This guide provides essential information on the legal process for handling misdemeanor DUI charges in Sacramento County, detailing the implications of DMV hearings and court proceedings. It emphasizes the importance of consulting an attorney and outlines steps following an arrest, including license suspension and court arraignment. Furthermore, it discusses potential defenses, plea options, and the trial process for DUI cases.

1. Sacramento County Misdemeanor DUI Guide
Introduction
SacramentoCountyiscracking downondrivingunderthe influence. InNovemberof 2016, the
SacramentoCountyDistrictAttorneyreceivedagrantof justover$700,000 from the CaliforniaOffice of
TrafficSafetyto prosecute drunkdriversinSacramentoCounty. Therefore,youshouldhave aworking
knowledge of the Sacramentolegalprocessif youare chargedwitha misdemeanorDUI. This guide
providesjustthat.
Attorney Disclaimer
DefendingagainstDUIchargesisextremelycomplicated. Thisguide isnotintendedtoconstitute legal
advice,noris thisan exhaustive resource onDUIs. Also,bearinmindthatthisguide dealsspecifically
withmisdemeanorDUIsinSacramento, notfelonies. If youhave anyspecificquestions,you should
contact a local SacramentoDUI lawyer. Mostattorneysofferfree consultationsandare happyto
answerquestions.
DMV and Your License
There’sthree ways youcan lose yourlicense afterbeingarrestedforDUI:
1. FailingtorequestaDMV AdministrativePerSe (APS) Hearing
2. Losingan APSHearing
3. Gettingconvictedincourt
Therefore,the firstthingyoushoulddoafterbeingreleasedfromcustodyiscall the SacramentoDriver
SafetyOffice andrequestanAPShearing. The SacramentoDriverSafetyOffice canbe reachedat (916)
227-2970. If you do notcontact the DriverSafetyOffice withintendaysof yourarrest,yourlicense will
be automaticallysuspendedthirtydaysfromthe date of yourarrest. If youdo requestthe APShearing,
any administrative suspensionfromthe DMV will be stayed(ordelayed) until if/whenyoulose yourAPS
hearing.
If you winyourAPShearing,yourlicense willnotbe administrativelysuspendedbythe DMV. However,
your license maystill be suspendedif youare convictedincourt. AnAPShearingloss on a firstDUI,
however, triggersafour-monthlicensesuspension:thirtydaysof nodrivingfollowedbythree monthsof
a restrictedlicense. Inorderto geta restrictedlicense inSacramentoCounty,youmustprovideDMV
with:
1. Proof of insurance (referredtoasa SR-22)
2. Proof of enrollmentinanapprovedalcohol class
3. Proof of installationof anignitioninterlockdevice
If you do lose yourlicense,itwill notbe fullyreinstateduntil youcomplete youralcohol class.

2. The First CourtDate
AfterrequestingaDMV APShearing,yourfocusshouldbe on yourfirstcourt date. The firstcourt date
isreferredtoas an arraignment. The purpose of the arraignmentisto make youaware of what youare
chargedwith.
You will likelybe chargedwith:
1. Vehicle Code (VC) 23152(a)
2. VC23152(b)
People oftenask:whyamI chargedwithtwodifferent VCsectionsforone DUI? While the DA will
charge youwithbothsections,youcan onlybe punishedforone of them. VC23152(b) requiresthe DA
to prove that youdrove witha bloodalcohol concentration(BAC) of .08%. Clients tendtobe less
familiarwithVC23152(a), however. UnderVC23152(a), the DA mustprove that youdrove “Under the
Influence.” Toprove that youdrove “Under the Influence,”the DA mustshow that youcouldnot drive
withthe cautionof a soberperson. Therefore,youcouldbe charged withandconvictedof VC23152(a)
evenif yourBAC wasbelow.08%.
If you can affordto hire an attorney,itiswise tocontact a local SacramentoCountyDUI attorneybefore
the arraignment. Hiringa private attorneypriortoyour arraignment isa goodideaforthe following
reasons:
1. You won’thave to showupto court;
2. It ensuresthatthe administrativeactiontakenbythe DMV onyour license ishandledproperly;
3. It allowsthe attorneytohitthe ground runninganduse the DMV subpoenaprocesstoobtain
discoverybefore the arraignment.
Dependingonthe factsof your case,the DA may requestthatthe court setbail. While thisgenerally
doesn’thappenona firstDUI, itis a commonoccurrence if it isa secondor thirdoffense. Inthe event
that the DA requestsbail,youwill needtoshow upforcourt. Your attorneywill have the opportunityto
argue that you shouldn’thave topostbail at all,or thatthe amountshouldatleastbe reduced.
It isgenerallygoodpractice to contact a bondsmanaheadof time and have themattendthe
arraignmentinthe eventthatthe court setsbail. Thisway,the bondsmancanpost yourbondin court
withoutyouhavingtogo intocustody. If youhave a private attorney,youtypicallyhave to paya
bondsman8% of the total bail amount. Otherwise,itisusually10%. Eitherway,youare generallyable
to workout paymentplans.
If you cannot affordtohire a private attorney,youshouldrequesttodiscussyourcase witha Public
Defender.
SacramentoDUI arraignmentsare handledinDepartmentsone and twoonthe firstfloorof the
SacramentoSuperiorCourt. The court islocatedat 720 9th
StreetinDowntownSacramento.

