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Costa Mesa is Orange County's entertainment and commerce hub: South Coast Plaza — the largest shopping center in California and fourth largest in the nation — draws roughly 24 million visitors annually; the OC Fair & Event Center runs a 23-day summer fair plus year-round events; and the SoBeCa (South Beach Costa) district is home to The LAB, The CAMP, and a thriving brewery scene including Bootlegger's and Barley Forge. The freeways that make Costa Mesa accessible — SR-55, I-405, and SR-73 — are also where the California Highway Patrol and Costa Mesa Police run DUI enforcement operations. Late nights at the breweries, events at the fairgrounds, and freeway traffic all contribute to DUI arrests. This page explains how enforcement works here, where your case is heard, and how to fight it.
How DUIs are policed in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa's DUI enforcement is organized and active. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 Rankings, Costa Mesa ranked 9th out of 62 comparable cities for alcohol-involved collisions, with 84 victims injured or killed in such incidents. On DUI arrests specifically, Costa Mesa reported 791 arrests in 2023, placing it 62nd out of 62 reporting cities—a statistic that reflects the city's size and traffic volume rather than a low-enforcement picture. The Costa Mesa Police Department runs its own police force (130 sworn officers) and maintains a zero-tolerance DUI policy.
The Costa Mesa PD regularly conducts DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols funded by California Office of Traffic Safety grants, often on weekend nights along high-traffic corridors such as Newport Boulevard, Harbor Boulevard, and Bristol Street, sometimes in partnership with neighboring agencies and the CHP. The stated goal is removing impaired drivers from the road.
On the freeway side, the California Highway Patrol handles DUI arrests on the freeways that serve Costa Mesa — including the SR-55, I-405, and SR-73 corridors. Many drivers arrested on these freeways are then processed through the Costa Mesa Police Department or have their case filed at the West Justice Center.
Where a Costa Mesa DUI case is heard
Costa Mesa DUI cases go to the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster, even though the courthouse is a drive from the city and not next door. The Superior Court's location page lists Costa Mesa among the nine cities that building serves, along with Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, and Westminster, and says it handles traffic, minor offenses, and criminal matters. Our West Justice Center page covers the building itself, so this page sticks to what is particular to a Costa Mesa arrest.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office files and prosecutes the case.
Costa Mesa sits close enough to Newport Beach that people sometimes assume they will end up at the Harbor Justice Center on Jamboree Road. Do not assume. Read the courthouse name and address on your citation or release paperwork, and plan your travel to Westminster if that is what it says. The Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, according to the court's own page, hears felony and mental health hearings for all Orange County cities, so a felony-level charge may send you there instead.
After an arrest at 99 Fair Drive
The Costa Mesa Police Department is headquartered at 99 Fair Drive, and the city's website lists a Jail Operations unit within the department's Field Operations division. How long someone is held there before release or transfer depends on the case, so have your family ask by calling the department's non-emergency line, (714) 754-5252, instead of driving over.
If you are moved to county custody, the Orange County Sheriff's Intake Release Center at 550 North Flower Street in Santa Ana handles both booking and release for the county jail system. Its bail cashier window never closes. The Sheriff says it accepts cash, bank cashier's checks, money orders, and personal checks supported by two forms of ID that match a California driver's license. Company checks are not accepted, and bail for a court outside Orange County must be paid in cash.
The DMV on West 19th Street and the buses that reach it
Costa Mesa has its own DMV field office at 650 West 19th Street. The DMV's page lists it as open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a self-service kiosk. Offices close on state holidays, so check the DMV's page for the day you plan to go. The DMV's locator also lists Santa Ana at 1330 East First Street and Westminster at 13700 Hoover Street as nearby choices. This is separate from the hearing on your suspension, which you must request within 10 days of the arrest. See our DMV hearing page for that deadline.
Metrolink's Orange County stations, as OCTA lists them, do not include a Costa Mesa stop, so buses matter here. OCTA's route list shows Routes 35 and 43 (Fullerton to Costa Mesa), Route 86 (Costa Mesa to Mission Viejo), Routes 150 and 151 (Santa Ana to Costa Mesa), Route 543 (Fullerton Transportation Center to Costa Mesa), and Route 553 (Anaheim to Costa Mesa).
Where will my Costa Mesa DUI be heard?
Does Costa Mesa Police conduct DUI checkpoints?
How bad is DUI enforcement in Costa Mesa?
I was arrested on a freeway near Costa Mesa — which courthouse?
What's my 10-day deadline if I was arrested in Costa Mesa?
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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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