The deadline nobody tells you about.
A California DUI is two separate cases. One is criminal, and a Carmichael arrest is heard in Sacramento County. The other is administrative, run by the DMV, and it decides whether you keep your licence.
The DMV case has a 10-day deadline from the date of arrest to request a hearing. It runs whether or not you have spoken to anyone. If that window closes without a request, the suspension proceeds without anyone putting your side of it.
If you are inside those ten days, call now and we will deal with the rest afterwards. (916) 277-8299.
How to choose a DUI attorney in Carmichael.
I'm Chris Parkhurst, Esq., State Bar number 203402, and I've been defending DUI cases in Northern California since 1999. You work with us directly rather than with an intake team.
In my opinion the question worth asking any attorney is simply whether they have appeared in the courthouse your case is going to, and how recently. For Carmichael that is Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse. Knowing how that court runs its calendar and how that District Attorney's office evaluates a DUI is county-level knowledge, and you earn it by being there.
What you've actually been charged with.
Most California DUI arrests are charged under Vehicle Code section 23152. Whether it is a misdemeanour or a felony depends on your record and on whether anyone was injured — an injury allegation moves it to a different section entirely.
I am not going to set out penalty ranges here, because the range that applies to you depends on facts I would need to read. For how the charge works, see DUI defense. For your licence, see licence suspension. If you hold a commercial licence the threshold is lower and the consequence is your job — see DUI and the commercial driver.
Who stopped you in Carmichael.
Carmichael is unincorporated, so there is no city force — the Sheriff patrols it, and a Carmichael arrest produces a Sheriff's report rather than a city one.
The agencies working here:
- Sacramento County Sheriff's Office — Carmichael has no city police department, so the Sheriff patrols it
- California Highway Patrol — working Interstate 5 and Interstate 80
The report drives the case. Who wrote it, what equipment they used, whether body-worn footage exists and how field sobriety testing was recorded all vary by agency, even though the courtroom does not. So when you call, tell me who stopped you and where.
Where a Carmichael case is heard.
Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse
720 9th St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-5522
Prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney, 901 G St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-6218.
Someone arrested here is generally booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, 651 I St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-6752.
That charging decision happens after the arrest, not during it, and the gap before filing is where the most can usually be done. For the wider county picture see Sacramento County.
What I look at first.
- The DMV request. If the ten days are still open, that gets done before anything else.
- The reason for the stop. Whether there was a lawful basis to pull you over at all is where a surprising number of these cases turn.
- The testing. Breath and blood results depend on equipment, calibration, timing and procedure. Each of those is checkable.
- The report itself. What it says, what it leaves out, and whether it matches the footage.
- Your record and your job. What a good outcome looks like is not the same for everyone, and a commercial licence changes it completely.
Around Carmichael.
My Sacramento office is at 701 E Street, and I appear in Sacramento County. In many cases I appear for you and you do not have to be there at all.
Other places I serve in this county:
Carmichael covers ZIP codes 95608 and 95609, with a population of around 81,833. If you were stopped near Jensen Botanical Garden, Ancil Hoffman Park or Carmichael Park, or anywhere on the through-roads, that is the ground this page covers. Tell me the cross street when you call — where exactly you were stopped decides which agency wrote the report, and sometimes which county files the case.
Carmichael questions I hear most.
How long do I have after a Carmichael DUI arrest?
Ten days from the arrest to request a DMV hearing. That is separate from the criminal case, it runs on its own clock, and nobody at the roadside is required to remind you. Miss it and the suspension proceeds with nobody arguing your side. See the DMV hearing.
Where is a Carmichael DUI case heard?
At Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse, 720 9th St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-5522. Prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney.
Who would have arrested me in Carmichael?
An Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy — Carmichael has no police department of its own. On Interstate 5 and Interstate 80 it may have been the CHP. Different agency, different report.
Where would I be booked?
Generally the Sacramento County Main Jail, 651 I St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-6752.
Is a DUI always a misdemeanour?
No. It depends on your record and on whether anyone was injured. Which section gets charged changes the exposure substantially. See felony DUI.
What will it cost?
It depends on the charge, whether it resolves before filing and whether it goes to trial. I quote a flat fee for a defined scope, agreed in writing before you pay anything. The consultation is free.
Being arrested is one of the more frightening things that happens to people, and the waiting afterwards is often worse than the arrest. I treat my clients the way I would want an attorney to treat my mother, if she met with one.
Call (916) 277-8299. The consultation is free.
