At the beginning of 2022, the law regarding DUI diversion changed. DUIs are no longer eligible for diversion in California. Please contact our office with any questions. Email us at abortellaw@gmail.com OR Call us at: (415) 523-7878

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Marin County Is Known For It’s Conservative District Attorney’s Office


Marin County is a much smaller county than San Francisco. It’s about of a third of the size population-wise. Marin County has for years been considered a very liberal county. Yet when it comes to DUIs, the DAs office is extremely conservative, as most DAs offices in San Francisco area are.

Small Towns In Marin County Each Approach The DUI Process Differently

Marin County is a place where there are many different small towns that all have their own police departments so that a number of them do things differently. We can talk about some of the differences between the smaller towns and CHP when it comes to arrests for DUI.

California Highway Patrol Handles Most DUI Arrests In Marin County

But in regards to Marin County and how they move forward when someone has been arrested for a DUI, I think the best approach in looking at this is to look at what happens when someone is arrested first for a DUI in Marin County. Most of the arrests would be done by the California Highway Patrol or CHP.

Most of the arrests happen on Highway 101, which is the only major highway that goes through Marin County. The goes from the Golden Gate Bridge all the way up to Novato. There are some other towns or cities that are further away from Highway 101. Most of CHP’s arrests, like in most counties, are done at night, after people have left the restaurants and the bars heading home or heading through Marin to some location. Many people are coming back from the wine country in Sonoma and they do get arrested for DUIs going through Marin County.

The CHP will typically pull someone over and take them to the Marin County jail which is at the Marin County civic center in San Rafael. It’s part of the Frank Lloyd Wright building. It’s a place where a lot of people don’t know where it is because they just don’t see it. It doesn’t stand out like the jails in other places.

They’ll bring them in and usually have them do a test on a breath machine or a blood test. They’re given a court date, that person arrested is given a court date within the next month or so. Either person arrested or the attorney they hire needs to show up for that court date and enter what I would hope would be a plea of not guilty so that they can start fighting the case.

San Francisco DMV Is Notified After A DUI Arrest in Marin County

Marin County is also under the jurisdiction, for DMV purposes, of the San Francisco DMV, which is the Driver Safety Headquarters in California. The DMV or Department of Motor Vehicles needs to be contacted within 10 days of arrested for a DUI arrest in Marin County.

Aaron Bortel

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