In San Bernardino County, felony and misdemeanor cases are filed and heard at four courthouses: the Criminal Division at the San Bernardino Justice Center and the Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, and Joshua Tree districts. Under Local Rules 131 and 1301, the presiding judge designates by general order where criminal matters are filed and heard, and the court’s “Where Can I File?” page lists the communities each courthouse serves. Several towns that have their own courthouse send their criminal cases somewhere else. (San Bernardino Superior Court Local Rules, effective July 1, 2026.)

The four criminal courthouses and their areas

  • Criminal Division, San Bernardino Justice Center, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino: the city of San Bernardino, Colton, Devore, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, Highland, Yucaipa, Redlands, and the Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, and Running Springs mountain communities.
  • Rancho Cucamonga District, 8303 Haven Avenue: Alta Loma, Chino, Chino Hills, Etiwanda, Guasti, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, Rialto, Crestmore, Bloomington, Lytle Creek, parts of Pomona, and Mt. Baldy.
  • Victorville District, 14455 Civic Drive: Victorville, Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Barstow, and the rest of the High Desert, including Phelan, Lucerne Valley, Trona, Baker, Fort Irwin, and the San Bernardino County part of Ridgecrest.
  • Joshua Tree District, 6527 White Feather Road: Joshua Tree, Landers, Pioneertown, Twentynine Palms, and unincorporated Johnson Valley, Morongo Valley, and Yucca Valley.

(Where Can I File?.)

Towns whose criminal cases go elsewhere

The Barstow, Fontana, and Big Bear courthouses take no felony or misdemeanor filings, so Barstow-area cases go to Victorville and Fontana and Rialto cases go to Rancho Cucamonga; Big Bear’s courthouse handles traffic and other infraction arraignments by remote video. On the criminal side, the Needles courthouse accepts only misdemeanor sentence modifications. It still handles infractions, small claims, and family law for its area, but felony and misdemeanor cases from Needles, Earp, Essex, Parker Dam, Vidal Junction, Big River, Goffs, Havasu Landing, and everything east of Kelbaker Road and south of Nipton on Interstate 40 are filed and heard in Victorville. A small claims case and a misdemeanor from the same Needles-area address can therefore be heard in different courthouses.

Some areas are defined by a stretch of highway rather than a town: incidents on Interstate 15 north of Wildwash Road to the state line, and on Interstate 40 west of Kelbaker Road, are on Victorville’s list. The Big Bear Valley communities (Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Sugarloaf, Moonridge, and nearby areas) appear on both the San Bernardino Criminal Division list and the Victorville list, so for a Big Bear case, go by the courthouse named on the paperwork. (Where Can I File?.)

If your case is in the wrong place, or in more than one

  • Appear at the courthouse named on your citation, notice to appear, or complaint, even if another one is closer.
  • The court can transfer a case filed in the wrong courthouse, or for other good cause, on its own motion or on a party’s noticed motion (Local Rule 132).
  • If you have open cases in more than one district, Local Rule 1322 says the court should hear all of them in one primary courtroom, picked by rank: a new felony case first, then felony probation, a new misdemeanor case, misdemeanor probation, and cases with only money owed. A probation revocation case moves to the district where you have an active pending case.

(San Bernardino Superior Court Local Rules.)

For help with a pending San Bernardino County case, contact the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174, or see the firm’s Rancho Cucamonga page.