Your First Court Date at the DuPage County Judicial Center

The DuPage County Courthouse and Administration Building, which most people call the DuPage County Judicial Center, sits on the county campus at 505 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton, with entrances from County Farm Road and Manchester Road. It’s a large building with numbered courtrooms on four floors, a busy security line, and hallways full of people looking at their paperwork and trying to find the right door. The building is open 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.¹

I spent 13 years as a prosecutor in DuPage County, with the State’s Attorney’s Office and then the Village of Downers Grove, before I started defending people. I know how a first court date looks from the State’s table. Here is what to expect from the parking garage to the courtroom, and how to get through the morning without hurting your case.

Getting There

Give yourself more time than you think you need. The court recommends arriving at least 45 minutes before your scheduled time, because everyone goes through screening much like an airport. Lines get longer in bad weather, around holidays and in January and February.²

Parking. The campus has two parking garages and several surface lots on either side of the courthouse.³

Transit. Pace Route 301 stops at the courthouse on weekdays. The nearest Metra station is in downtown Wheaton at 402 W. Front Street, about two miles away.¹

Security. Cameras of any kind aren’t allowed, and that includes a phone with a camera. Knives, aerosols, razors and anything security considers a risk are also turned away, and security doesn’t hold or give receipts for prohibited items. A limited number of free lockers are on the first floor of the parking garage and at the bus stop west of the 503 building.² The simplest plan is to leave your phone in the car, which means any paperwork you need should be printed.

Finding your courtroom. Your paperwork lists a courtroom number, and the first digit is the floor. The county lists these locations in the main 505 building:¹

First Appearance Court, where people held after an arrest see a judge, is Courtroom 1000 in the 501 building. The Circuit Court Clerk’s office is on the first floor of the 505 building. If you’ve lost your paperwork, you can look up your DuPage case by name before you leave home.

Pretrial Release Now That Cash Bail Has Ended

Illinois stopped using cash bail on September 18, 2023, after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Pretrial Fairness Act. No one pays money to get out of jail before trial anymore. The law starts from the presumption that you’ll be released, as long as you come to court, don’t commit a new offense and follow the conditions the judge sets.^{4, 5, 6}

For certain charges, the State can ask the judge to hold you until trial. It has to file a written petition, and the judge holds a hearing where the State must prove its case by clear and convincing evidence. The petition can be filed at the first appearance or within 21 days after an arrest and release. For charges like domestic battery, the judge can also order you to surrender your firearms and FOID card while the case is open.^{7, 8}

If you were released with a court date, your conditions are on the release paperwork. Read them before you come to court and bring the paperwork with you. If anything on it doesn’t make sense, that’s a good question for our first call.

What the Prosecutor Is Doing at a First Appearance

At a first appearance, the assistant state’s attorney has a full call of cases that morning, often a stack of files on the table. For each one, the prosecutor is checking a few things: whether the charging document is complete, what your criminal history shows, what the police report says, and whether any victim needs to be notified or heard from.

On a first court date, the case is usually just getting started. The State turns over its evidence over the following weeks, including reports, videos and lab results. Any offer to resolve the case usually comes later, once both sides have seen what’s in the file. When I sat at that table, a first appearance was mostly about getting each file in order and setting the next date.

What to Bring

• Your ticket, complaint or notice to appear
• Your release paperwork with the conditions the judge set
• A government photo ID
• Any order of protection served on you
• Printed copies of anything you want to show your lawyer, since your phone may stay in the car
• Proof of things you’ve already done, like a completed class, a valid insurance card or a reinstated license

Courtroom basics like dressing as you would for a job interview and turning up early matter too. So does being ready to stand up the moment your name is called.

Careful What You Say, and to Whom

In the Hallway

Don’t talk about your case where other people can hear you. Hallways outside courtrooms are full of witnesses, officers and people connected to other cases. If the person who made the complaint is in the building, don’t approach them, especially if there’s an order of protection. Recording in or near a courtroom, including the hallways, is prohibited in this circuit and can be treated as contempt.²

To the Prosecutor

If you have a lawyer, let your lawyer do the talking. Anything you say about what happened can become part of the State’s case. If a prosecutor mentions an offer, you can take time to talk it over with a lawyer before you plead to anything.⁹

In Court

The judge will ask questions like whether you understand the charge and whether you have a lawyer. Answer those plainly, and save your side of the story for a private conversation with your lawyer. If you don’t have a lawyer yet, you can tell the judge you’d like time to hire one, and the court has to allow a reasonable continuance before you plead to the charge. If you can’t afford a lawyer and the charge could carry jail time, you can ask the judge to appoint the Public Defender.⁹

Your Checklist for the Morning of Court

1. Check the courtroom number and time on your paperwork, and print anything you need.
2. Leave knives, aerosols and other prohibited items at home.
3. Leave your phone in the car or plan to use a locker.
4. Arrive at least 45 minutes early and get in the security line.
5. Find your floor and courtroom. If there’s a sign-in sheet or the clerk asks for names, check in.
6. Sit quietly and wait for your name. Don’t discuss your case in the hallway or the gallery.
7. When your name is called, walk to the front, stand where the deputy shows you and answer the judge’s questions briefly.
8. Before you leave, write down your next court date and courtroom and get a copy of any new order.

Next Court Dates

After the first appearance, the judge sets the next date. Many cases have several more: status dates while the evidence is exchanged, motion dates if there’s something to challenge, and eventually a plea or a trial date.

If you miss a court date, the judge can issue a summons or a warrant for your arrest. When it’s a summons, appearing on the assigned date or within 48 hours of being served keeps the missed date off the docket as a failure to appear.¹⁰ If you know you can’t make a date, call your lawyer before that day.

If your first court date is coming up, talk with me before you go. We’ll look at your paperwork together, go over the conditions you’re under and talk through what will happen in that courtroom.