Governor George Deukmejian Court House

Stunning really! So comfortable and accommodating. I’m lucky enough to live about 7 blocks away. But it’s truly a beautiful court house.

This has to be the most beautiful court house in Los Angeles county. A picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look at some of the photos people have posted here for a better idea.
A lot of our hard-​earned tax dollars have been poured into constructing this futuristic steel, glass and concrete justice factory. I have mixed feelings about that. Building an expensive court house in the Long Beach District, which isn’t Los Angeles County’s busiest, at a time when downtown’s dilapidated Stanley Mosk screams for renovation and every other NPR report is about city budget woes, seems questionable. But what’s done is done, and the new court house is an impressive and relatively convenient government building. A few noteworthy points:
1. Free parking is possible: The courthouse is located next to an older, low income neighborhood where free street parking is shockingly common. Otherwise, you’ll have to reckon with a few cash-​only parking lots immediately next to the courthouse, and one with a broken credit card machine.
2. The courthouse has a Subway inside (the kind that makes sammiches).
3. Security check-​in is orderly, clean, and relatively fast.
If you’re a lawyer, this is a beautiful place to practice your craft, and a testament to how nice modern courthouses can (and perhaps should) be.

As far as courthouses go, this place is absolutely beautiful. In fact, it seems downright opulent for a courthouse. It has an ultra-​modern design with state-​of-​the-​art technology throughout, from the exterior of the building, to the huge digital art screen when you enter, to the jury areas, to the courtrooms themselves. There are even fingerprint sensors for door locks in some areas.
So why all the extravagance on a public building? It wasn’t built by the government of course. Apparently the land upon which the old courthouse sat on Ocean Avenue had great value for a developer in Germany, who agreed to build the new courthouse in a «blighted» area two blocks away on Magnolia, in exchange for the land the old courthouse was on.
What the public received was an awesome courthouse building that really couldn’t be built so nicely any other way. The facility itself isn’t «free» but it is leased back to the state quite inexpensively. Half of the building is occupied by private groups, which are kept separate by a huge division in the middle of the building.
How do I know all this? I had a case in one of the courtrooms and the judge decided to give us an impromptu tour of the whole building, staff areas included. He was a great tour guide, and explained the history of the whole arrangement in the process.
All I can say is that this building is one of the nicest courthouses I’ve ever visited. The staff and jurors here definitely have it made, as the accommodations are deluxe!

Haven’t had jury duty for about seven years, so I got to visit this glass, stone and steel edifice of justice.
Open main area with an impressive amount of security, both contract guards and LASD. They move you as quickly as possible, unless you’re like me and get stuck behind the older gentleman that didn’t put his cigarette lighter in the tray. I also neglected to remove my keyfob glass break and seat belt cutter tool; they retained it and gave me a property form was completely easily.
Jury waiting area has ample couches and outlets for computers, phones and other electronic gizmos. The proctors are efficient and quick to point out that «financial hardship» is no excuse and calls must be taken outside the area (oh, sorry… I had a guard no-​show so I had to sort some things out, but at least I was astute enough to put my phone on silent mode unlike a couple other people). Also no food/​drinks (yes, that includes water) unless your in the «tiled» kitchen section.
Lots of waiting around, a couple 15-​minutes breaks AND a two-​hour lunch. Only had one panel get called and we were excused at 3:30pm, so I lucked out (and had to report right to work to cover the rest of my shift, since my relief guards was a no-show…hope that doesn’t make me lose my great assignment or the company lose the account).
Also looking out the southeast window at the remnants of the old courthouse getting demolished was a bit surreal.

Firstly, I recommend finding street parking on Magnolia, before the courthouse. This will save you $ 10. However, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, one side of the street is not available from 8am-​12pm. Keep that in mind and arrive early, unless you don’t mind paying the $ 10 at any of the various lots.
Now I understand why there aren’t many pictures of this place on the Unilocal page. Upon entering, you will notice that security is tight. I snapped a few choice photos (because I’m dedicated to Unilocal like that), and two security guards demanded to see my phone and watched me erase the pics. I understand that they’re just doing their job, so I didn’t argue.
The building itself is quite modern, with beautiful architecture.
Traffic clerk:
Not very friendly, but efficient. Took about fifteen mins to process my payment of a speeding ticket and my request for trial by written declaration.
Timeline of events:
June, 2015 — I was issued a speeding ticket by California Highway Patrol.
September, 2015 — Filed for a two month extension online.
November, 2015 — I turned in my trial by written declaration.
December, 2015 — The court notified me through mail that I had lost the written trial. I requested a trial de novo (new trial), and they set my court date for February, 2016.
February, 2016 — court date.
I showed up to court on time at 8:30am. At 8:35am a bailiff checked off our names and let us into the court room. The bailiff was informative. At about 8:50am, the pro tem judge started calling names alphabetically. The judge was nice and professional. If the officer was not present, your case was dismissed. I didn’t get a chance to see any of the citizens’ and officers’ testimony, because I was one of the lucky ones whose officer didn’t show up. So my case was dismissed, and I pranced through the halls giddy with glee.
The bailiff said my ticket money should be refunded in six to eight weeks. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but in my case, they turned in my favor. Hopefully I won’t be back.

