Airport Courthouse: What to Expect for a Criminal Case

The Airport Courthouse, 11701 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045, is the Los Angeles Superior Court's criminal courthouse for its entire West District, covering Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and the surrounding area. The department and first court date appear on the citation or release papers.

What does the Airport Courthouse hear?

Of the three West District courthouse buildings, Airport is the only one that takes criminal cases; the other two handle civil, family law, small claims, traffic, and unlawful detainer matters.

Under the Local Rules, Rule 2.2(b), the West District has three court locations: Santa Monica Courthouse (1725 Main Street, Santa Monica), Beverly Hills Courthouse (9355 Burton Way, Beverly Hills), and the Airport Courthouse. Among the three, the court's own courthouse records list a Criminal division only at Airport: Beverly Hills lists Civil, Small Claims and Traffic, and Santa Monica lists Civil, Family Law, Small Claims, Traffic and Unlawful Detainer.

Table: the West District court locations in Local Rule 2.2(b) and the divisions the court's own courthouse records list for each.

Under Local Rule 2.3(a)(3), a criminal complaint is filed "at the courthouse handling criminal matters which serves the city or unincorporated area where the offense is alleged to have occurred," within the district where the offense happened. For Beverly Hills and Santa Monica specifically, that courthouse is Airport. See the firm's Los Angeles County courthouse assignment guide for how the county's other districts work, and its Beverly Hills Courthouse guide for more on that city's own, non-criminal building.

How do you find your case and court date?

The court's online name search returns a defendant's criminal case numbers, filing dates and filing locations, for a fee charged on every name search.

The Los Angeles Superior Court's Search for Case by Defendant Name tool offers Exact Match, Starts With, and Sounds Like name searches, returning the case number, filing date, and filing location; the felony index runs from 1980 forward and the misdemeanor index from 1988 forward. A guest user is charged a flat $4.75 for each name search, whether or not it finds a match, under the court's public-access fee rule (California Rule of Court 2.506, Government Code section 68150(l)); a registered user pays on a sliding monthly scale instead. California Rule of Court 2.507 keeps a defendant's date of birth out of the results either way.

What happens at arraignment, and what deadline follows it?

The arraignment is where you hear the charge, learn about the right to a lawyer and get a release decision; a felony then starts a preliminary-hearing clock.

If you are held in custody, Penal Code section 825(a)(1) requires getting you before a judge "without unnecessary delay, and, in any event, within 48 hours after his or her arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays." Under section 825(a)(2), if that period would run out while court is not sitting, it extends "to include the duration of the next court session on the judicial day immediately following," and an arrest on a Wednesday after that day's session has ended pushes the deadline to the following Friday, as long as neither day is a court holiday. This sets when you must reach a judge, not when a charge must be filed and not a promise of release.

In a felony case, Penal Code section 859b generally requires the preliminary hearing within 10 court days of arraignment or plea, whichever is later, unless both sides waive it or the court finds good cause under Penal Code section 1050; Penal Code section 1382 adds the outer felony and misdemeanor trial deadlines (60 days after a felony arraignment on the information or indictment, and 30 or 45 days after a misdemeanor arraignment or plea, whichever is later, depending on custody status) unless the defendant waives them or the court finds good cause.

Bail at the Airport Courthouse

Before a judge sees the case, Los Angeles County's bail schedules set release terms, mostly non-financial for non-violent, non-serious offenses, and a judge can change them.

The court's 2026 felony bail schedule and 2026 misdemeanor bail schedule, both effective January 1, 2026, open with a Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol that assigns non-financial release conditions, not a dollar amount, to most non-violent, non-serious offenses, while an arrest warrant's own amount controls when there is one (Penal Code section 1269b). When a judge later sets bail, In re Humphrey (2021) calls for weighing ability to pay and nonfinancial conditions, while In re Kowalczyk (April 30, 2026) limits denial of bail in noncapital cases to the offenses in California Constitution article I, section 12(b) and (c) and holds that money bail "must generally be set in an amount that is reasonably attainable"; see the Los Angeles County Criminal Court Guide and the firm's bail amount guide.

Can you appear remotely at the Airport Courthouse?

Remote appearances run only through the court's LACourtConnect system, and Penal Code section 977 keeps a felony defendant in person at key steps, including trial.

The court's public notice of June 16, 2025 moved Airport's criminal courtrooms to LACourtConnect, its Microsoft Teams-based platform, effective June 30, 2025, after which LACourtConnect became the exclusive way to appear remotely there; check in on the LACC welcome page under the criminal litigation type and search by case number, calendar, or name (the firm's LACourtConnect guide covers the steps). Penal Code section 977 sets the underlying limits. A misdemeanor defendant may generally appear through counsel and, with agreement, remotely, though a domestic violence charge requires presence at arraignment and sentencing and a judge may order a DUI defendant to come in. A felony defendant must be physically present at arraignment, the plea, the preliminary hearing, trial testimony and sentencing; a waiver allows remote appearance at the hearings before trial, but nobody appears remotely for a jury or court trial, and felony sentencing stays in person except for postconviction relief proceedings and as otherwise provided by law.

