RE:

If you are arrested or cited for DUI, any alcohol related matter, or other serious traffic violation, don't wait to talk to an attorney. The Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend or revoke your license prior to your court hearing. You have no right to a public defender at DMV. In many cases, DMV and court actions remain on your driving record for life, many also stay for at least ten years and can have consequences including: license revocation or suspension, insurance increases and fines in the thousands of dollars, mandatory jail, drunk driving school, and probation. You may even lose your car.  Your record can never be expunged.

        Consequences for multiple offenders, refusals to take chemical tests or minors are even more severe. Don't let DMV or others confuse or stall you. You have many rights and defenses. Convictions, jail sentences, license revocations, interlock devices, and even probation, can be avoided. Many cases result in acquittals or reduction. It is critical that you speak to an attorney immediately. If you have one, call him! If you do not have an attorney, call me!

If you are foolish enough to represent yourself:

       The DMV phone number is on your temporary license endorsement and Order of suspension, as of January 2006, the phone number for DMV in Sacramento is (916) 227-2970.
       When you call DMV in Sacramento, you will encounter numerous tape recordings.  You may encounter long delays and busy signals.  Don't hang up.  When a technician finally answers, be sure and get their name, and write it down with the date and time you called DMV.
       You must tell them that you want to have a DMV hearing called an APS hearing, and that you want an in-person, as opposed to a telephone hearing. DMV will try to convince you that you need no hearing, you have no issues, you have no case, and that you should have a telephone hearing, at most.  Demand your rights and ask for an in-person APS hearing.  Most importantly, ask for a stay of execution on suspension of your driving privilege.  That means, ask them to extend your driving rights until such time as you can have a hearing with DMV. 
       The hearings are usually set in the County where you were arrested.  Although it is sometimes best to hire an attorney for Court from near the County where you are prosecuted, most criminal attorneys, even ones who handle DUI's, are not versed in DMV hearings, because the law is specific, that is different at DMV.  Therefore you should hire an expert in DMV hearings.  In that regard, you can contact this office, or log on to one of the Links, such as the California DUI Lawyers Association, and find an expert in your area. We do telephone DMV Hearings statewide and we will travel to many Northern California Counties for in-person hearings.