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SAN
FRANCISCO
DUI LAW CENTER
An Informational Guide
to the Prosecution, Defense and Sentencing Practices in the Superior
Court of San Francisco County, California
 Things have changed a lot in the way that California
DUI prosecutions are handled by the San Francisco District Attorney’s
Office. For years, misdemeanor drunk
driving cases were randomly assigned to one of four or five different departments
at the criminal Hall of Justice building at 850 Bryant
Street.
Now, all misdemeanor DUI cases are assigned to
Department 17 on the Second Floor on Bryant Street. The calendar is tightly controlled by Judge
Donna Little and the second court appearance usually mandates the defendant’s
personal appearance with a date no more than 30 days away (often shorter). Sentencing offers are much tougher than they
used to be, and they are sometimes withdrawn if not accepted by the second
court appearance. Failure to accept a
proposed disposition by the second court appearance may trigger an increase on
the terms of the sentencing offer. If
you proceed to trial and you lose, you are likely to face what defense
attorneys refer to as a “trial tax” (an increase in punishment for exercising
your constitutional right to a trial).
The key to handling a DUI charge in San
Francisco is to retain a lawyer who specializes in this field and has good
experience in dealing with the San Francisco prosecutors and judges. Ideally, you want a Board Certified DUI defense
attorney who will intelligently and realistically evaluate your case and give
you professional advice and representation.
Not all cases should be set for trial, but not all offers should be
accepted without counter proposals and terms.
You want an attorney who fully understands the
ramifications of a DUI conviction and how the California DMV treats a drunk
driving conviction. If you have one or more prior convictions for DUI or DWI
(some states refer to it as "driving while impaired"), you want an attorney
who is knowledgeable about the ways to attack prior convictions and the
sufficiency of out-of-state convictions.
The area of DUI defense has become increasingly
technical over the years, and you want a lawyer who is up on the most recent
developments in this field. Feel free to review the contents of this entire
website for further information about DUI prosecution and defense in San
Francisco. You may wish to order a copy of California
Drunk Driving Law, a two-volume treatise co-authored by two of
California's most pre-eminent DUI defense lawyers (one of whom has an office in
San Francisco). You do not have to be an attorney to order this book---just go
to www.jamespublishing.com/books/cddl.htm and they
will overnight it to you for $129.00 plus S&H.
San Francisco Superior
Court
S.F.
Hall of Justice
San
Francisco Police Department
San
Francisco County Sheriff
San
Francisco District Attorney
San
Francisco County Crime Lab
San
Francisco DMV Office
Court fines, fees, and
assessments that may arise from a drunk driving conviction include
vehicle towing and storage; booking, fingerprinting and photo; driver’s
license reinstatement; car insurance increase; community service fee;
DUI victims’ fund; alcohol abuse education fund; DUI classes; DUI
victim’s impact sessions; and time payment charges.
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