Sacramento County criminal court.

If you are looking for a Sacramento County criminal defense attorney, start with the question that matters most: who will actually be handling your case? I am Chris Parkhurst, Esq. I have been defending cases in Sacramento County since 1999, and my State Bar number is 203402. You work with us directly rather than with an intake team or a call center.

What that means in practice is straightforward. I read your file before I tell you what I think of it, I explain what it actually supports, and I give you the realistic range of outcomes rather than the encouraging end of it. For the detail on the charge itself, see criminal defense. To find out what happens next in your case, call.

I've been defending criminal cases in Northern California since 1999, and Sacramento County is one of nine counties I work in. Sacramento County is the largest in the region and where my main office is, at 701 E Street.

My Sacramento office serves Sacramento County — 701 E Street in Sacramento. If you were arrested in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Galt, Carmichael or Antelope, this page covers what happens next. Call (916) 277-8299 for a free case evaluation.

Every criminal case arising in Sacramento County is prosecuted in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, by the Sacramento County District Attorney at 901 G St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-6218.

Sacramento County runs its criminal calendar from more than one facility. The Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse at 720 9th St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 874-5522, is the main criminal courthouse and hears most felony matters. The Carol Miller Justice Center at 301 Bicentennial Cir, Sacramento, CA 95826, (916) 875-7746, handles traffic and part of the misdemeanour calendar.

Which one hears your case depends on the matter, so the date and location printed on your citation or release paperwork is the authority rather than anything on this page. Bring it and I will confirm where you need to be.

That charging decision happens after the arrest, not during it. The DA can file what you were arrested for, file something different, add charges, reduce them, or decline the case entirely. That gap is where I have the most leverage, and it's the stretch most people spend waiting to see what happens.

Knowing how this court runs its criminal calendar and how this District Attorney's office evaluates cases is county-level knowledge. You earn it by being there.

Criminal charges in Sacramento County are violations of California state law punishable by jail, prison, fines or other penalties, ranging from misdemeanours to serious felonies. The District Attorney prosecutes felony cases and most misdemeanours originating here.

Arrests commonly follow traffic stops on Interstate 5, U.S. Route 50, State Route 99 and Interstate 80, DUI enforcement along those corridors, domestic disputes, retail theft allegations and drug possession stops. Which agency responds depends on where you were — city police inside the incorporated cities, the Sheriff elsewhere, and the CHP on the highways.

The consequences of a conviction reach well past the sentence. They create a permanent record affecting employment, housing, professional licences and immigration status.

Sacramento County has these agencies working inside it, and which one arrested you shapes what evidence exists:

• Sacramento Police Department — 5770 Freeport Blvd #200, Sacramento, CA 95822. (916) 808-5471
• Elk Grove Police Department — 8400 Laguna Palms Way, Elk Grove, CA 95758. (916) 478-8000
• Folsom City Police Department — 46 Natoma St, Folsom, CA 95630. (916) 355-7230
• Citrus Heights Police Department — 6315 Fountain Square Dr, Citrus Heights, CA 95621. (916) 727-5500
• Galt City Police Department — 455 Industrial Dr, Galt, CA 95632. (209) 366-7000
• Antelope Police Office — Antelope, CA 95843. (805) 472-6520
• Sacramento County Sheriff's Office — 4500 Orange Grove Ave, Sacramento, CA 95841. (916) 874-5115
• California Highway Patrol — working Interstate 5, U.S. Route 50, State Route 99 and Interstate 80

Rancho Cordova and Carmichael have no city police department. The Sacramento County Sheriff polices them, which means a different agency writes the report even though the court is the same.

The report drives the case. Who wrote it, what equipment they used, whether body-worn footage exists and how the stop was documented all vary by agency, even though the courtroom does not. So when you call, tell me who arrested you.

Someone arrested in Sacramento County is generally booked into Sacramento County Main Jail at 651 I St, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 874-6752.

Two things worth knowing if you're the one making calls rather than the one in custody. Jail phone lines are recorded and those recordings get used in prosecutions, so keep the call to reassurance and logistics. And under California law a relative can ask an attorney to go and visit someone in custody, which means you don't have to wait for them to reach you.

More in what to do when someone you know is arrested.

DUI defense

CHP works Interstate 5, U.S. Route 50, State Route 99 and Interstate 80 through the county, so many Sacramento DUIs arrive with CHP paperwork rather than a city report. Remember a California DUI is two cases: the criminal one here, and a separate DMV proceeding with a 10-day deadline nobody at the roadside will remind you about. See DUI defense.

Domestic violence

An arrest usually brings a criminal protective order before your first appearance, and it can keep you out of your own home. Which section gets charged matters enormously. See domestic violence defense and Penal Code 273.5.

Everything else

Drug charges, theft and property crimes, violent crimes, weapons charges, white collar allegations, juvenile matters and record clearing. See all practice areas.

Knowledge of Sacramento County courts

I appear in Sacramento County's criminal courts and have been practising in Northern California since 1999. Knowing how this court runs its criminal calendar, how this District Attorney's office evaluates cases and what local judges do at sentencing is county-level knowledge, and you earn it by being there rather than reading about it.

Experience with Sacramento County law enforcement

I regularly handle cases involving arrests by the agencies listed above. Different departments use different equipment, keep different body-camera practices and write reports differently. Knowing which is which is how you find the weaknesses in a report.

Understanding Sacramento County

Sacramento County is the largest in the region and where my main office is, at 701 E Street. Most people I represent here have jobs, families and community ties in the county, and those things matter in negotiation and at sentencing.

Accessible to Sacramento County residents

My Sacramento office is at 701 E Street. If the other location is easier for you, I have offices in both Sacramento and Roseville.

1. Immediate case assessment. I read the police report, arrest records and witness statements early, to find the weaknesses before the District Attorney finalises charging decisions.
2. Testing the case. Motions to suppress evidence from an unlawful stop or search, questioning witness credibility, testing whether every element of the charge is actually supported, and identifying constitutional problems.
3. Evidence investigation. Obtaining surveillance and body-worn footage before it's overwritten, interviewing witnesses, and checking agency reports against what the physical evidence shows.
4. Negotiation. Working directly with Sacramento County deputy district attorneys on charge reductions and alternative resolutions. Most criminal cases resolve this way, and the leverage comes from knowing precisely what the file will and won't support.
5. Trial readiness. Where the offer isn't reasonable, taking the case to trial in Sacramento County.
6. Personal attention. You work directly with our attorneys.

I've been licensed in California since 1999, license #203402, with a J.D. from U.C. Hastings and a B.A. from U.C. Davis. I'm admitted in all California state courts and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California.

Our clients work directly with our attorneys, who are personally familiar with every aspect of the case. You'll find no 'one size fits all' approach here. I treat my clients the way I'd want an attorney to treat my mother, if she met with one.

Call (916) 277-8299 before your first court date. Have your citation or booking paperwork ready and the name of the agency that arrested you.