This court house gives me the creeps. I do my best to obey all traffic laws an civilian laws. I have been to West Justice Center many times to pay tickets in court fines. I recently had to take care of a traffic ticket that almost became a warrant for my arrest. I went to see the judge early in the morning and they dismissed my late fine. So i payed the original price, and the judge set me free. Standing in line to pay a fine can be 30 minutes in line. Parking is free here which is a plus. All in all, I hope i never have to come here again. read more

I dont know if I'd call myself a fan, but as a juror, it's not a completely horrible experience. I'm writing all this down because there's a surprising lack of information on here about it. I had rescheduled Jury Duty and carefully calculated myself to report the week of Thanksgiving, hoping to get excused due to the holidays. I *think* this would have worked if I had remembered to check in on the correct day. My call-in day was the day before Thanksgiving. I didn't check in until Friday. That was my stupid mistake. Don't make this mistake. Anyway, when I checked in on Friday, I was given a new juror call-in group. I had to call in on Monday... then Tuesday... and on Wednesday I was requested to come to the courthouse at 8AM. *screams into the void* PARKING: There's free parking JUST FOR JURORS across the street. There are metal detectors when you enter the courthouse. Please don't bring any weapons or anything dumb. AMENITIES: Vending machine, WiFi, work tables and power outlets along some walls, a fridge and microwave for your lunch if you bring one, and unisex individual bathrooms in the jury waiting room. No cafeteria on site... you'll have to get in your vehicle or walk somewhere for a proper lunch. If you make it to lunch, your lunch break is from 12PM - 1:30PM. PROCESS: After the metal detectors, you follow the signs for "Jury Assembly Room". You check in there and get your jury badge at 8AM. You watch an orientation video telling you the importance of serving. Then you wait. Please don't be an asshole and talk on your phone on speaker in the assembly room, it's annoying. Do bring headphones if you hate the sounds of people and want to watch something on your ipad or phone. Once the courts were finally in session, all the jurors were randomly separated into groups of about 75 and sent to courtrooms. This is when the judge tells you the foundational gist of what the trial will be about, and about how long you will be on trial if chosen. From there, about 24 people were randomly selected and asked pertinent questions by the judge and attorneys. Questions like occupation, do you know cops, have you had bad experiences with them, can you in good faith produce a fair and unbiased judgement on the case based on the content of the case. Based on your answers, you will either stay or be dismissed. If a person is dismissed, someone else from the pool of people in the courtroom will take their place. SPOILER ALERT: Just because English isn't your first language doesn't mean you will automatically dismissed. Even the guy who worked graveyard until 5am who showed up at 8am on no sleep AND didn't speak English fluently wasn't dismissed... so you're going to have to suck it up. Sorry folks, we all don't want to be there. If for some reason you cannot serve and are excused by the judge, you are done for the day and have fulfilled your service for the year. You can pick up a note from the assembly room if you need it for work. I think that covers everything. Bring entertainment, headphones, snacks, and hope you don't get called... but there's a good chance you will if you're there. read more

I had juror duty for a week during the virus! I was chosen as an alternative. The parking in front is set aside for jurors. There's a lot of waiting on the first day but overall Westminster handled the virus very well. 6' distance between all of us so we all sat throughout the entire courtroom. Trial was streamed to the public. Judge Gerard was awesome! He was incredibly patient, very impartial, and very cognitive of the virus situation and consistently asked all of us if we felt it was safe. And honestly the two attorneys for the 2nd half of the trial were actually really good. Couple times it was like watching a Law & Order show! read more

Fix your vending machines. Most people don't carry cash, let alone $1 bills. Maybe replace them with ones that can take credit cards please? read more

Waited 30 minutes in line to turn in an appeal letter. Pretty straightforward once you get to the front and speak with the clerk.

I want to leave Zero stars! But it's forcing me to choose at least one.. This place has made it beyond difficult for normal citizens to simply pay a speeding ticket. You can't just pay online, you have to go in in person to find out what the price of the ticket even is in the first place. You have to sit before a judge during work hours. So not only do you have to pay a fine but you have to miss work/pay to do so. Tried calling for information, useless. Gone in but they only offer a small window when you can see a clerk. They claim they'll send the paperwork over to the judge, and make you wait hours to see the judge. Then when you don't have the paperwork in hand they send you back to the clerk. This is beyond ridiculous. No other county, city, state judicial system has EVER been this difficult to simply pay a ticket. It's nonsense! It's wasting time, energy and money trying to comply with this courts confusing terms. It really should not be that difficult to just pay a ticket!!! Horrible for an average working class person to have to deal with this mess. read more

