duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- Most criminal cases are heard at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St.; some at 400 McAllister St. and at the Community Justice Center, 575 Polk St.
- The court names driving under the influence as an example of a serious traffic misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail.
- The daily criminal calendar is on a monitor outside Room 101, Monday to Friday.
- The DA says it can only ethically file with enough admissible evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
- A court dashboard note (December 12, 2025) says the Public Defender began declaring itself unavailable for new cases on May 7, 2025.
- 10 days to request the DMV hearing.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from California Department of Motor Vehicles. The request goes to the DMV, not to the court, and no judge in City and County of San Francisco will make it for you. Cal. Veh. Code § 13558(b).
San Francisco is a city and a county at once, and its Superior Court hears criminal cases mainly in one building: the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St., between 6th and 7th Streets. The court’s criminal division page gives driving under the influence as an example of the serious traffic violations that are charged as misdemeanors, punishable by a fine, up to a year in county jail, or both.
This page covers what is particular to the city: where the case is heard, how the District Attorney decides whether to file, the steps a misdemeanor goes through, and what the court itself has published about appointed counsel. California’s penalties, DUI program lengths and interlock rules are on the California DUI law page.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
Where a San Francisco DUI is heard
The court states that criminal cases are heard at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St., with some heard at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister St., and at the Community Justice Center, 575 Polk St. To find the department, it points to the daily criminal and traffic calendar on the electronic monitor outside Room 101, Monday to Friday, or the Clerk’s Office at 415-551-0651.
Hall of Justice
- Hears
- Most criminal cases: infractions, misdemeanors such as DUI, and felonies
- Building
- Hall of Justice, between 6th and 7th Streets
- Address
- 850 Bryant St., San Francisco, CA 94103
- Detail
- The daily criminal and traffic calendar is shown on a monitor outside Room 101, Monday to Friday
- Phone
- 415-551-0651 (Criminal Clerk’s Office)
- Why it matters
- Some criminal cases are heard at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister St., and at the Community Justice Center, 575 Polk St.
San Francisco District Attorney
- Role
- Reviews police reports and files the complaint
- Building
- North Building, Suite 400N
- Address
- 350 Rhode Island St., San Francisco, CA 94103
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Phone
- 628-652-4000
The court notes that the San Francisco County Jail is run by the Sheriff’s Department, not the court, and that questions about someone who has been arrested go to 415-553-1430. The Sheriff’s online inmate locator is the other route.
The court’s criminal division also lets you search case calendars by case type and date up to 120 days ahead, and search criminal cases by case number and attorney name. Recordings of misdemeanor hearings can be requested through the vendor the court names.
Not sure which court your case is in?
Enter the ZIP code where the arrest happened and the full form opens with it filled in.
From the police report to arraignment
The charging decision. The District Attorney describes the step between arrest and court: the police send their report to the office, an assistant district attorney reviews it, and the office states that it can only ethically file a case if there is sufficient admissible evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. If it files, a complaint is lodged and the defendant is arraigned.
Arraignment. The court says the judge tells the defendant the charges, their constitutional rights, and that a lawyer will be appointed free of charge if they cannot afford one. The plea is not guilty, guilty or no contest — and the court notes that no contest is only available in misdemeanor cases. The DA adds that the judge decides detention or release at arraignment: detention without bail, a money bail amount, or release on the defendant’s own recognisance, sometimes with conditions such as electronic monitoring.
The license. Separately, after a failed or refused test, you have 10 days to request a hearing from the DMV. The Hall of Justice has nothing to do with that deadline.
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | 4 months | 1 year | Cal. Veh. Code § 13353.3(b) |
| Refused the test | 1 year | 2 years (revocation) | Cal. Veh. Code § 23612(a)(1)(D) |
How a misdemeanor moves, and who defends it
The milestones. The District Attorney lists four for a misdemeanor: the arraignment on the complaint; a pretrial conference, where judge, prosecutor and defense attorney discuss whether the case can be settled; trial, before a jury or a judge, where a jury verdict must be unanimous among all 12 jurors; and sentencing, which in misdemeanors often happens at the hearing where the defendant pleads guilty or right after the verdict. A felony adds a preliminary hearing and a second arraignment on an information.
