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Plenty of Valley drivers arrested for DUI in Sherman Oaks, Encino, Reseda, or North Hollywood end up with a court date in Van Nuys, where two courthouse buildings share a civic center and an easy wrong turn costs you time. The Superior Court's own department page for Van Nuys East lists an address on Sylmar Avenue and a civil calendar, while the county's location listing shows Van Nuys West at 14400 Erwin Street open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Below you will find how to confirm your department, what the LA City Attorney's role means for your case, how the DMV hearing request works, and what to check before any remote appearance. The DMV request is due within 10 days of arrest.
Van Nuys Courthouse — court & DMV details
Why your case is here
The Van Nuys courthouse at 14400 Erwin Street Mall is the Northwest District's criminal court, serving the heart of the San Fernando Valley. A useful local detail: there are two Van Nuys courthouses a block apart — Van Nuys West (Erwin Street) hears criminal and DUI cases, while Van Nuys East on Sylmar Avenue handles civil, family, and juvenile matters. DUIs from Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, North Hollywood, Reseda, Northridge, and the rest of the Valley are heard at Van Nuys West.
Who prosecutes a Valley DUI
Most of the San Fernando Valley is within the City of Los Angeles, so a misdemeanor DUI here is generally prosecuted by the LA City Attorney, not the District Attorney. Arrests in nearby unincorporated pockets, or felony DUIs, fall to the LA County DA.
Two buildings on Sylmar and Erwin: which door is yours
Check the address on your paperwork twice. The court's information page for Department W places it at 6320 Sylmar Avenue in Van Nuys East and says it hears civil matters only, with no criminal cases. Your DUI case belongs at the Erwin Street building, which the county lists at 14400 Erwin Street with hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Superior Court's criminal calendar search can show your case information, and the court's criminal division page lists courthouse phone numbers with call hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Use either to confirm your department before you leave home.
The Department W page also gives a sense of the local culture: attorneys and parties there are asked to arrive at 8:15 a.m. and silence their phones. Courtrooms set their own habits, so arrive early enough to read the posted calendar and ask the clerk if yours is not listed.
Setting up the DMV hearing for a Valley arrest
The DMV requires a hearing request within 10 days of receiving notice of its action. You make the request by phone through a Driver Safety Office and give your full name, driver license number, and date of birth. Hearings can be remote or in person, and the DMV says its remote format is Microsoft Teams video, with telephone available when you do not have a device.
The details table above describes the Valley arrangement as regional and by phone or video. The DMV's Driver Safety Office page, however, names only one Los Angeles County office, in El Segundo, so rely on the Notice of Hearing for the contact and format that apply to you. The DMV states that it will proceed if you do not attend. See the DMV hearing page for what the hearing decides.
After sentencing in Van Nuys: orders you will need to track
Los Angeles County Probation says summary probation, also called court or informal probation, is supervised by the court, not the probation department. If your Van Nuys case ends that way, the court's written orders are what govern you.
Keep copies of everything, note each due date, and hold off on enrolling in or paying for any program until you know whether the court is requiring it. Ron's office can explain what the orders mean once you have them.
The 10-day DMV deadline
A Valley DUI brings two cases: the criminal case at Van Nuys and the DMV's separate case against your license, with a 10-day deadline to request a hearing. How the DMV hearing works →
How Ron defends a DUI at Van Nuys
For most City-of-LA arrests in the Valley, the office handling a misdemeanor DUI is the Los Angeles City Attorney, which prosecutes misdemeanors for the city. A pocket of unincorporated territory or a felony charge brings in the Los Angeles County District Attorney instead. Ron's first job is identifying which office filed your case, because that determines who he speaks with about the evidence and any resolution.
After the arraignment, the court sets pretrial dates. Ron uses them to obtain the arrest reports, video, and chemical test records, then looks at the traffic stop, the field sobriety tests, the timing of the test, and how the sample was handled. Cases may resolve by agreement, through motions, or at trial, and nobody can promise a particular result.
The Superior Court's department pages explain how remote appearances work in its civil courtrooms, including a requirement that remote participants use a camera in at least one Van Nuys East department. Do not assume the same terms apply to a criminal calendar. Ron's office is in Irvine, he works with you directly, and he handles the DMV hearing request alongside the court case.
Which Van Nuys courthouse handles DUI?
Who prosecutes my Sherman Oaks or Encino DUI?
Do I have to appear in Van Nuys myself?
How do I keep my license?
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Ron defends DUI cases across Southern California from his Irvine office — and works directly with you, not a call center.
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