If you get Judge Nancy, it will be unfair and not just. Completely unjust. She was lowering the base fine cost for people who sped on the highway way over speed limit from a base fine of 70 to 35. Basically half. My base fine was 35 and got reduced to 25. A difference of only 10. To them a difference of 35. I asked why is my reduce not half. And she got mad and said "I don't have to reduce your fine, there is no haggling". I said I am not haggling, I am asking a question. This is unfair and unjust. I explained to give me time to think what I want to do. But how unjust of a judge who is suppose to be on the behalf of the people us is unfair. I felt I had no option with the judge due to the prejudice that was placed on me and bias feeling towards me. What was even worse was when I went to think about it outside the courtroom, she wait until I got out of the courtroom and she started saying remarks about me and you heard the court laugh. How fair to a person is that, how amazing is that, that someone deciding our fate thinks of it as a joke. To joke around with the court and wait till person leaves behind their back. read more

I feel as citizens there should already be something printed out where a cop stops you that you have to pay and if you can't pay then you come to court this is ridiculous. Having to stop my Time and work is absurd . read more

Worse justice court I ever went too. I was randomly summon and cannot believed I have to waste so much gas to drive for 4-5 days for this surprise case and I don't want to be there! I will give it 0 or negative stars. I won't give it one star. $15 per day on second day or later is not worth the payment I ever received! Hey, if you see this comments manager, I'm telling you, your court suck! Give higher raised and make others rest up more. read more

This is the busiest courthouse in the county for mid Judge Lee l, presiding in the misdemeanor pretrial and master calendar department, is always friendly, fair and efficient. Judge Lee is one of the bestof being reasonable in Orange County. On more than one occasion. read more

If you get pulled over in Huntington Beach, expect your friendly neighborhood cop to have nothing better to do than show up for a 1st court showing. Other city's cops have real crime to take care of and are less laughable... You're better off rolling a stop in one of those towns. The courtroom vibe for a traffic or court trial (tip: NEVER get court trial by judge if possible, if applicable, request to be left alone by judge and Extend your dates) here is tragically funny, if you have the sense of humor to laugh at the ridiculous manner you're being screwed over. There are as many cops in the small packed room as civilians, and they read their incident reports like 5th graders turning in their fill in the blank homework. "The time was _____, it was _______ (overcast). I was on my _________ ___________ (black and white motorcycle) wearing the _________ (uniform I am dressed in today). Good work, boys! There is a reasonable and intelligent judge here, a seasoned gentleman who does his best to move things along in a decent and worthy manner, at least from what I've seen so far. Respectable. If you get the very old lady judge, "Margaret" I believe, you're not in as good favor with gods today. She is not the quickest as you hope her old age and longevity might have lent her by now and might pay more attention to the irrelevance than the few more meaningful points. She'll also stupidly defend a cop with no proper evidence, and charge you guilty. If you're in a room with her your best bet would be to lower your expectations, your intelligence, cater to silly things that she might respect, and pray you get lucky. No one likes courthouses, but as they go this one is filled mostly with the HBPD bro culture of showing up to your scheduled court appearance days to keep up the appearance of doing some real heroic things- Really the comraderie among the cops sitting in their chairs can be likened to schoolboys patting each other on the back for their below average intelligence. Thanks for the service, soldier-you know who we're talking to- and just remember those fines we pay are going to feed your family.. Oh wait, no, those are our tax dollars... Keep doing what you do, it's what you know. Tiger got to hunt, bird gotta fly, an HB cop gotta make his days go by Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land, HBPD got to keep their head in the sand read more

Simply depressing. I've been here before for a speeding ticket but I came here for something else. Staff was about as helpful as a tub of cottage cheese. I got misdirected 4 times. The person that helped me was obviously the same person of my ethnic background. I speak perfect English with no accent and his mothereffing ass spoke like a male version of Miss Swan and asked ME if I needed a mothereffing translator. Du Ma! What was suppose to only take 1.5 hours took 3 hours. Ahhh I love the justice system. read more

Danielle at the courthouse has been absolutely amazing through this whole process. She has been helpful, patient, and extremely informative. It sucks going to any courthouse but it was a load off my shoulders immediately once she was able to help me. I wish more courthouse employees were like Danielle. Thank you again, I'll try not to get pulled over anymore! read more

