Crime & Safety

Fighting Traffic Tickets in Mission Viejo About to Get Trickier

Drivers pulled over in Mission Viejo will soon have to travel to court in Newport Beach instead of Laguna Hills.

Traffic tickets will no longer be handled at the Orange County courthouse in Laguna Hills, effective May 6. That will mean a longer drive for Mission Viejo drivers handling their cases.

County officials blamed the change on reduced state funding.

Traffic tickets issued March 18 or later that would normally be heard at the courthouse in Laguna Hills will instead be assigned to a judge at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, 4601 Jamboree Road.

Find out what's happening in Mission Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It wasn't immediately clear if the Laguna Hills courthouse would remain open for other cases or if the county would keep offices there.

In a related move, traffic tickets issued in Costa Mesa as of March 18 will be assigned to the West Justice Center, 8141 13th St., Westminster. Motorists can continue paying citations at any of the county's four courthouses, but trials arising out of tickets issued in Costa Mesa will only be heard in Westminster.

Find out what's happening in Mission Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Likewise, misdemeanor and felony charges filed as of March 18 out of Costa Mesa also will be heard at the West Justice Center in Westminster. Cases filed before then out of Costa Mesa will remain at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

-- City News Service


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