Sacramento County Courts and DMV

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This page brought to you by Denis White, Esq.

SACRAMENTO DUI HELP CLINIC

Parking meters around the court house are limited to two hours. The City of Sacramento is actively monitoring them to see if you have gone over your time limit. A ticket for being in the same spot, or even on the same block, for more than two hours is $44.50. There are two public lots where you can pay when you leave, so that you don’t have to worry about a ticket if your appearance takes longer than two hours. There is a two level parking garage that takes up the entire block between 7th and 8th Streets and “G” and “H” Streets. The public entrance is on the left side of “G” Street just before 7th Street. The other garage is in the alley directly in front of the court house fountain on 9th Street and can be accessed from 9th Street or 10th Street.

The court has metal detectors at both entrances. The one at the West entrance is slightly more sensitive. In any event, to avoid the embarrassment of holding up the line, think about what you are taking with you to court. The sheriff will send you back to your car, even if you are running late for court, if you have small knives, cosmetic scissors, nail clippers and anything else they think might be used as a weapon. Clothing items with heavier metal pieces like belts, zippers, buttons and shoes with steel toes or supports will probably set the machine off. Don’t touch the sides of the machine as you walk through it, as that sets it off as well.

Department 2, the misdemeanor DUI court, opens at 8:30am. Try to get there early and check the court calendar, to the right of the double doors, to make sure your name is listed. If it is on the calendar, go in and take a seat. There are 92 chairs in this courtroom. It is not unusual for it to be very crowded. I suggest to people that intend to go to court alone that they take an aisle seat as far forward as possible. That way when the Judge tells people to line up you will avoid the unnecessary delay of being last in line. The sooner the court is able to call your case, however you intend to proceed, the sooner you’ll be able to get out of there.

From your seat in the courtroom, the lineup of people in front of the railing is as follows: The Judge is against the back wall in the center, behind an elevated desk. Below and in front of him are two Court Clerks that handle all the courts paperwork. To your far right is a Bailiff, whose job it is to assist the court in maintaining order. There is a double wide table in the center of the room in front of the two Court Clerks. On your left are attorneys or interns from the District Attorney’s office. On the right side, you will see attorneys or interns from the Public Defender’s office.

If your name is not on the calendar, let the Bailiff know and he/she will tell you what to do. It may mean that the District Attorney has declined to press charges or they haven’t made a filing decision for some reason. It is possible that your case is being heard in another court in error. You can also go to Room 102 on the first floor of the courthouse and ask one of the clerks to look up your name, to see where you should be. My suggestion is that you try to get some direction from the Bailiff first, so that you don’t miss any of the information shared in the first thirty minutes after the doors open.

The Bailiff will give a speech that will last from about 8:30 to 8:45am. and should answer most questions about how things will proceed on the morning calendar. If you think you need an interpreter, tell the Bailiff and arrangements will be made. The court has access to interpreters for all the most common foreign languages and will make arrangements for others as needed.

When the Bailiff finishes with his/her speech, a Public Defender will call roll to see which of their current clients are present. They will then begin making contact with them individually to talk about their cases.

From 8:30am on you will see Private Attorneys coming and going. In most instances the law allows us to appear for our clients and we don’t ask them to be present.

At about 9:00am the Judge will enter the courtroom. Private attorney matters are usually handled at the front end of the calendar, as it is common for us to have appearances in other courts as well. If there are any private attorney cases that are resolving the Judge likes to use these pleas as a way to help explain what you might expect. The Judge will then, in a general way, go over your rights as they pertain to criminal cases, share with you the standard penalties for certain offenses and will talk about your options regarding sentencing.

Once the Judge finishes his/her speech it will be somewhere between 9:15am and 9:30am. Most often you will be called up in groups made up of the first letter of your last name, like names beginning with A-M then N-Z.

When you get to the front of the line it’s all about YOU, so listen closely. The Bailiff will read your name to the Judge, who will then tell you what crimes you are charged with. He will ask the District Attorney what their offer is, so that you know what the punishment will be if you enter a plea. Your choices are as follows: enter a plea, in which case the District Attorney will hand you a plea form, which you will take outside the courtroom to fill out. You will be told to return it to the Bailiff after you are done, so the court can call your case. You can ask for a Public Defender, in which case you’ll be asked to take a seat until someone from that office calls your name to talk to you. Until recently, the judge would ask how you support yourself. If you made more than about $1600.00 you were expected to hire a private attorney. If you had children or others you supported financially, that figure might be higher. On the date of the writing of this article, the Judge made no such inquiry. He simply said that at the end of your case, supposing you used a Public Defender, there would be an evaluation of your ability to pay. Lastly, you can ask for a continuance to consult with a Private Attorney. The court will give you two or three weeks to return with a Private Attorney.

Don’t get ambushed. There is a current trend by the District Attorney and Judge to insist on bail reviews where persons are accused of a DUI with priors or other aggravating facts. Where that is anticipated it may be a good idea to make contact with a reputable bondsman in advance of court, just in case.

The court does not deal with the DMV or issues of license suspensions and restrictions on a regular basis. Do not rely on the advice of the court if you have concerns in this area. This morning the court, with all the best intentions, gave incorrect information to an under 21 year old driver regarding a “Critical Need Restriction” and equally bad information to another driver about a restriction that would allow this first offender to drive from Sacramento to San Francisco for school.

It is difficult or impossible to give advice without the specific facts of a case. If you are uncomfortable with the reason law enforcement came into contact with you, trust your instincts and seek legal advice. Blood alcohol test results are not always correct. The blood draw is done by a person that may or may not be qualified to do so. The blood is analyzed by yet another person at a separate location. Breath testing devices are machines that rely on people to make sure they are operating as designed. Police reports are written by people that have to justify why they made the decision to arrest you. In all these instances people are involved. People make mistakes. Have they made any in your case? While I know what you really want is great results, at the front end you may need to be satisfied with the peace of mind provided by having a lawyer that deals with this area of law looking out for your interests.