1054.5. In a felony case, counsel decides with you whether to set the preliminary hearing within the 10-court-day window or waive time. In a misdemeanor case, counsel may appear on your behalf under Penal Code section 977 so that you do not have to attend, which is especially valuable for people who cannot easily leave work or who live far from the courthouse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my attorney go to court for me in San Bernardino?

In most misdemeanor cases, yes. Penal Code section 977 allows an attorney to appear for a defendant in a misdemeanor case unless the court orders the defendant to appear personally, which some judges do for domestic violence and DUI arraignments. In felony cases, you must appear personally at arraignment and most other hearings.

What if I cannot find parking or I am running late?

Call your attorney immediately, or if you have none, call the clerk's office for that courthouse. Judges often hold a case to the end of the calendar or to the afternoon session for a defendant who is on the way. A defendant who simply does not show gets a bench warrant. A defendant who calls and arrives late is usually accommodated.

Should I plead guilty at arraignment to get it over with?

Almost never. A guilty plea at arraignment is a conviction entered before anyone has reviewed the police report, the body camera footage, or the lab results. Diversion programs, reductions, and dismissals become available only after the defense has examined the evidence. Enter a not guilty plea and let the process work.

What if I have a family law case at the same time?

Tell your criminal defense attorney immediately. Criminal protective orders, DV-100 restraining orders, and custody orders under FL-300 requests can conflict, and a statement made in one proceeding can be used in the other. Coordinating the two matters is a significant part of defending Inland Empire clients, and it should begin before the first appearance.

Gramling Law Group handles criminal defense from the first court appearance forward throughout San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and the Inland Empire, with flat-fee and limited-scope options. Call (909) 654-4575 or contact us through this website to schedule a consultation before your arraignment.

This article is educational and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It addresses California law only.

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