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Villa Park, La Palma, Stanton, Los Alamitos, and Laguna Woods are each small enough that they don't need a full page of their own — together they hold a fraction of Orange County's population — but a DUI arrest in any of them is just as serious, and each one routes to a real, specific courthouse. Ron Chini defends DUI cases from all five, working directly from his Irvine office. Here is how each city's case actually moves through the system.
Villa Park — heard at the Central Justice Center
Villa Park is Orange County's smallest city by population (5,843 residents) and one of its smallest by area (2.08 sq mi) — an affluent, low-density, equestrian-zoned community where the municipal code permits horse-keeping on lots over 10,000 sq ft, with riding trails connecting to Santiago Oaks Regional Park. Villa Park has no police department of its own: it is one of 13 Orange County cities that contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department for patrol, so a DUI stop here is typically made by an OCSD deputy, not a city officer. Villa Park's misdemeanor DUI cases are heard at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana — the same courthouse that hears Santa Ana, Tustin, and Orange cases.
La Palma — heard at the North Justice Center
La Palma is Orange County's smallest city by land area (1.78 sq mi) and a quiet, strongly residential community of roughly 15,500 people, repeatedly named one of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live." Unlike most of the other small cities here, La Palma runs its own police department — not an Orange County Sheriff's contract, and not a neighboring city's department — with its own chief of police and a small, dedicated force. A La Palma DUI case is heard at the North Justice Center, 1275 N. Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, the same courthouse serving Anaheim, Fullerton, Buena Park, and Yorba Linda. The nearest freeway access is the SR-91/I-605 corridor.
Stanton — heard at the West Justice Center
Stanton has an unusual history: first incorporated in 1911, it dis-incorporated in 1924 and didn't become a city again until 1956. Today it's one of the most densely populated cities in the county (nearly 38,000 residents in just 3.10 sq mi) and home to Adventure City, a small family amusement park. No freeway actually runs through Stanton itself — Beach Boulevard (SR-39) is the through-corridor, feeding into the Garden Grove Freeway (SR-22) just outside city limits. Stanton is an Orange County Sheriff's Department contract city with no police department of its own. A Stanton DUI case is heard at the West Justice Center (Stephen K. Tamura), 8141 13th Street, Westminster.
Los Alamitos — heard at the West Justice Center
Los Alamitos runs its own police department, founded in 1962, two years after the city's incorporation. A large share of the city's roughly 4-square-mile footprint — about 48% — is occupied by the Joint Forces Training Base, a California Army and Air National Guard installation; base security police are a separate agency from the Los Alamitos Police Department and have jurisdiction only on the base itself. (The well-known Los Alamitos Race Course, despite sharing the city's name and ZIP code, actually sits across the city line in Cypress.) A Los Alamitos DUI arrest is heard at the West Justice Center (Stephen K. Tamura), 8141 13th Street, Westminster.
Laguna Woods — heard at the Harbor Justice Center
Laguna Woods is unlike any other city on this list: it's an age-restricted retirement community, formerly known as Leisure World, where the private, gated Laguna Woods Village makes up roughly 90% of the city. It incorporated relatively late — 1999 — partly to help block a proposed international airport at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. Its demographics are extreme even for a retirement community: 82.2% of residents are 65 or older, with a median age of 74.9. DUI is sometimes assumed to be a younger person's problem, but federal traffic-safety research has found that older drivers are disproportionately likely to use medications that can impair driving ability — a real risk profile that has little to do with nightlife and a lot to do with prescriptions. Laguna Woods is an Orange County Sheriff's Department contract city with no police department of its own. A Laguna Woods DUI case is heard at the Harbor Justice Center, 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach.
Booking, towing, and the DMV clock — the same for all five cities
None of these five cities runs its own long-term jail. A DUI arrest in any of them typically routes into the county system through the Orange County Sheriff's Intake Release Center, 550 North Flower Street, Santa Ana — the countywide booking point for the OC Jail system — with possible transfer afterward to the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange or the James A. Musick Facility in Irvine, depending on classification. Vehicle Code §14602.6 authorizes a mandatory 30-day impound, but only for a suspended, revoked, or unlicensed driver — not automatically for every DUI arrest — and if it applies, the vehicle is typically held for the full 30 days regardless of release paperwork, subject to a right to request a post-storage hearing. A routine DUI-arrest tow under Vehicle Code §22651(h) is the more common outcome and is released once towing and storage fees are paid. Alongside whichever court hears your criminal case, the DMV runs its own license case, and you have only 10 days from arrest to request a hearing — California currently handles these Administrative Per Se hearings by phone, video, or an online case system through its consolidated Driver Safety Office, (833) 543-7703.
I live in one of these five cities — where will my case actually be heard?
Does my city have its own police department?
What's the 10-day DMV deadline, and does it apply to me?
Where will I be booked after a DUI arrest in one of these cities?
Does Ron Chini have an office in any of these cities?
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