Just the best, don’t know what I could have done with my DAY OFF? the place s clean, bathroom spotless. Great view and the staff are not condescending. sorry Disneyland next time

Debbie and Kim in the help Center on the 3^rd floor are amazing! I came in overwhelmed for my divorce with forms and had a lot of mistakes, spent $ 300 on legalzoom. Debbie helped us out so much! (And it’s free). It does help to have both parties for the divorce to come in together to get this done seamlessly and timely. They made this process very painless and quick, Thank you!

This courthouse is a real beauty. The jury waiting room is cavernous – they could probably sit 200 jurors, and includes a kitchen, computers (with very outdated IE browsers), and more places to sit than an airport terminal. Parking is cheap and plentiful.
They do have outside payment windows for tickets but it doesn’t help the lines for civil filings. It’s still quite slow and long. The filing clerks are friendly and helpful though. If you have to bring a child, they have a child play area which you can check the kid in. They will serve snacks as well as a free book. I know going to court tends not to be a positive for most, even jurors, but this place is pretty awesome.

The structure and the make up of the courthouse is beautiful.
Esthetiiclly speaking the it’s one of the most beautiful I have seen.
Unlike the Fullerton courthouse the sheriffs and police officers from my experience here aren’t total douchemasters.
However, the black lady in the clerks office for criminal in window 21 is the most unwelcoming and utterly unhappy woman that I’ve met.
I greeted her with a good morning and she completely ignored me, she was demanding, unhelpful and mean.
Bring cash if you want to park in a lot, or park far away so you can walk. Unlike Fullerton there isn’t much parking around here.
The design and everything is very well constructed and the garden they have in the center gives it architectural value.

Jury duty here is a pretty painless experience. There are a few oddballs milling about, such as the guy with the red face that had extremely loud conversations on his cell phone about the media’s coverage of the Pope’s visit.
The facility is brand new and super clean. I brought my laptop and found a desk with an outlet. I used the free wifi and got more work done than I would have at my actual workplace. I saw some people do the same. Some people read. Some people sprawled out on the couches and slept and snored. Diff’rent strokes, I suppose. That’s our democracy in action.
The man in charge/​orientation leader seemed a bit brusque and rude at first, but within minutes I saw that some members of the general public are completely incapable of following directions, so his behavior was justified and probably necessary.
The hour and a half lunch can’t be beat. Some random middle-​aged lady asked me to go to a brewery with her. No thanks.
My advice. Bring something to do and some pocket change. Enjoy. Some people would kill for the privilege to complain about having a paid day off of work to sit in an air-​conditioned room and watch television (all in the name of democracy, to boot!).

I had to do jury duty here, but it wasn’t too bad. They validate parking at the structure next door for jurors and the juror room was surprisingly comfortable. Plenty of seats, computers, outlets everywhere. There’s even an outdoor patio just for jurors where you can hangout and wait until they call you. This court house was pretty fast and efficient with everything and the building itself looked very modern and nice. Plenty of places to eat and shop around within walking distance too, which is great when they give you 1.5 — 2 hour lunch breaks. Definitely not a bad place to do jury duty!

Ooh it’s pretty snazzy at this courthouse, my oh my! Nice jury assembly room, comfy couches with individual outlets for laptops and phones AND they have computers. obviously a new courthouse!

My review for Deukmejian is coming as an intern and not as a juror so my experience has been nothing but exceptional. The attorneys and judges here are absolutely amazing. The bailiffs are also so kind and helpful. Of course, if you treat someone with attitude, don’t expect to be tolerated. They will kick you out of the courtroom. Whenever I am chosen as juror, I know I will be happy because their jury room is well equipped. Seats everywhere and outlets in every corner.

Took 15 minutes for someone to initially answer the phone… then on hold for over an hour! Had to call back another day just to find out from the clerk (with such a bad attitude) that there was never a request for the refund put in (6 weeks prior)
Will wait another 6 weeks. let’s see if they can get it together.

