Sacramento DUI Attorney Arrested for DUI? The DMV clock is already ticking.

Arrested for DUI? Start with the 10-day deadline

You probably went home with paperwork: a date to appear in court, and often an order suspending your license. That order also works as a temporary license for 30 days from the arrest. If you didn’t get one, the DMV may send it later.

If you miss those 10 days, the suspension starts on its own when the temporary license runs out. Getting a hearing after that is difficult. One of the most common mistakes I see is waiting until the 10 days have passed before calling.

When you hire me, asking for your DMV hearing is the first thing I do, because it’s usually the most pressing deadline in the case. Within the first few days, you’ll get a quick update from me. If your case has already started, you can still hire me, including to take over a DMV hearing that’s already been scheduled.

Two cases: court and DMV

• The court case. This is the criminal case. It decides whether you have a DUI conviction, and things like probation, fines, a DUI program, and jail. In Sacramento, misdemeanor DUIs are heard in Department 5A of the new downtown courthouse at 500 G Street.
• The DMV case. This one is only about your license, with its own hearing, its own deadline, and its own decision maker. The DMV can suspend your license before the court case is over.

A win in one usually doesn’t carry over to the other. Even if the court case ends with a lower charge, the DMV’s suspension from the arrest still stands unless the DMV case goes your way too. That’s why I handle both and plan them together.

In almost every misdemeanor DUI case, I go to court for you at every hearing, and you don’t have to go. I call you afterward with an update.

Your DMV hearing

My clients usually don’t attend their DMV hearing. Sometimes I need your testimony, but often anything you say there only works against you, so the better plan is usually for you to stay home and let me handle it.

The hearing is run by a DMV hearing officer: a DMV employee, not a judge, and not required to be a lawyer. The same hearing officer puts the DMV’s evidence into the record and then decides your case. In my experience, it’s a setup that too often rubber-stamps the suspension.

Here’s how I handle it. When the facts are on your side, I ask the DMV to set aside the suspension before the hearing ever takes place. When they aren’t, I hold the DMV to its own rules. These hearings come with technical procedural rules, and they aren’t always followed. When one isn’t, I make sure it’s on the record.

That record matters, because the hearing officer doesn’t have the last word. Within 30 days of the DMV’s decision, you can file a writ, an appeal asking a superior court judge to review the hearing. The judge reviews the record of the DMV hearing, so I build that record with a judge in mind. Filing a writ doesn’t put the suspension on hold.

A writ comes with its own costs, including the court’s filing fee and the hearing transcript. If the judge finds the DMV’s decision was arbitrary or capricious, the judge can order the DMV to pay back some or all of the legal fees you paid for the writ, up to $7,500 (Government Code 800).

Three questions in every DUI

Every DUI comes down to three questions, and many of the same questions come up in the DMV case.

1. Was the stop lawful?

Police need a lawful reason to pull you over and a lawful basis for the investigation that follows. If they didn’t have one, a motion to suppress can throw out the evidence, and sometimes the whole case.

2. Can they prove you were driving?

Often no one saw you drive. Police find someone asleep in a parked car and suspect they just pulled over, but can’t prove it. Or there’s a collision with two people in the car and no clear driver. If they can’t show you were driving, that’s strong leverage.

3. Can they prove you were impaired?

This is the most common issue. Most alcohol DUI arrests bring two charges: driving under the influence, which can be charged even below 0.08%, and driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher. (Lawyers call these 23152(a) and 23152(b), after the Vehicle Code sections.) Driving under the influence of drugs, including prescription and recreational drugs, is a separate charge under the same law. Being under 0.08% is always better, whether the goal is winning outright or a better resolution.

The accuracy, reliability, and timing of the test results are most often the biggest issue. Some of the issues I look at:

• Margin of error. Every test has one, and it’s usually larger for breath than for blood.
• Rising blood alcohol. Your level when tested can be higher than it was when you were driving.
• The blood draw. Whether the sample was handled properly to preserve it, and whether the draw itself was constitutional.
• The breath machine. Its calibration and maintenance records from before and after your test, which the law requires.
• The 15-minute wait. California rules require a 15-minute waiting period before a breath test, with no eating, drinking, smoking, or vomiting. I check whether it really happened.

What the body camera shows

When there’s body camera video, I usually review it closely. It often shows things said differently than the police report describes, or left out of it.

That matters most when you’re accused of refusing a test. A refusal brings tougher penalties in court and a one-year DMV suspension for a first refusal, with no restricted license. The DMV and the courts often rely on one form where the officer checks a box saying the refusal warning was read to you. Often the video tells a different story than the forms.

What a first DUI can mean

A DUI carries a range of consequences set by law, each with a minimum and a maximum. For a first DUI where no one was hurt:

• Probation of at least three years.
• A DUI program of at least 3 months, or at least 9 months at 0.20% or higher or after a refusal.
• A fine that starts at about $2,000 once the added penalty assessments and fees are included.
• Jail, the widest range: as little as 2 days, up to 6 months. Aggravating factors, like a high blood alcohol level or a child in the car, can add time quickly.
• A license suspension from the DMV, after the arrest and again after a conviction.

