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The South Bay — the border-adjacent southern third of the county, from Chula Vista and National City down to Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, and Coronado — sends its criminal cases to the South County Regional Center at 500 Third Avenue in Chula Vista, where the San Diego County DA prosecutes the DUIs.
South Bay Courthouse (Chula Vista) — court & DMV details
Why your case is here
The Chula Vista courthouse is the South Bay's criminal court. It covers the county's second-largest city (Chula Vista), National City, beach cities like Imperial Beach, the San Ysidro border zone, and — notably — Coronado, which routes here rather than to the downtown Central court despite its peninsula geography. The I-5, I-805, and SR-905 and the border crossings generate steady DUI enforcement.
The County DA prosecutes the South Bay
No South Bay city prosecutes its own misdemeanors — not Chula Vista, the county's second-largest city, nor National City or Coronado. Every South Bay DUI goes to the San Diego County District Attorney's South Bay branch in Chula Vista. The City Attorney carve-out reaches only inside the City of San Diego to the north, so a stop on this side of the bay is always a DA case — misdemeanor or felony.
The 10-day DMV deadline
A South Bay DUI — whether the stop was on the I-5 near the border, the I-805, or SR-905 — also triggers the DMV's separate license case, with a 10-day window to request a hearing. California runs these by phone and video now, with no walk-in San Diego office, so call (833) 543-7703 or let us request it for you. How the DMV hearing works →
How Ron defends a DUI at the Chula Vista courthouse
Ron defends South Bay DUIs from Irvine — digging into the stop, the breath or blood evidence, and the border-corridor context behind many South Bay arrests, then negotiating with the DA's South Bay branch and fighting the DMV suspension on a parallel track, in English or Farsi. He serves the South Bay from Irvine; no local office is implied, and no result is guaranteed.
Where will my Chula Vista or National City DUI be heard?
I was arrested in Coronado — which courthouse?
Who prosecutes a South Bay DUI?
How do I protect my license?
← Back to San Diego 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 →