This courthouse is a bit scary to say the least. I don't know if its that we know there are criminals in there or what. The people there don't seem too happy. No one smiles and it really isn't that pleasant in there. I went in today to see if I could have a field trip for my students. Unfortunately, due to budget cutbacks, there aren't any resources for school field trips here. A woman in the admin building said she would follow up and see if there is anything they can do. I hope they can. read more

you should get no stars .. i was trying to find out something as simple as the deadline for traffic school , yeah i screwed up and forgot it and have been working a lot but you need to have someone available at a call center to give general information. It can take a lot for me to get frustrated but if you expect people to work with you , you need to supply them with the mean to contact you ! read more

If you ever get called for jury duty at the West Justice Center, just do it. I have been to Santa Ana and Fullerton courts for jury duty, but the Westminster one is pretty easy going, as least it was for me. Free parking (HATE to pay to park for jury duty!) and the staff kept things moving smoothly in the jury room. There is an ATM in the lobby and plenty of places to eat nearby, plus books to read for those long waits to get called. Most people I know complain about jury duty but it's really not so bad. read more

I can't believe I am giving a court 4 stars -__- well I've been here several times for jury duty and to pay my speeding ticket. It's an overall nice courthouse even though I haven't been to any other one. The employees are surprisingly friendly and helpful. If you need to pay for your speeding ticket or any other ticket, the windows are located outside and the lines move pretty fast. Inside is really clean and the room that you wait for jury duty is spacious. There's wifi, snacks, magazines and lots of round tables so you can go on your laptop, etc. read more

I had never been to court before, my first ticket that I didn't just pay over the phone. I was scared because I thought it would take three hours like the DMV. I expected people to be rude to the point and unfriendly. Not at all! I was blown away how friendly, helpful and knowledgeable everyone was. The guy at the parking told me exactly where to park and exactly where to go. There was only a short line and I got spoken to right away. The lady at the front was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I had a weird case where my ticket was never entered in the system and it was past the court date, and she helped me the best she could. read more

The fact that you can't talk to someone within the courts is sad. There is no way to talk with the law clerk to receive information about a ticket. They Westminster police department even said it's a joke that no one picks up the phones and they're are frustrated with people calling them due to the lack of responsiveness from the court. Huntington Beach police department feels the same way and they said negative things about the court. It seems like everyone is upset with how inefficient the courts are and I hope to see them invest into either hiring customer service staff our outsourcing it to a company who can assist community members. read more

Had to pay for parking. Was asked to remove my belt (when the MAN in front of me was not!). The young woman (Ellie) was SO rude while checking us in! She acts like regular folk plan their lives around jury duty! Who does that?!? These are reasons I pray I don't get called to jury duty. A privilege that is forced is NOT a privilege. read more

It's already bad enough that people view going to court as a bad thing, but for the staff to add to it...I HATED THIS PLACE. Seriously, can't you be just a little nicer...I really feel like being a good people person should be a requirement when working with PEOPLE! Sat in a courtroom for 2 hours hoping to explain my case to a judge..NOPE..it was either guilty or not guilty, and if you plead not guilty she'll just send you off with ANOTHER court date.. -___- uhm, not worth it for what citation I got...the bailiff was a complete prick to almost every person in the room..and the Vietnamese translator was a beezy, she was calling people liars and what not...WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WOMAN!? going to court this morning definitely put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Only bright light was when I asked an officer where I could find the collection's desk and he had a little chat with me about my citation and what they could do for me. Nice guy, sucks he works at a place full of people with crabs in their pants. hmph. read more

hope its fair for everyone, was helpful last time thank you, still needed Public Defenders, for all of WEST JUSTICE CENTER,

I'm like Batman, when the beacon goes off, I have to hop into my bat mobile and go save the day! Time for Mr. JD to break it down. Pros: Free parking Giant screen in the front that lists the calendar (versus checking the calendar in front of the court room) Cons: Little bit cramped inside Long filing line outside Overall, a solid court house. Ample parking and convenient. Lawyered! I spend everyday going to all of the courts in LA, OC, and IE. I handle DUis, driver license suspensions, drug possession and traffic matters in numerous courts ranging from Torrance, to Joshua Tree, to Newport and all the way up to Lancaster. I have seen them all. If you or someone you know needs legal assistance in any of the above matters, let me help you receive the representation you deserve! read more

VERY rude "customer service" I moved to another state and they send me a long email about me failing to come to jury duty... 1. Never received a call from them..... 2. The email looked like a threat about them taking legal actions and fining me... F*** that!!!! If you call their phone number, DO NOT be nice!!!! They are rude as f*** and don't even say bye at the end. Glad I moved out of CA!!!!! Yelp, please make a "no star" option. Thank you! read more