The court’s criminal data dashboards include a note, dated December 12, 2025, stating that on May 7, 2025 the Office of the Public Defender began declaring itself unavailable to take new cases, that the court created a code to record those declarations in June 2025, and that it corrected the dashboard after the May and June counts were overstated. The dashboard tracks those declarations alongside conflict appointments and caseload. It does not say what happens in any single case.
The penalties themselves are statewide and are set out on the California page.
Where a San Francisco criminal case is heard
One city and county, three court locations for criminal work.
| What | County | Where the case goes |
|---|---|---|
| Most criminal cases, DUI included | San Francisco | Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St. |
| Some criminal cases | San Francisco | Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister St. |
| Cases from the Tenderloin, South of Market, Union Square and Civic Center | San Francisco | Community Justice Center, 575 Polk St. |
| The jail | San Francisco | Run by the Sheriff, not the court: 415-553-1430 |
The court says to find the department hearing a case on the daily calendar outside Room 101, or by calling the Clerk’s Office.
The Community Justice Center is a collaborative court that serves the Tenderloin, South of Market, Union Square and Civic Center neighbourhoods, with a courtroom at 575 Polk St. and a social service center at 555 Polk St. that is open to residents citywide. The Veterans Justice Court, launched in April 2013 as a calendar within the Community Justice Center and a stand-alone collaborative court since January 2015, lists its coordinator at 850 Bryant St. The District Attorney lists the city’s other collaborative courts — Behavioral Health, Drug, Young Adult and Intensive Supervision — and describes referral to them as an alternative to prosecuting every case the same way; neither the court nor the DA lists a DUI-specific court. The other California pages on this site are Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Fresno and Los Angeles.
Common questions about San Francisco DUI cases
Where is DUI court in San Francisco?
Most criminal cases, including misdemeanor DUI, are heard at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St. Some are heard at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister St., or the Community Justice Center, 575 Polk St. The daily calendar is outside Room 101.
Is a DUI a misdemeanor in San Francisco?
The court names driving under the influence as an example of a serious traffic violation charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and/or up to one year in county jail.
How does the San Francisco DA decide whether to charge a DUI?
An assistant district attorney reviews the police report, and the office states it can only ethically file a case with sufficient admissible evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Can I plead no contest to a DUI in San Francisco?
The court states that a no contest plea is available only in misdemeanor cases. It has the same effect as a guilty plea except that the conviction generally cannot be used against you in a civil lawsuit.
Where is the San Francisco District Attorney's office?
350 Rhode Island St., North Building, Suite 400N, San Francisco, CA 94103; 628-652-4000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
How long do I have to request a DMV hearing?
Ten days from the notice of suspension. The request goes to the California DMV, not to the Hall of Justice.
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More for California
- California DUI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- San Diego — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Los Angeles — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Orange County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Sacramento — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Santa Rosa and Sonoma County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Fresno — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Bakersfield and Kern County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- San Bernardino — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Napa — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- San Jose and Santa Clara County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Santa Cruz — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Alameda County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Contra Costa County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- San Mateo County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Solano County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Santa Barbara — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Redding and Shasta County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Visalia and Tulare County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a California suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in California — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Criminal Division — read September 29, 2026
- Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, criminal data dashboards — read September 29, 2026
- Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Community Justice Center — read September 29, 2026
- Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Veterans Justice Court — read September 29, 2026
- San Francisco District Attorney, about the criminal justice system — read September 29, 2026
- San Francisco District Attorney, collaborative courts — read September 29, 2026
- San Francisco District Attorney, contact (read in a browser) — read September 29, 2026
- Cal. Veh. Code § 23152(b) and the rest of the California statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on September 29, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.