Beverly Hills DUI Defense Attorney

August 21, 2019

Life After DUI: True Stories of People Who Turned Their Lives Around

Between the embarrassment, the stigma and the uncertainty, a DUI arrest can be a traumatic experience in and of itself. The following days and weeks may offer little relief as you face the prospect of jail time, fines and license suspension—not to mention possibly jeopardizing your job if you can’t get to work.

If you’re facing this kind of situation in the wake of a DUI arrest, however, the real question isn’t what will happen if you’re convicted, but what happens after your case is closed. Regardless of whether you’re convicted or how severe the penalties, the DUI arrest is a moment in your life, and at some point it will be behind you. The question is whether you will find yourself in this situation again, or whether you will let it be a teaching moment. As a point of inspiration and encouragement, we’ve hunted down a few real-life stories of people who allowed their DUI arrest to become a turning point in their lives.

Second Time’s a Charm

March 19, 2018

A Brief History of DUI and What We Can Learn

by Michael Kraut

For as long as mankind has been using vehicles to get around, some people have been unfortunately operating those vehicles while under the influence of some substance—mostly alcohol. At first, no laws were on the books to address the issue, but, as the roads became more crowded, public pressure eventually prompted lawmakers to set standards as to what constitutes driving under the influence (DUI)—also known as driving while intoxicated (DWI)—and what the penalties would be for violating those rules.

If you’ve ever been arrested for DUI—especially if you believe you tested “false positive”—you might feel like the laws and standards of intoxication are too strict. Looking into the past often helps give us perspective as to where we are now and where we’re headed. So let’s look back at a few milestones in the history of DUI, and see what we can learn.

First Known DUI Arrest: 1897

January 15, 2018

Celebrity DUIs and Other Misdeeds: Why Are We Obsessed with Them?

by Michael Kraut

Justin Bieber. Lindsey Lohan. Paris Hilton. Kevin Hart. Chris Pine. Reese Witherspoon. Bella Hadid. This list represents a mere handful of known names who have been charged with DUI in Los Angeles (and elsewhere) over the past 10 years, with many others right alongside. It seems so commonplace that, as HuffPost reports, during an appearance on, Jason Priestly joked with Chelsea Handler on her show Chelsea Lately about his own DUI. “What self-respecting Los Angeleno doesn’t have a DUI under their belt?” he said. The joke was accompanied by high-fives with Handler, who, not surprisingly, also has a DUI on her record.

Aside from the controversy of famous people downplaying the seriousness of impaired driving, salacious reports of celebrity wrongdoing have been the guilty pleasure of millions of people for as long as anyone can remember. These impulses of ours are what keep websites like TMZ and The National Enquirer in business.

The question is: Why?

October 17, 2017

Can I Still Drive for Uber? Jobs You Might Lose After a DUI

by Michael Kraut

It’s bad enough that a DUI conviction can wipe out your bank account or drive up your credit card bill. Between the fines, court costs and other associated expenses—like DUI driver school tuition and added commuting costs—you could pay as much as $7,500 out of pocket. But you could also face a longer-term problem of unemployment. When you lose your job because of a DUI or struggle to get a new one afterwards, it adds insult to injury.

If you’ve been earning some extra cash as an Uber or a Lyft driver, you’ll have to find another way to fill your wallet. Uber is already fairly picky about DUIs on a driving record; in California, Uber won’t even hire you if your record shows that you’ve had a DUI within the last 10 years.

But what if you’ve been working as an Uber driver, and then you get a DUI? Will you be able to keep driving?

October 12, 2016

Speed And Alcohol Result In DUI-Related Death

by Michael Kraut

Police officers are all too familiar with injuries and deaths caused by a driver who is both speeding and DUI in Los Angeles. A few hours south of LA, a race between two young and allegedly intoxicated drivers in the San Diego area has left a passenger in one car dead.

Residents along East H Street in Chula Vista have often complained to authorities about the vehicles that race along that road. In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 8th, Jose Molina Ramirez, 22, and Nicholas Nesbitt, 22, pitted their vehicles against each other with fatal consequences. While traveling at 100 mph, Ramirez lost control of his car, went careening across the median (cutting two magnolia trees in half) and then moving across the traffic lanes opposite from the ones he had been traveling on. (Fortunately he did not hit any vehicles traveling in this direction.)

While Ramirez and his front seat passenger managed to escape unharmed, the back seat passenger, 22-year-old Sergio Isai Ramirez, was not wearing a seatbelt. He was killed on impact.

Neighbors reported hearing screeching tires and a loud crash at the time of the accident.

August 6, 2016

Drivers Using Pokémon Go As DUI Excuse

by Michael Kraut

Police who arrest drivers arrested for DUIs in Los Angeles sometimes observe the motorist engaging in additional risky behaviors behind the wheel: talking on a cell phone or texting, for example. Now you can add another item to the list of dangerous distractions: Pokémon Go.