I just called to get info and help and this lady was extremely rude. She acted like I was stupid cause she is constantly repeating herself about something I didn't even mentioned. I asked her to stay on the line while I go online for help and she told me.... "I'LL STAY ON THE PHONE REAL QUICK.... REAL QUICK.. JUST REAL QUICK" I wanted to stop and tell her, look lady you need to calm your ass down and realize you work as an help line reception obviously that is why I am calling you, but I didn't want to her to hang up on me cause she was about to... If she doesn't like her job... Then she needs to find another one. read more

Parking is very difficult here, which is why the lack of a star. Unlike other reviewers claim, this is definitely not a federal court. They handle traffic, criminal, limited civil and small claims here. Most everything is on the first floor, with the DA's office, and a few courtrooms on the second floor. read more

Cant believe im Drafting a review of this place. Anyway out of all OC court houses this has to be the most lenient one. I've had many a speeding tickets over the years and even a DUI and always gots nice judges that weren't too hard on you unless you just did something seriously sstupid or pissed them off somehow. But my advice seeing as ive had tickets in different parts of the county. Laguna, Newport area seems to wanna throw the book at you, send you to jail, and take all of your money. Fullerton court is ok but the judges over there are pretty stiff. read more

I think they should fired all the people in the civil window. They are so rude and unhelpful. I only wait for one paper which is Writ of possession and they make we wait from 2/16/10 and up to today 3/20/10 i'm still waiting for them to process the paper. I think this is not fair for me. I can't evict my tenant until I get the paper. My tenant get to stay inside my house legally for 4 months without paying rent. God please help me! Everytime I ask the clerk at the window all they responded "we have a lots of back log, you have to wait..." I'm not sure how long I have to wait.??? I don't know what they doing all day? I cause them sitting at the window reading book, but when I came and ask them question they told me go to the help center... Ridiculus...We paying tax for the court to hired people that didn't do their work. I'm unemployed and can't find job, when someone out their having job and refused to work and still get pay. Please help me what i'm suppose to do? I can't rush them, who should i go to complaint about this situation? read more

I usually don't Yelp but I just wanted to say thank you to the sweet woman named Julie with the curly reddish hair at the traffic windows outside of court, you were being bombarded left & right from people with questions or needing extensions & you were being super sweet & gracious about it while trying to get it all done as fast as possible. Just wanted to say you rocked Julie ! :) wasn't expecting such a pleasant court experience! read more

The staff who work the traffic Windows outside are friendly, and helpful. The judges that I've seen here also fairly lenient, and understanding. I've never felt as much of a sense of dread going to this court as I have two other Courts for things like tickets. read more

I get it...this court house is small but how is it that you are over staffed but no one at the front desk... How is it that you have soo many police officers there whom are rude when asked where the restroom is..????? Lol ....now I see where the rejects of cops go since they can't handle doing real police work out on the streets they are at this very tiny court house.... read more

Giving them 5 stars, hoping for the next ticket I get a 15% discount for being nice on yelp. Also hope they would not have to charge me on any future tickets for a thumbs up on FB. Ugh!!! I wish they have a taco truck outside so hungry ( thinking out loud). read more

I filed some paper work here told me its gonna take 3-4 weeks so i waited and waited for 2 months!! so i went to the court house to check up on the status of it and told me they lost my paper work WTF!!! pissed me off my shit shouldve been down 4months ago smh smh!!! read more

Having to go to court for almost any reason is never a good one, so that automatically creates a negative feeling about the visit. I can't say this place is absolutely horrible. However, my one hang up is the information desk in the lobby. NO ONE is EVER at that DESK. During my last visit, I stood in front of the desk for almost 20 minutes waiting until an officer finally told me that if I have questions I need to go to the room on the right which is the Witness and something else room ( I can't remember exactly). Basically, if you witness a crime of some sort, that's where you go. Who would have known that's also the same place you have to go if you want to find out what the hell you have to do there in court. The entire court process in my experience is a lot of lines and waiting. Their current process works fairly well but I believe they could improve a bit on helping people figure out where they need to be or go. Orders received in the mail are not very helpful. Most just say "Your presence is requested at the location below by 8am" which is not very informative. So some advice if you ever have to go here. Get here as early as possible and be prepared to ask anyone and everyone you can if you don't know where to go and you don't see your name anywhere on the dockets listed on the screens for the day. read more