What I aim for, in order

First: a dismissal

I’d be lying if I told you that hiring me guarantees a dismissal. Early on, there often isn’t enough information to predict how a case will end. But dismissal is always the first goal, and the three questions above are where I look for it.

Second: a reduction to reckless driving

The two most common reductions are a “wet reckless” (reckless driving, with alcohol noted on the record) and a “dry reckless” (plain reckless driving). These are lesser crimes with much lighter consequences:

• No license suspension from the reduced charge. If the DMV case also goes your way, you may not need a restricted license at all.
• Often no jail, a much smaller fine, and a shorter class. A dry reckless may need no class at all.
• Shorter probation, often about a year instead of three.

Shorter probation means you can ask the court to dismiss the conviction (an expungement) sooner, after about a year instead of three, which helps with jobs and background checks. Why a clean record matters. One catch: a wet reckless still counts as a prior if you get another DUI within 10 years.

Third: keeping the punishment small

Sometimes the evidence is strong: a lawful stop, clear driving, and a reliable test well over the limit. Then I work to:

• Keep jail time minimal, and served outside of jail on a work project or home detention, or covered by credit for time served.
• Keep the fine low, or convert it into a few extra days of work project or home detention instead.
• Get you the 3-month class instead of a longer one.
• Avoid extra jail for aggravating factors such as speeding, a high blood alcohol level, or a child in the car.

I like to say a DUI should be a speed bump in the road of your life, not a dead end. It’s a pain, and there are hoops to jump through. But it doesn’t have to ruin your life, and the record can be cleared. When you become eligible, I typically clear it for you at no additional charge. I don’t just wait for “automatic” relief, which often doesn’t happen. Clearing it helps with jobs and background checks, but a DUI still counts as a prior if you get another one within 10 years.

Your side of the story

Every case comes down to two things: can they prove it, and who you are. Even with a high test result, your story matters. No record and a steady job go a long way, and so do steps you take now, like a class, counseling, or AA. Doing that work isn’t admitting guilt. I attack the case with every defense available while showing the prosecutor you deserve some leniency, and if it’s too early to concede anything, I hold your work back until it will help. How I handle criminal cases.

Your license

Many first DUIs bring a four-month DMV suspension. It starts when the 30-day temporary license runs out. If you ask for a hearing within 10 days and the DMV can’t decide your case before then, it has to put the suspension on hold until it does.

Even if a suspension takes effect, you may be able to keep driving. First-offense drivers 21 and older who took the chemical test can usually choose between two DMV restricted licenses:

• An ignition interlock restriction, available as soon as the suspension starts. You can drive anywhere, in a car with an ignition interlock device (a breath tester that has to be passed before the car will start). It requires an interlock in every vehicle registered to you, enrolling in a DUI program, an SR-22 insurance filing, and a DMV fee.
• A work and DUI-program restriction, available after 30 days with no driving.

A DUI conviction in court brings its own separate suspension, with its own restricted-license options.

Sometimes the win isn’t beating the DMV or the court outright. It’s working around the suspension so it costs you as little as possible: the right timing, the right restricted license, and a way to keep getting to work. That’s often where my help matters most.

Second DUI, third DUI, or felony DUI

Penalties go up for a second DUI within 10 years, and more for a third. A DUI can be charged as a felony in cases like these:

• A DUI where someone other than the driver was hurt (Vehicle Code 23153).
• A fourth DUI within 10 years (Vehicle Code 23550).
• A DUI within 10 years of a prior felony DUI (Vehicle Code 23550.5).

These can also be charged as misdemeanors. A felony DUI is where the penalties become very real, including state prison in some cases. You’ll need to be at the main hearings, at the Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice at 651 I Street, often just called the jail courthouse.

My fee for a misdemeanor DUI is the same whether it’s your first or a repeat. See my fees.

DUI Treatment Court

When a repeat DUI can’t be beaten on the legal defense, Sacramento’s DUI Treatment Court can be a good path: a rigorous program of about 18 months for people facing repeat DUI charges and serious consequences. Participants get treatment, don’t drink, and come back to court regularly for progress checks, sometimes every two weeks. Finishing it can mean avoiding much of what a repeat DUI would otherwise bring, especially time in custody. It’s a chance at redemption, and many of my clients who went through it are glad they did.

It isn’t automatic: you have to be accepted, and the DA has a big say in who gets in. DUI Treatment Court has limited space, and the team wants participants who will finish. I go to every progress hearing with my clients and support the whole program, and the DA knows my clients take it seriously. That matters when I ask for you to be accepted, though every case is decided on its own. Once you’re in, I’m your cheerleader, and your advocate if something goes wrong.

Not a U.S. citizen? Tell me at the start. Some results that look good on paper can still cause immigration problems, and I plan around that.

Questions