It is located at 210 West Temple Street, between Broadway and Spring Street occupying the former site of the historic Red Sandstone Courthouse from 1891–1936,[3] and prior to that, Los Angeles High School (1873–82), on the former Pound Cake Hill, now flattened.

Originally known as the Criminal Courts Building,[4] in 2002 it was renamed the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, after Clara S. Foltz, the first female lawyer on the West Coast of the United States (and also the first person to propose the creation of a public defender's office).

The building houses the main offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.

High-profile trials are held on the ninth floor of the building, with a secondary screening area in addition to the main screening at the ground floor level.

[7] The eighth and tenth floors are inaccessible from the public elevators and stairwells.