If they cannot afford a lawyer
Criminal defense for people who cannot afford a lawyer in San Bernardino County is the Law Offices of the Public Defender. A judge appoints them at arraignment — for someone in custody that hearing is supposed to happen within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays.
They cannot act before that appointment. In the department’s own words: “Our office cannot provide counsel unless we have been appointed.” Calling a branch the day of the arrest will not get a deputy assigned, will not start a defense and will not change bail.
The lawyer is theirs, not the family’s.
Once appointed, the deputy public defender’s duty and privilege run to the person charged. They cannot discuss defense strategy or confidential case facts with a parent, partner or friend without that person’s consent — no matter who is paying attention, visiting, or asking.
This is not the office being difficult. It is the same rule that stops the other side finding out what the defense knows.
What a family can still usefully do
Not a published intake process — the department does not print a family checklist. This is simply what tends to be useful to a lawyer carrying a heavy caseload.
- Write it down and keep it short. A page that can be read in two minutes beats a phone call.
- Medical, psychiatric and prescription history
- Work, school or caregiving facts — what falls apart while they are inside
- Names of people who may have seen something — names only, not your own investigation
Medical history for the jail goes somewhere else entirely — a different department, by fax. Medication and mental-health information →
How it actually happens
Arraignment is where the lawyer arrives.
It is also, in the department’s words, “probably the first time you will be able to see your friend or loved-one following an arrest.”
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Within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays
An arrest late on a Friday can therefore mean a Tuesday hearing. That is the rule working normally, not something going wrong.
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The hearing is in court — but they may appear on video
Someone in custody may be arraigned by video link from West Valley Detention Center or High Desert Detention Center. The department’s FAQ calls the second one the “Adelanto Detention Center”, which is the Sheriff’s jail in Adelanto — not the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
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The judge asks who is representing them
That is the moment. The person says they cannot afford a lawyer and asks for one. The court decides whether they qualify and appoints the Public Defender.
Nobody else can do this step for them. A family member cannot request it in advance and no form submitted beforehand will trigger it.
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What else is settled at that hearing
They are told the charges and given the charging document, may enter a plea, bail may be set, and the next court date is fixed.
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If the Public Defender has a conflict
The arraignment court appoints a private firm holding a county indigent-defense contract instead. That is a normal outcome, not a downgrade, and it happens at the same hearing.
After appointment
Nine offices. Pick the one for the courthouse.
Cases are handled by the office that takes appointments from the court hearing them, so the courthouse decides the number — not where someone lives or which jail is holding them. Administration oversees the department and is not the place to ask about a case.
Central Division
323 West Court Street, Second Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92401
The largest office. Almost 30 attorneys, handling over 5,000 felony and 8,000 misdemeanor cases a year, across the street from the courthouse.
Rancho Cucamonga / West Valley Division
8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
About twenty attorneys. The department describes this office as being in the Foothill Courthouse on the third floor.
Victorville / Desert Division
14455 Civic Drive, Suite 600, Victorville, CA 92392
Inside the Victorville Superior Courthouse.
Victorville Cajon
14344 Cajon Street, Suite 201, Victorville, CA 92392
Two blocks west of the courthouse, on Cajon Street between Civic Drive and Sage Street. Shares the Desert Division number.
Joshua Tree
6527 White Feather Road, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
In the Morongo Basin County Government Center and Courthouse.
Juvenile Unit
900 East Gilbert Street, Building 5, San Bernardino, CA 92415
The main juvenile office, near Juvenile Hall. The Juvenile Dependency Court further along the same street is a different building and not a Public Defender office.
Homicide Defense Team
9411 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
A separate address from the Rancho Cucamonga division on the same street.
Specialty Litigation Division
323 West Court Street, Third Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92401
Shares the Administration floor.
Public Defender Administration
323 West Court Street, Third Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92401
Oversees the department. This is not the office to call about a specific case. Use the one for the courthouse hearing it.
Addresses and numbers are the department’s own Locations listing.
Different question, different number
Three things the branch numbers are not for.
Under investigation, not charged
If there is reason to believe San Bernardino law enforcement is investigating you — before any arrest — the department says to call this number. A consultation about your own potential case is confidential.
This is for the person being investigated, about their own situation. It is not a general enquiry line and it is not a number for asking about somebody else.
Clearing a record, or PC 290
The Post-Conviction Relief Unit, for record clearing and sex-offender registration relief after a case has ended. A separate unit with its own application process.
Not the juvenile number. Those two get confused and they are unrelated.
Bail amount and release status
That is the Sheriff, not the Public Defender. The department’s own FAQ sends families here for how bail works.
Jail411 does not run an inmate search. The Sheriff’s locator is the official one.
Collect calls. Separately from any of the above, the department states that it accepts collect calls about San Bernardino County criminal or civil commitment legal matters.
What it costs.
Nothing up front, and nothing during the case. Appointment is based on the court finding that someone cannot afford private counsel.
After the case concludes, the court may order a reasonable fee. What counts as reasonable is judged against the client’s financial resources, and a payment schedule is arranged with them.
Payment goes to the County’s Central Collections Bureau, not to the Public Defender. The department is not part of the ability-to-pay hearing, the billing, or the collection.