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Alameda County
Courthouse Directory
10 real locations, including 3 separate buildings in Oakland alone, plus a specialized mental health court most families have never heard of.
Part of the California Courthouse Directory
Table Of Contents
How Alameda's Courts Work
Ten locations, three of them in Oakland alone.
All 10 Locations
Address, role and real jurisdiction for each.
Which Courthouse Covers My City
Confirmed assignments, likely ones, and the open questions.
Courthouse FAQs
Straight answers about venue, transfers and bail.
How Alameda County's Court System Actually Works
Alameda County Superior Court operates from 10 distinct locations — more spread out than San Diego's 7 or Orange County's 9, reflecting a county that stretches from Berkeley in the north to Fremont in the south and Dublin in the east. Oakland alone hosts 3 separate courthouse buildings, each historically handling different case types.
Real, recent history worth knowing: the newest location, Dublin's East County Hall of Justice, opened in 2017 specifically to replace two now-closed courthouses — a leased building in Pleasanton that was never designed to be a high-volume courthouse, and a downtown Oakland courthouse vacated back in 2007 due to severe water damage. If you have heard of either of those older names, they no longer operate. Dublin is the current answer.
Custody works differently here than in most counties. Alameda concentrates nearly all adult county custody at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, so a case heard in Oakland or Berkeley very often means a release 30 miles east. The courthouse and the jail are rarely the same trip.
Everything on this page comes from the court's own site. Where Alameda County Superior Court confirms a city by name, we publish it. Where it does not — Union City, Newark, Pleasanton, Livermore, Piedmont, Albany, Emeryville, San Leandro's adult courthouse and the five unincorporated Eden Township communities — we say it is a candidate or unconfirmed rather than guess, because a wrong courthouse costs a family a wasted morning and sometimes a warrant.
At A Glance
- Court Locations
- 10 countywide, 3 of them in Oakland
- Main Criminal Courthouse
- René C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon St, Oakland
- Newest Courthouse
- East County Hall of Justice, Dublin — opened 2017, across from Santa Rita Jail
- Specialized Venues
- John George Psychiatric Pavilion and the Juvenile Justice Center, San Leandro
- Traffic Venue
- Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse, Oakland — including Berkeley traffic since 2006
- Where Bail Is Posted
- Santa Rita Jail in Dublin — never at a courthouse
All 10 Alameda County Court Locations
Address, role and real jurisdiction for every Alameda County Superior Court location, taken from the court's own pages rather than a third-party directory.
George E. McDonald Hall of Justice
2233 Shore Line Drive, Alameda, CA 94501
Alameda County Superior Court's location inside the City of Alameda, on the Shore Line Drive waterfront.
Serves the City of Alameda directly
George E. McDonald Hall of Justice GuideBerkeley Courthouse
2120 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
The court's Berkeley location. Its Traffic Division moved permanently to Oakland's Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in December 2006.
Serves the City of Berkeley — traffic matters are heard in Oakland
Berkeley Courthouse GuideEast County Hall of Justice
5151 Gleason Drive, Dublin, CA 94568
The county's newest courthouse — a $147 million facility opened in 2017, nicknamed "ECHOJ," directly across the street from Santa Rita Jail.
The primary courthouse for the Tri-Valley area — Dublin confirmed by co-location
East County Hall of Justice GuideFremont Hall of Justice
39439 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538
Alameda County Superior Court's south-county location on Paseo Padre Parkway.
Serves the City of Fremont directly
Fremont Hall of Justice GuideHayward Hall of Justice
24405 Amador Street, Hayward, CA 94544
The court's Hayward location, weighted toward family law, juvenile, traffic and some civil calendars.
Serves the City of Hayward directly
Hayward Hall of Justice GuideOakland Administration Building
1221 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94612
Connected to the René C. Davidson Courthouse by an underground corridor. Houses Family Law and Civil Trial departments and the Civil Records Management Office.
Family law, civil trials and civil records — not a criminal calendar
Oakland Administration Building GuideRené C. Davidson Courthouse
1225 Fallon Street, Oakland, CA 94612
Alameda County's main courthouse — a 1934 Art Deco landmark overlooking Lake Merritt, housing the Civil and Criminal Divisions.