A young driver in Port Orchard, Washington, was apparently drinking, driving and playing Pokémon Go on the evening of Saturday, August 6th. Witnesses called police when they observed her driving erratically while using her mobile phone.

The officers tracked the unnamed driver to a nearby waterfront park (a favorite spot for Pokémon Go players). When they questioned her, they found she was underage and under the influence, and she was driving on a suspended license. They arrested her on both charges.

April 25, 2016

Interesting Court Decisions in DUI Cases

by Michael Kraut

Prosecutors sometimes use a “relation-back” calculation to determine blood alcohol content when charging someone with a Los Angeles DUI. The theory is that chemists or other experts can look at the results of a blood test taken a few hours after an arrest and calculate what the BAC content would have been at the time the police officer pulled the driver over.

Now a judge in Vermont has ruled that the state can’t use such evidence.

According to WCAX and NECN (New England Cable News), Judge Howard Van Benthuysen of the Orleans County Criminal Court ruled that the “relation-back” calculations are unreliable. He cited scientific evidence that shows alcohol leaves people’s bloodstreams at very different rates.

With his decision, Judge Van Benthuysen threw out the BAC in 25 DUI driving cases before the court. There’s no word yet about whether or not the prosecutor will appeal the ruling to a higher court. In Michigan, meanwhile, the state’s appeals court has ruled that operating your car in a driveway while under the influence does not constitute DUI.

March 31, 2016

Tennessee Appeals Court Reinstates DUI Charges Against Driver

by Michael Kraut

Motorists stopped for speeding often face other problems, including charges of DUI in Los Angeles. The police can use the results of a field sobriety test to support the charge, but what happens if the results of that test are not clear?

A ruling by Tennessee’s Court of Criminal Appeals will require Anthony John Silver to stand trial for driving under the influence, despite dispute over his performance on a field sobriety test. A Williamson County Circuit Court judge had thrown out Silver’s arrest, contending that the police officer on the case had inaccurately described what happened during the tests. The three-panel appeals court disagreed with that decision and reinstated the charges against Silva.

News agencies reported that Officer Adam Cohen of the Franklin Police Department pulled Silva over when he saw him driving 46 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone. Officer Cohen said Silva smelled like alcohol and admitted he had drunk three beers several hours earlier.

March 16, 2016

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Bring Out the DUI Drivers

by Michael Kraut

Planning to celebrate the March 17th holiday honoring the Irish saint? Better make sure that you have a designated driver–or at least an alternate form of transportation–for that night if you want to avoid charges of DUI in Los Angeles or any other jurisdiction. Police departments across the country are warning that they plan to be out in full force to ensure that the roads remain as safe as possible.

They have reason for concern. The WalletHub website recently posted some sobering statistics on DUIs on Saint Patrick’s Day. They report that in four years, from 2009-2013, 276 people died in DUI-related accidents on March 17th. (The Centers for Disease Control state that 30 people a day usually die in such accidents, so that’s more than twice the typical number of deaths.) The drivers involved tend to be more than just a little tipsy; WalletHub said that 75 percent of those involved in fatal accidents have more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in their blood.

The St. Patrick’s Day DUI accidents also occur more frequently–every 46 minutes, according to WalletHub, versus the CDC’s estimate that a DUI-related death occurs every 51 minutes on the average day.

August 19, 2015

DUI Is Least of Naked Driver’s Problems

by Michael Kraut

Excessive drinking can reduce inhibitions, so when police officers pick someone up for a Los Angeles DUI, they probably aren’t too surprised if they find the suspect has shed a few items of clothing along the way. But police officers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, were startled when they finally caught up with a DUI suspect after a high-speed chase and found that he had taken everything off.
According to TV station Fox 6, Leif Erickson crashed through a chain link fence enclosing a parking lot on the night of August 11th. Unfortunately for him, two police officers had parked their squad cars on the lot, and Erickson hit one of them. The 21-year-old Erickson ignored the officers’ commands to stop, backed out of the fence and took off, hitting speeds up 70 mph. He ran stop signs and hit curbs repeatedly as he attempted to evade police.

Erickson did brake hard for one stoplight, which sent his vehicle into a 180-degree spin. An officer attempted to stop him, but Erickson accelerated towards him and his squad car. The chase continued, this time reaching speeds up to 90 mph, before Erickson took a turn too fast, flipped the car and went airborne. He managed to climb out of his car, however, and that’s when the police discovered he was nude. They managed to subdue him after shooting him with a bean bag round (instead of deadlier bullets).

Police charged Erickson with a first offense of operating while intoxicated, since he admitted to them he had taken two hits of acid a few hours before. But he’s also looking at more serious charges. They include three felony counts of reckless endangerment, one count of hit and run causing injury, one count of fleeing and eluding and one count of felony heroin possession.

Yikes.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.