SANTA ROSA -- Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing was sentenced to 10 days in the Sonoma County Jail and three years informal probation after her attorney entered a no contest plea on her behalf Monday to misdemeanor driving with a blood-alcohol level in excess of 0.08 percent.

Another DUI charge and a hit-and-run charge, also misdemeanors were dismissed.

Rushing did not appear at the plea and sentencing before Judge Thomas Cecil of Sacramento County Superior Court.

In a prepared statement, she said " . . . this mistake was my own serious misconduct for which there is no excuse and for which I admit total and sole responsibility."

Rushing will be eligible to participate in a 10-day work release program rather than serving jail time. Cecil ordered Rushing to turn herself in to the county jail on Oct. 21 if she does not complete the program.

The judge also restricted Rushing's driving to commuting to and from work for three months and ordered her to pay a $1,890 restitution fine.

Rushing is currently hearing civil matters in Sonoma County Superior Court but she was the sentencing judge last year in two high profile cases involving motorists who killed two bicycle riders and critically injured a third in two separate accidents.

The California Highway Patrol said Rushing's blood-alcohol level was 0.19 percent and 0.21 percent after she crashed her 2001 Porsche into a stone fence on June 21 on Riebli Road in Santa Rosa. She was arrested and released to her husband.

Deputy Attorney General Joyce Blair said after the hearing that Rushing did not receive any special treatment. "This disposition is standard in this county," Blair said.

The attorney general's office prosecuted the case and a visiting judge presided over the matter to avoid possible conflicts with Sonoma County judges and prosecutors.

Rushing also was ordered to attend a 45-hour drunken driving class for first offenders. In her open apology to the residents of Sonoma County, Rushing said she enrolled in a 30-hour drinking driver's program on July 27 and "needless to say, have stopped drinking alcohol.

"I have disqualified myself from hearing any further criminal matters and am handling exclusively civil matters. My actions are also subject to review and further sanction by the California State Commission on Judicial Performance," Rushing said.

"These events have left me with unbearable heartache at the disappointment I have brought to the community here in Sonoma County, my colleagues on the court, and my family and friends. I feel nothing bur remorse, sorrow, pain, humility and despair, not for myself, but for all the damage I have inflicted upon the court and the community. I sincerely apologize," Rushing said.

Rushing, 57, also said she paid for repairs to the stone wall she crashed into and that many people who contacted her said her case increased their awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving and helped them assess or modify their behavior.

"If my experience has helped prevent even one possible tragedy, I am thankful," Rushing said.