Nice court house for jury duty.
Jury Duty is an all day deal for those that enjoy this experience.
While reading my book and minding my business, some old Filipino guy in his 40s or 50s asked me what time lunch was… what an idiot…
I’m surprised he was not paying attention at all in the morning when they mention this several times??? They mentioned this and he was not paying attention.
He did not get selected today so he and some old people his age were just walking around like middle school kids… not kidding.
Again, another idiot that has a chance to be a «juror». SCARY.
The judge will decide if you are qualified to be a juror based on some questions u need to answered.
I got dismissed from jury duty, so back on with my life.
Otherwise, got 2 chapters read in my book today.

Another waste of our tax dollars.
How about constructing a court house that actually answers your calls, and emails. Has ample parking, so we don’t need to get ripped off from the private parking lots. And that has enough staff, so that you don’t need to wait an hour or longer to get processed. Instead they waste our taxes designing what some say is a beautiful court house…
I THOUGHT THIS PLACE WAS DESIGNED TO BE A COURT HOUSE, NOT A FREAKIN MUSEUM!
Geez we got some of the biggest idiots making decisions in this state its sad.

This courthouse is beyond clean and beautiful. I am very impressed. If I ever receive jury duty again, I hope it will be at this location. Where the judge that was assigned was very nice and the staff is very kind. :). Not to mention this place is always filled with security at every corner. I totally feel safe here!
If it is your first time for jury duty, do not panic! DO NOT park in those $ 10 parking lots UNLESS you want to pay $ 10. If you go up on Broadway from the courthouse, it will be in a nice parking structure for where you will get free parking. Take your ticket in for parking validation in the jury duty room so that it is free! Where is the jury duty room you ask?
Go through security then head up to the 4^th floor! There is a huge door where you report to. If you go up the stairs it is on your left. If you go up the elevator/​escalator it will be on your right. Everything will get easier after that. Good luck!

This is beyond ridiculous. The amount of money spent for this building to be constructed but they don’t want to hire more employees to run the place.
How are you suppose to be an effective courthouse when you fail to provided better services?

I have not utilized this courthouse for any services. I was summoned to be a juror so my interaction is a bit limited.
I have to say that I was absolutely blown away by the building. Whomever was included in the design, construction and the overall completion of the project, did a fantastic job. This is by far one of the most beautiful government buildings definitely in Long Beach and probably in all of LA County.
Jurors report to Level 4.

The building is beautiful and the bathrooms are clean but the traffic court is F*cked UP.
I came here to fight a ticket. They said I had to show up at 8am but it didn’t start until 8:30. After I came in, I was told that arraignment didn’t start until 9:30. More time wasted. I got stuck with Judge Carroll, who shows up at 9am at the earliest. The end of my arraignment was at 10:30 am, 2.5 hours after it said that I had to show up. F that. I plead trial by written declaration and had to pay immediately. The ticket was like $ 45 but after fees ended up being almost $ 500!!! WTF. If you plead trial by written declaration they make you pay immediately. There is no payment plan or anything!!! So I decided to plead not guilty instead. They charged me $ 30 or so to have an extra two weeks to pay it. F*ck that, why should I pay UPFRONT??? Then because I had to show up at 8 even though no one really started until 10am, parking was $ 12 in the official structure down the street.
I had to show up again to fight the cops and they said to show up at 8am. When I got to the courtroom it said to come at 8:30. It really didn’t start until 9am. My case was dismissed. NOW I have to wait 6 – 8 weeks (but probably more like 3 months) to get my money back that I shouldn’t have had to pay in the first place. PLUS they take a processing fee from you!!! F*ck THAT! Basically they can write as many BS tickets as they want and you’d have to pay $ 25 regardless!
Tips: 1. They don’t even let you in until 7:45 so don’t bother coming early. You have to go through a LAX style security screening so have fun waiting in line.
2. The court clerks I dealt with were total b*tches that need to be fired. It is clear that they hate their jobs and they are absolutely terrible at it. So incompetent. My name was spelled wrong on the ticket and they still haven’t fixed it.
3. If you got a ticket and it said to come here, FIGHT IT. They try to make you think you’re getting a deal by just pleading guilty but you are not. They say they’re willing to let you do community service in lieu of paying but they equate 1 hr to $ 10 of your ticket. That’s 50 hours for a $ 500 ticket!!! They will also say something like we will cut your ticket in half if you plead guilty. This is a load of BS.