Getting into the Airport Courthouse

The courthouse is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays except court holidays; paid parking is at the Pacific Concourse lot and at meters around the building.

Local Rule 2.29 requires everyone entering a Los Angeles Superior Court building to pass through weapons screening by court security, and refusing that screening is grounds for being refused entry; a firearm or other weapon is barred outside narrow, specifically exempted circumstances, and never for a litigant. The court's own Airport Courthouse page gives those hours, with the Clerk's Office open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and lists the courthouse phone as (310) 725-3000; check it before you go, since posted details can change. Ordinary court sessions run 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. under Local Rule 2.16, subject to the Presiding Judge varying that schedule.

Who prosecutes and defends a case at the Airport Courthouse?

The Public Defender works from Suite 530 inside the courthouse, and whether the District Attorney or a city prosecutor handles a misdemeanor depends on where it happened.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, Penal Code section 987 requires the court to appoint one once you ask at arraignment, and Government Code section 27706(a) requires the Public Defender to represent that person "without expense to the defendant." The Public Defender's own site lists an office at 11701 South La Cienega Boulevard, Suite 530, Los Angeles, CA 90045, phone (310) 727-6200, inside the courthouse, and its FAQ advises calling the office at the courthouse named on your paperwork and asking to speak to an attorney, adding that the office accepts a collect call from someone in custody.

The District Attorney's own office FAQ says it "prosecutes felony crimes throughout Los Angeles County and misdemeanor crimes in unincorporated areas of the county and in all cities except" ten named cities; Beverly Hills is not one of them, so the County District Attorney prosecutes both felonies and misdemeanors arising there. Los Angeles and Santa Monica are both on that exempt list: the Los Angeles City Attorney's Criminal Branch prosecutes Los Angeles misdemeanors, and Santa Monica's own Criminal Prosecution Division, reachable at (310) 458-8336, prosecutes Santa Monica misdemeanors, according to each city's own site.

What if you miss a court date at the Airport Courthouse?

A missed court date can bring a bench warrant, and a willful failure to appear after release can become a separate criminal charge.

Penal Code section 978.5 allows a bench warrant when a defendant fails to appear as required, including after release on a citation, bail, or their own recognizance. Willfully failing to appear to evade the court, after an own-recognizance release, is a misdemeanor or felony under Penal Code section 1320 depending on the underlying case; doing the same after a felony bail release is a felony under Penal Code section 1320.5. The 14 days named in both statutes decides when that intent is presumed or may be found, not a grace period. The firm's guide to what to do about a California bench warrant covers the next steps.

Talk to a lawyer about an Airport Courthouse case

If you or a family member has a case headed to the Airport Courthouse, talk to a lawyer before your court date. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley offers a free, confidential consultation, available 24 hours a day, with payment plans and service in Spanish. Call (800) 755-5174 or request a free consultation online. For a Beverly Hills case specifically, see the firm's Beverly Hills criminal defense and Beverly Hills DUI pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Airport Courthouse hear traffic tickets?

No. The court assigns traffic matters in the West District to the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica courthouses; a traffic ticket names the courthouse that handles it. Airport hears only criminal cases.

How much does an online name search of an Airport Courthouse case cost?

Guests pay $4.75 for every name search, match or no match, under the court's fee schedule. Registered account holders pay $1.00 for each of their first 10 searches in a month and $4.75 for searches 11 through 99.

What if my 48-hour deadline falls while court is closed?

This deadline applies only to a person held in custody, and its 48 hours are counted excluding Sundays and holidays. When they run out while court is closed, Penal Code section 825(a)(2) extends them through the end of the next court session on the following court day; for a Wednesday arrest after that day's session, the deadline becomes the following Friday, as long as neither day is a court holiday.

Can my lawyer appear for me at the Airport Courthouse?

In a misdemeanor-only case, generally yes, with limited exceptions for domestic violence and DUI charges. In a felony case, Penal Code section 977 requires your physical presence at arraignment, the plea, the preliminary hearing, trial testimony, and sentencing; a waiver of that presence permits a remote appearance at the earlier steps only, since no felony defendant may appear remotely at trial or, outside postconviction relief and other cases the law provides for, at sentencing.

Who prosecutes a Beverly Hills misdemeanor filed at the Airport Courthouse?

The Los Angeles County District Attorney, according to the District Attorney's own jurisdiction FAQ. Beverly Hills is not on the DA's list of cities that prosecute their own misdemeanors, unlike Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

How do I reach the criminal clerk's office at the Airport Courthouse?

The court's directory lists the Criminal Clerk's Office on the 2nd floor, at (310) 725-3025 for felonies and (310) 725-3099 for misdemeanors, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Can I reach my public defender before my Airport Courthouse court date?

Yes. The Public Defender's FAQ says to call the office at the courthouse named on your paperwork and ask to speak to an attorney; the office accepts a collect call if you are in custody.