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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When Will I Have My First Court Appearance If I Was Arrested On New Year’s Eve?


The date of your first court appearance after an arrest on New Year’s Eve will depend on the county. If you’re in Marin County, which is north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, your court date will usually be within three to four weeks depending on the arresting agency, but a month out is pretty standard. If the arrest happened in San Francisco, the appearance is often scheduled within two weeks. Depending on the arresting agency, it can be scheduled sooner. Other counties, like San Mateo County, may take two or three months. Napa and Sonoma County usually schedule appearances within a month or two. Arrests that occur over a holiday are given the same treatment as any other arrests in regard to a court appearance date. It is important to remember that you will have a court date, and you should hire a DUI lawyer to represent you. Your DUI lawyer, in most cases, can show up to court without you having to be there for that first court appearance.

After a DUI arrest, the officer will take your license and hand you a pink temporary license that you can use to drive for 30 days. You will also have ten days to request an administrative per se DMV hearing. Your attorney can request the administrative per se DMV hearing within ten days on your behalf as well. Requesting the administrative per se DMV hearing will allow you to drive for more than 30 days. By requesting a hearing with the DMV within ten days of your arrest, your privilege to drive gets extended until the case is over. A knowledgeable DUI lawyer knows how the Department of Motor Vehicle works, and how the administrative per se hearings work. They will be able to give you the best defense possible at the hearing, and also help continue your hearing to keep it in line with the court case.

How Many Days Do I Have To Fight My License Suspension If I Was Charged With DUI Over The Holidays?

In California, if you’re arrested for a DUI, the issue regarding license suspension is handled by the Department of Motor Vehicle and not the court. The DMV will give you a pink sheet of paper when your license is taken. The pink paper will instruct you to request an administrative per se hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles within ten days or your license will be suspended within 30 days. It is important to note that the request must be submitted within ten days from the date of your arrest. 10 days means 10 days from the date of your arrest. For example, if you were issued the pink piece of paper on the 31st of December, day one would be January 1st, and day ten would be January 10th.

If you personally request the hearing with the DMV, you can call or fax them to set a date. If you fax the request, make sure to get it to the date stamped, and call their office to verify that they received your fax. If you hire an attorney, they can request the hearing on your behalf. Our firm will not only fax over the request with a date stamp within ten days, but we will also make copies, keep one and send the other one by mail to the DMV. The request will allow you to drive beyond the 30-day temporary license.

For more information on DUI 1st Appearance In The Holiday Season, a FREE case evaluation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (415) 523-7878 today.

Aaron Bortel

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