The Menifee Justice Center will open on July 8 with nine courtrooms to handle family and civil law, Riverside Superior Court announced.
The new courthouse, at 27401 Menifee Center Drive, Menifee, will handle five family law courtrooms, two civil law courtrooms, one community court and one domestic violence and restraining order courtroom.
The family law courtrooms will be managed by Riverside Superior Judges Sean Lafferty, Jason Stone, Michelle Mathis, Marie Wood and Kelly Moran.
Riverside Superior Judges Raquel Marquez and Angel Bermudez will handle the civil law courtrooms.
Riverside Superior Commissioner Belinda Handy will manage the community court.
Riverside Superior Judge Sophia Choi will manage the domestic violence and restraining order courtroom.
The family law judges were previously assigned to the Hemet courthouse, and the others have been at the Southwest Justice Center.
The departments’ last days at their current locations will be July 5. The Hemet courthouse was built in 1969.
With the change from Hemet to the new courthouse, Riverside Superior Court will have courtrooms for four more judges.
The new Menifee courthouse stands three stories, with gross square footage of 85,010.
Unlike the Hemet courthouse, it has a jury assembly and deliberation rooms, a children’s waiting room, and attorney interview and witness waiting rooms.
The project had an authorization of $95 million, according to the Judicial Council of California.
The Los Angeles architecture firm Perkins + Will designed the building. Vanir Construction Management managed the construction, with Clark Construction Group. Vanir Construction is also responsible for building a 292-cell, 582-bed expansion to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility.
The courthouse site, part of the Menifee Town Center, was selected in 2015. Construction started in December 2021.
Construction was funded by Senate Bill 1407, passed in 2008. The bill authorized $5 billion to construct or renovate 41 courthouses in 34 counties, according to the Judicial Council of California.
Funding came from increased court fees, penalties and assessments.
Read our past coverage:
Groundbreaking planned for two Riverside County courthouses
