About the author →
A court date at 275 Magnolia Avenue means your case was filed in downtown Long Beach, a few blocks from the civic center and the harbor. The building also takes cases from Signal Hill, the harbor neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles, and Catalina Island, so the details of your arrest decide who is prosecuting you. Most people reading this are trying to answer practical questions: where do I park, which clerk do I see, can I appear by video, and what do I do about my license? Those answers are below. One date cannot be postponed, though. The DMV gives you 10 days from the notice to ask for a hearing on your driving privilege.
Long Beach Courthouse — court & DMV details
Why your case is here
The Deukmejian Courthouse at 275 Magnolia Avenue — named for the former California governor — is the South District's criminal court. Its jurisdiction stretches from Long Beach and Signal Hill across San Pedro Bay all the way to Santa Catalina Island, and it takes in the City-of-LA harbor neighborhoods of San Pedro, Wilmington, and Harbor City. DUI enforcement clusters along the 405, 710, and 605 freeways and the coast.
Long Beach has its own city prosecutor
Here's the Long Beach twist: a misdemeanor DUI arrested within the City of Long Beach is prosecuted by the Long Beach City Prosecutor — an independently elected office, not the DA and not the LA City Attorney. But a DUI in San Pedro, Wilmington, or Harbor City (all City of LA) goes to the LA City Attorney, and felonies or unincorporated areas to the LA County DA. Three different offices can appear in this one courthouse.
Parking structure, A Line, and the criminal clerk
One courthouse guide says public parking is available for a fee in the structure at 101 S. Magnolia Avenue. If you would rather leave the car, Metro's A Line ends at the Downtown Long Beach station at 128 West First Street, and the First Street Transit Mall around it is closed to private cars. The walking distance from that station to the courthouse is not something this page can confirm, so look up the route on a map before you commit to it.
The criminal clerk's office is on the first floor, with a listed phone of (562) 256-2314. The traffic clerk is upstairs in Room 203, which is a different office from the one that handles misdemeanor DUI, so do not get sent to the wrong window.
Meeting the City Prosecutor's case, in person or on screen
The Long Beach City Prosecutor's office is at 411 West Ocean Boulevard, 8th Floor, a separate address from the courthouse, and its website has a page of DUI information for residents. That office prosecutes DUI cases from arrests within the city limits, while San Pedro and Wilmington arrests stay with the Los Angeles City Attorney.
If the court allows a remote appearance, LACourtConnect asks you to choose the criminal case type, find your hearing by case number, calendar, or name, and check in shortly before the hearing. After check-in you receive a Microsoft Teams link to the courtroom. The court says no advance registration is needed. If you plan to appear this way, ask Ron or the clerk first whether your courtroom is approving remote appearances for your hearing type.
License hearing by phone or video, then the program sign-up
Driver Safety hearings can be held by Teams video, by phone, or in person, according to the DMV. To schedule one, call (833) 543-7703. The DMV's office page lists El Segundo as its Driver Safety location. Have your name, license number, and date of birth ready. See our DMV hearing page for what a hearing involves, and the page on license suspension for the timelines.
For the court case, a first-offense sentence under Vehicle Code section 23538 includes a licensed DUI program. Enrollment must come after the date of the current offense, so classes you took for an older case do not count. The DMV publishes a directory of DUI program providers, and a licensed program in your area can be found there. When you choose one, ask what the full cost and schedule look like before you sign.
The 10-day DMV deadline
Your Long Beach court case runs in parallel with the DMV's separate case against your license, and the DMV's 10-day deadline to request a hearing starts at arrest. How the DMV hearing works →
How Ron defends a DUI at the Long Beach Courthouse
When the arrest happened inside Long Beach, the case is filed by the Long Beach City Prosecutor, who handles adult misdemeanors committed in the city, DUI included. Arrests by LAPD in San Pedro, Wilmington, or Harbor City go to the Los Angeles City Attorney, and felonies go to the District Attorney. Ron confirms the filing office first, then focuses on what the evidence can and cannot show. At arraignment you enter a plea. In pretrial hearings Ron asks for the reports, any body camera footage, and the chemical test records, and reviews the stop, the roadside tests, and the handling of your breath or blood sample. Some cases settle, and others are tried. Nobody can promise an outcome.
Long Beach is one of the courthouses where the court rolled out LACourtConnect for criminal remote appearances, beginning June 2, 2025. Penal Code section 977 generally lets a misdemeanor defendant appear through counsel, though the court may require you in person for a DUI arraignment, plea, or sentencing. Ron's office is in Irvine, and he handles your court dates and the DMV hearing together.
Where will my Long Beach DUI be heard?
Who prosecutes a Long Beach DUI?
Does this courthouse really cover Catalina Island?
How do I keep my license?
← Back to Los Angeles County DUI Defense
Ron defends DUI cases across Southern California from his Irvine office — and works directly with you, not a call center.
Learn more about Ron Chini →