Oakland's confirmed criminal courthouse and the county's primary criminal venue
René C. Davidson Courthouse GuideWiley W. Manuel Courthouse
661 Washington Street, Oakland, CA 94607
Named for the first African American justice on the California Supreme Court. Handles criminal, traffic and collaborative court calendars.
Criminal, traffic (relocated from Berkeley in 2006) and North County small claims
Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse GuideJohn George Psychiatric Pavilion
2060 Fairmont Drive, San Leandro, CA 94578
A specialized mental health court on the Fairmont campus in San Leandro — not a standard criminal courthouse.
Mental health calendar — the standard bail framework does not apply here
John George Psychiatric Pavilion GuideJuvenile Justice Center
2500 Fairmont Drive, Suite C3013, San Leandro, CA 94578
The countywide juvenile venue on the same San Leandro campus.
Juvenile matters countywide — the adult bail framework does not apply here
Juvenile Justice Center GuideWhich Courthouse Covers My City
Confirmed assignments come straight from Alameda County Superior Court. Likely assignments are our best read of the geography and neighboring confirmed cities — useful, but not settled. Anything we have not confirmed at all is listed as exactly that.
Confirmed By The Court
Berkeley Courthouse
Berkeley — traffic matters excepted, those moved to Oakland in 2006
Courthouse GuideVery Likely — Not Independently Confirmed
Fremont Hall of Justice
Union City, Newark
Very likely, given the geographic division and the confirmed jurisdiction of neighboring cities — but not confirmed by name on the court's own pages.
Courthouse GuideEast County Hall of Justice
Pleasanton, Livermore
Very likely, given the geographic division and the confirmed jurisdiction of neighboring cities — but not confirmed by name on the court's own pages.
Courthouse GuideHayward Hall of Justice
Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview
Very likely, given the geographic division and the confirmed jurisdiction of neighboring cities — but not confirmed by name on the court's own pages.
Courthouse GuideStill Unconfirmed
Piedmont, Albany and Emeryville have no candidate courthouse we can honestly name, and San Leandro's adult criminal venue is genuinely open — the two courthouses inside San Leandro are the John George Psychiatric Pavilion mental health court and the countywide Juvenile Justice Center, neither of which handles ordinary adult criminal cases. Alameda County Superior Court does not publish a city-by-city assignment list, so we do not invent one. Call us and we will confirm the actual venue from the paperwork.
Alameda County Courthouse FAQs
How many courthouses does Alameda County have?
Ten real court locations. Alameda County Superior Court operates buildings in Alameda, Berkeley, Dublin, Fremont and Hayward, three separate buildings in Oakland, and two specialized venues on the Fairmont campus in San Leandro — a mental health court and the countywide juvenile center.
Which courthouse will hear my case?
The notice to appear is the final word. Alameda County Superior Court does not publish a city-by-city assignment list for adult criminal cases, so we only state a courthouse where the court confirms it — Oakland at René C. Davidson, and Berkeley, Fremont, Alameda, Hayward and Dublin at the courthouse inside each of those cities.
Can I post bail at an Alameda County courthouse?
No. A bond is filed at the facility physically holding the defendant. In this county that is almost always Santa Rita Jail at 5325 Broder Boulevard in Dublin, which processes bail 24 hours a day.
Why are there three courthouses in Oakland?
René C. Davidson Courthouse on Fallon Street is the county's main courthouse and criminal venue. The Administration Building at 1221 Oak Street sits across the street, connected underground, and houses Family Law, Civil Trial departments and civil records. Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse on Washington Street carries criminal, traffic and collaborative calendars.
What happened to the Pleasanton and old Oakland courthouses?
Both are closed. The leased Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton and courtrooms in a downtown Oakland courthouse vacated in 2007 after severe water damage were replaced when East County Hall of Justice opened in Dublin in 2017. If you have heard either older name, Dublin is the current answer.
Are there cities you have not confirmed?
Yes, and we say so rather than guess. Union City and Newark are a geographic fit for Fremont Hall of Justice; Pleasanton and Livermore are a strong fit for East County Hall of Justice; the five Eden Township communities are closest to Hayward. None of those are confirmed by name. Piedmont, Albany, Emeryville and San Leandro's adult criminal courthouse have no confirmed answer at all.
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