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If your court paperwork lists 11701 S. La Cienega Boulevard, you are headed to the Airport Courthouse, near LAX and the 105 and 405 interchange. It hears Westside cases from a long list of cities, so the first practical question is which prosecutor's office filed yours. The county's court directory lists the building as open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This page walks through what the door and the arraignment calendar look like, how a remote appearance works when the court allows one, and where your separate DMV case fits in. Keep the 10-day deadline for a DMV hearing in mind from the day of arrest.
Airport Courthouse — court & DMV details
Why your case is here
The Airport Courthouse at 11701 S. La Cienega Blvd, just east of LAX, is the West District's criminal court. After budget-driven closures, it absorbed the criminal cases that used to be heard at the Beverly Hills and Malibu courthouses, so it now covers a wide swath of the Westside — from Venice and Santa Monica to Culver City, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Beverly Hills. DUI enforcement here clusters around LAX, the 405 and 105 freeways, and the beach cities.
Several prosecutors share this courthouse
This is what makes the Airport Courthouse unusual: your prosecutor depends on the city of arrest. A misdemeanor DUI in the City of LA is the LA City Attorney's; in Santa Monica, the Santa Monica City Attorney's; and in Culver City, El Segundo, the other independent Westside cities, unincorporated areas, and all felonies, the LA County DA. Knowing which office has your case is step one.
Parking and the front door on La Cienega
The Airport Courthouse has its own lot, but it is reserved for jurors and court employees. Public parking is in the Pacific Concourse lot next door, and there is metered street parking around the building. Give yourself a cushion on both, because everyone entering goes through security screening. Bring as little as you can carry, and leave anything that could be treated as a weapon in the car.
The criminal clerk's offices are on the second floor. One local defense firm's courthouse guide lists (310) 725-3099 for misdemeanor questions, and the county directory lists (310) 727-6020 for general service and intake. If you plan to take a bus or train, check the current Metro trip planner for stops near La Cienega Boulevard on the day you travel, since routes change.
What an arraignment morning looks like here
Defense lawyers describe three arraignment courtrooms in this building. One guide lists Department 141 for City Attorney misdemeanor DUIs from LAPD arrests, Department 147 for Santa Monica cases, and Department 140 for District Attorney cases, including felony DUIs. Department assignments can shift, so check the notice you were given or ask the clerk.
Plan to be inside early. A missed court date can lead to a bench warrant, and security lines are slower than most people expect.
For remote appearances, the court announced that LACourtConnect became the exclusive platform at the Airport Courthouse on June 30, 2025. You search by case number, calendar, or name, check in shortly before your hearing, and receive a Microsoft Teams link. No advance registration is required. Whether a particular hearing can be remote is up to the courtroom, so confirm before you skip the drive.
Your license, the DMV office near El Segundo, and the DUI program
The DMV's Driver Safety page lists an office at 390 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 2075, El Segundo, with phone number (833) 543-7703. Hours are listed as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. DMV says hearings may be held by Teams video, by telephone, or in person, and you have 10 days from receiving the notice to ask for one. Confirm which office your hearing is assigned to when you schedule. Our DMV hearing page explains what the hearing decides.
DMV states that a first-time suspension after a chemical test at 0.08% or higher is four months, and a refusal starts at one year. Reinstatement requires proof of financial responsibility (an SR-22) and a $125 fee. On the court side, Vehicle Code section 23538 requires a licensed DUI program for a first offense, at least three months and 30 hours for a lower blood alcohol level, and a longer program for 0.20% or higher or a refusal. DMV publishes a directory of licensed providers. More on license suspension is on its own page.
The 10-day DMV deadline
Your Airport Courthouse case is separate from the DMV's action against your license, with a hard 10-day window to request a hearing from arrest. How the DMV hearing works →
How Ron defends a DUI at the Airport Courthouse
Prosecutors from three offices appear in this building: the Los Angeles City Attorney, the Santa Monica City Attorney, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney, which keeps an office inside the courthouse. Ron first confirms which office filed your case, since each handles charging and negotiation its own way. At arraignment you hear the charge and enter a plea. The case then moves into pretrial hearings, where Ron asks for the police reports, any body camera video, and the breath or blood test records, and then examines the reason for the stop, how field sobriety tests were given, and how your sample was handled. Some cases resolve by agreement and others go to motions or trial. No lawyer can promise a result.
Under Penal Code section 977, a person charged with a misdemeanor can generally appear through counsel, but a court may order you to appear in person for arraignment, plea, or sentencing in a misdemeanor DUI. Where a remote appearance is approved, this courthouse uses LACourtConnect. Ron works with you from his Irvine office, handles your court dates here, and runs the DMV hearing alongside the criminal case.
Where will my Santa Monica or Venice DUI be heard?
I was arrested in Beverly Hills or Malibu — is my case here?
Who prosecutes my Westside DUI?
How do I keep my license?
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Ron defends DUI cases across Southern California from his Irvine office — and works directly with you, not a call center.
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