3. After the Arraignment
Afterthe arraignment,yourcase will likelybe continuedatleastamonthto allow yourattorneyto
obtainevidence tosupportyourdefense (assumingtheyhaven’talready). Thiscanbe accomplishedin
one of twoways:
1. A DMV Subpoena
2. DA DiscoveryRequest
It’stypically lessof aheadache to senda DMV subpoenadirectlytothe arrestingagencytoobtainthe
evidence relatedtoyourcase. Some of the evidencethatshouldbe obtainedincludes,butisnotlimited
to:
 Anyvideothatwas generated. Thisincludes,butisnotlimitedto: police dashboardcamera
footage,footage fromthe cameralocatedinthe backseatof the cruiser,bodycamfootage,and
any footage fromthe jail;
 Maintenance andcalibrationlogsassociatedwithanybreathtestmachine usedduringthe
police’sinvestigation
 Radar/Lidarlogsif you were pulledoverforspeeding
Obtainingthisevidence allowsyourattorneytoevaluatewhetherornotthe DA will be able toprove
theircase. At the veryleast,gatheringthisevidence typically givesanattorneyabasisto negotiate a
betterresolutionwiththe DA. Inthe best-case scenario,gatheringthisevidence resultsinthe dismissal
of yourcharges.
Should YouAttend Your DUI Trial?
If the DA isunwillingtodismissyourcase,you will have todecide between acceptingthe DA’sofferand
resolvingyourcase orgoingto trial. Whetheryoushouldresolveyourcase orgo to trial dependsonthe
facts of your case. Commontrial defensesinclude:
1. Risingbloodalcohol defense
2. No drive defense
3. Drinkafterdrive defense
Bear inmindthat there are alsoa numberof pre-trial motionsthatcanbe exploredbyyourattorneyto
have evidence suppressedandyourcase potentiallydismissed. However,like the decisiontogoto trial,
the viabilityof saidmotionsisdependentonthe factsof your case.
If You Decide to Resolve Your DUI Case
If you decide nottogo to trial andaccept the DA’sofferto resolve yourcase,youwill enterapleaof “No
Contest.” A “No Contest”pleahasthe same legal effectasa guiltyplea,butthe pleacannotbe used
againstyouin a civil proceeding. Acceptingthe DA’sofferwill subjectyoutothe followingpunishment:
1. $2,400 fine
2. 3 yearsof informal probation
3. A minimumof twodays’countyjail
4. 3, 6, or 9-monthalcohol program

4. 5. License suspension
Informal probationdoesn’tincludehavingaprobationofficeroranythingof that nature;it’ssimply
probationthroughthe court. The conditionsinclude:
1. Do not drive withoutavalidlicenseorvalidinsurance
2. Do not drive withanymeasurable amountof alcohol inyoursystem
3. Submittotestingaskedforby a peace officerwithorwithoutprobable cause
4. Obeyall laws
To be clear,havinga .01% BAC wouldconstitute aviolationof yourinformal probation. Also,onafirst
DUI in Sacramento,youcan applyto one of the SacramentoSheriff’salternativesentencingprogramsto
complete any“time”youreceive aspartof yoursentence. However,secondandthirdDUIsrequire
mandatoryincustodytime,andthere isguarantee that the Sheriff willacceptyouintotheiralternative
sentencingprogramona firstDUI. Finally,how highyourBACisdictateshow longyour alcohol program
will be.
Once you enteryourplea,youmustheadto Room 102 to fill out paperwork.
If you Decide to go to Trial
If you and yourattorneysetyour case for trial,youwill have twocourtdatesset:
1. Trial ReadinessConference (TRC)
2. JuryTrial Date
The TRC will be heldinthe same courtroomas yourarraignmentona Fridaymorningat 8:30 AM. The
purpose of a TRC is to give the DA and your attorneyone final chance tosee if the case can be resolved
insteadof goingto trial. If the DA is notwillingtoextendanofferyou’re willingtoaccept,the trial date
will simplybe confirmed.
If your trial date is confirmed,youwillbe senttoDepartmentnine. FromDepartmentnine,youwillbe
assignedtothe judge thatwill preside overyourtrial. However,there isaverystrongchance that you
will notbe assignedtoa judge onthe firstdate youshow up for trial. Once bothsidesdeclare “ready”
for trial,there isa ten-daywindow foryourtrial togetsentout to a judge. Othercasesthat are closer
to the tenthday are givenpreference overcaseswithlowerdaycounts. Thus,because youare onlyday
zeroof tenon yourfirstcourt date,it islikelythatyouwill notgetsentoutto a judge until the secondor
thirdtime youshowup to court for trial.
A typical DUI trial lasts2-3 days. The trial will beginwithjuryselectionor“VoirDire.” Juryselection
allowsyourattorneytoask prospective jurorsquestionstohelpdetermine theirabilitytoserve asan
impartial jurorinyourcase. Once a juryisselected,openingstatementswillbe given,followedbythe
DistrictAttorney’scase. Yourattorneywill have the opportunitytocrossexamineall of the District
Attorney’switnessesduringtheircase. Afterthe DistrictAttorneypresents theircase,yourattorneywill
presentevidence insupportof yourdefense. The trial will thenconclude withclosingstatements,
followedbyjurydeliberationsandaverdict.

5. About the Author – DUI Attorney Ryan T. Kocot
Ryan isa Sacramentotrial attorneywhose practice focusesonDUI defense. Hisoffice islocatedin
DowntownSacramentoacrossthe streetforthe SacramentoSuperiorCourtat901 H St., #125A. If you
have any questions,he canbe contactedviaemail at RyanKocotLaw@gmail.com orat(916) 572-6445.