The building

What it looks like when you arrive

Downey Courthouse is a full security facility. Leave knives, scissors, pepper spray and anything blade-like in the car — there is no property storage at the screening point. Allow extra time for the queue at the entrance.

The Downey Courthouse is the third criminal courthouse in the Southeast District, covering the western Gateway cities.

Key details

• Downey Courthouse — 7500 E. Imperial Highway, Downey, CA 90242
• Part of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Southeast District
• Public parking is available in the lots in front of the courthouse

The Southeast District also includes the Norwalk Courthouse and the Whittier Courthouse.

Which communities feed into it

Downey operates its own municipal police department, as does neighboring Montebello. Other nearby Gateway communities are sheriff-policed: Pico Rivera from the Sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station, and Bellflower from the Lakewood Station.

Where someone is held

Los Angeles County books men and women into different facilities. Men are processed at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles, on a 24-hour intake line of (213) 473-6080. Women are held at the Century Regional Detention Facility at 11705 S. Alameda Street in Lynwood, on (323) 568-4500. Calling the wrong one is the single most common way families lose their first few hours.

Where we work

American Freedom Bail Bonds has no Los Angeles County office. Our three physical offices are Anaheim, Brea and La Habra, all in Orange County. We work Los Angeles County cases from our our bail bonds office in La Habra, which sits directly on the county line. Paperwork can be completed electronically and posting happens at whichever facility holds the person, so an agent can meet you at the courthouse or the jail without you traveling to an office first.

There is a holding facility inside this building

The California Board of State and Community Corrections classifies the holding facility at the Downey courthouse as a Court Holding facility. Under California Code of Regulations, Title 15, § 1006, that means a facility constructed within a court building, used for the confinement of persons solely for the purpose of a court appearance, for a period not to exceed 12 hours.

Two practical consequences. First, this is not somewhere to visit — nobody is housed here, and there is no visiting programme. Second, if a person is in court holding they have been brought from a jail for a hearing and will go back to that jail afterwards unless the court releases them. Where someone is actually held, and where a release happens, is covered in what kind of jail is holding them.

Before the case reaches this courthouse

A Downey arrest begins at the Downey Police Department on Brookshire Avenue.

Related

• Los Angeles County bail bonds
• All courthouses and all jails
• Felony charges — where the serious-or-violent test decides whether the protocols apply

La Habra office — (562) 690-8303Anaheim office — (714) 520-2002

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Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot guarantee a bail amount, a release time, eligibility for release, or the outcome of any case. Los Angeles County release rules changed substantially in October 2023, and court and jail information can change — always confirm details directly with the facility or the court. California bail license 1841014.

Charges heard at the Downey Courthouse

Downey hears cases from the southeast Los Angeles County area. The charge on the booking sheet, not the one you were told over the phone, is what sets the bail figure — so confirming it is always the useful first step.

• Domestic violence bail — the charge type with the most restrictive release rules under Penal Code § 1270.1, explained in full with current scheduled amounts.
• DUI, warrants, felony, misdemeanor and drug charge bail.

County transfers run through the Inmate Reception Center for men and the Century Regional Detention Facility for women. Our closest 24-hour office is La Habra, and we serve Downey, Norwalk, Bellflower, La Mirada and Pico Rivera across Los Angeles County.

The holding area inside the courthouse is itself a classified facility

Most people never think about where a defendant waits during a court appearance. The Board of State and Community Corrections classifies it as a facility in its own right: LASD Downey Superior Court (facility 1835) is listed as class CHJ — a Court Holding facility. The J suffix means the holding area is separately approved to hold minors.

Under Title 15 § 1006 a Court Holding facility is for court appearance only, and may not hold a person more than 12 hours. That single number explains several things families find baffling:

• Why someone is moved back the same day. A person brought here from county custody must return — the courthouse cannot hold them overnight. See jail transfers.
• Why release does not happen at the courthouse. When a bond is posted for someone in custody, the release is processed at the custody facility, not here. See how long release takes.
• Why transport timing drives the day. Court transport runs on its own schedule, which is why an early hearing can still mean a late return.

This is not a regular jail, and it should not be treated as one. A Court Holding facility exists only to hold people who are at the courthouse for a court appearance. It is not a custody facility where someone serves time, where visiting happens, or where routine jail bail is posted. Unless the court or the facility specifically tells you otherwise, do not travel to the courthouse to visit someone or to post bail — visiting and bail are handled at the custody facility holding the person. Find that facility first with find an inmate, and see sending money to an inmate and what to bring.

Every classification in both counties is explained on what kind of jail is holding them, and the Los Angeles County facilities are listed in our Los Angeles County jail guide.