Driving Under the Influence

December 5, 2014

Cleveland Browns’ Fans Hearts Skip a Beat After Johnny Manziel’s Bodyguard Arrested for DUI

One of the peculiar aspects of Los Angeles DUI cases is that arrests and convictions can touch dozens, even hundreds, of people and organizations.

In other words, a single bad decision made by one driver at a single point in time can propagate and create problems – even huge crises – for many other people. For instance, when a star football player gets in trouble with the law, not only can he and his family suffer legal and monetary consequences, but people not connected with the accident – teammates, fans, people who depend on a football team’s revenue to power local businesses – can also be indirectly impacted.

Consider that concept in light of a recent story out of Cleveland. Browns QB Johnny Manziel’s bodyguard recently got arrested for DUI while driving Manziel’s vehicle. The arrest might not have made national news, had Manziel and his friends not just recently been involved in an altercation with an aggressive fan, who approached the star and his entourage with an attitude that allegedly was “very aggressive” and “very intoxicated.”

Per the quarterback’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, “Johnny and his roommate had been out to dinner earlier in the evening with Johnny’s mother, who was staying with him this week. There was no entourage. Johnny and his roommate were trying to get on the apartment elevator at his home, when they were accosted by a very aggressive man and his associates. It was an unfortunate situation.”

Under certain circumstances, an associate or friend or spouse or a relative can make a mistake — or engage in aggressive or dangerous behavior behind the wheel — that can redound to affect you and your family. To understand your rights and develop an appropriate legal response, connect with an experienced Los Angeles DUI criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. In addition to serving for nearly 20 years as both as Deputy District Attorney and a defense lawyer, Mr. Kraut regularly appears as a commentator on shows like Good Morning America and newspapers like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

December 1, 2014

Jionni LaValle, Husband of Jersey Shore’s Snooki, Arrested for DUI

by Michael Kraut

Getting arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles – especially if you are a celebrity – can lead to horrendous brand management problems as well as legal issues like potential jail time, forced probation, and mandatory fines and fees… not to mention indirect hassles like hikes in insurance rates and driver’s license suspension.

It can also lead to a cascade of internet traffic.

For instance, Jionni LaValle, the 27-year-old husband of Jersey Shore’s “Snooki” (a.k.a. Nicole Polizzi) found himself in handcuffs a few months ago after police pulled him over on his honeymoon on Interstate 80. Authorities hit him with multiple charges, including careless driving, unsafe lane changes and DUI.

Last week, LaValle pled guilty into Totowa Municipal Court to DUI (he managed to get the other two charges dismissed). His sentence includes a three month driver’s license suspension, a $614 fine, and mandatory DUI education classes.

LaValle and Polizzi are parents to two young children – a two-year-old boy, Lorenzo and a two-month-old girl, Giovanna.

Snooki has had her own issues with the law. Four year ago – before she became a mom – police arrested her on the (actual) Jersey Shore for creating a public nuisance.

Whether you are a celebrity facing a complex and potentially highly embarrassing series of charges or an “ordinary citizen” who believes that police wrongfully pulled you over, you may need the help of an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney to understand your charges and figure out what to do about them. Contact attorney Michael Kraut with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for the effective insight you need to make forward progress.

November 26, 2014

Reassessing Your Driving Behaviors After Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

In the wake of a recent Los Angeles DUI accident or arrest, you have been reflecting a lot on how to be a better driver and just become more generally conscientious and mindful in your life.

You recognize (wisely) that poor driving habits can affect you not just in acute terms but also over the long term. There is a reason why insurance adjusters and officials at places like the National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration (NHTSA) measure the risks of DUI driving in terms of hundreds of millions of miles.

For instance, if you drive averagely, you can expect to die one time for every 100 million miles you travel – roughly the distance from the Earth to the sun. Fortunately, most drivers do not drive anywhere close to that amount of miles, so the risk of dying from a car crash is obviously less than 100%. But the point is that if you can engage in better driving habits, you can reduce your lifetime risk for accidents and injuries. Here are some ideas about how to slash your odds of future arrests, crashes and mayhem:

• Keep the radio at a very moderate to low volume. High volume radio can cause distractions and prevent you from hearing critical signals from the road;

• Never ever talk or text or even chat on a mobile device when you are behind the wheel. Even using a hands free headset can be a major distraction, because it mentally forces you to be “someplace else” and not behind the wheel. Consider swearing off using a cellphone in any capacity behind the wheel.

• Avoid driving while fatigued, angry or in an emotional “state.” Research from Australia shows that fatigue can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence if you are tired enough. Likewise, driving while angry or depressed or otherwise in a bad emotional way can increase the likelihood that you will get into a crash, because your head is not fully “in the game.”

• Talk to a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer not only about how to construct an appropriate response to your current problem but also about how to develop the tools and habits you need to be safer going forward.

Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers has seen all sorts of cases over the past nearly 20 years, as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. He would be happy to talk with you in-depth and in confidence about your case. Call now to schedule a consultation to get his strategic insight to move forward.

November 24, 2014

4 Key Thanksgiving Driving Tips to Prevent Getting Arrested for Los Angeles DUI

by Michael Kraut

Thanksgiving should be a time for celebration, communion, and reconnection with friends and loved ones. However, as we discussed in an adjacent post, the day before the Thanksgiving is also the worst day of the year for Los Angeles DUI arrests and accidents. So how can you protect yourself, your loved ones and other people on the road from injuries (and worse) this holiday? Here are 4 tips.

1. If you are going to drink, make a plan well in advance of partying.

Studies suggest that once someone is the throe of merrymaking, judgments tend to go out the window. After you have already had two or three drinks is not the time to start to think rationally about how to get home. You need to “pre think” your exit strategy by identifying a designated driver in advance, hiring a taxi cab or just walking from place to place.

2. Be careful to avoid walking while DUI as well.

Most people assume that if you walk instead of drive after consuming alcohol, you should be fine. However, as authors Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt point out in the book SuperFreakonomics, when you crunch the numbers, walking under the influence is, mile per mile, potentially more even dangerous than driving under the influence. The reason is that, when you make bad decisions as a pedestrian – particularly at night if you are wearing dark clothing — you can easily get seriously hurt or killed. If you are in a car and you get into collision, you at least can hopefully rely on the car’s safety mechanisms, like airbags and seatbelts, to protect you against the worst of the impact. As a pedestrian, you have nothing shielding you.

3. Pay attention to near misses in the past.

Have you ever gotten into a DUI wreck before? Do you plan to hang out with anyone who has been arrested for that crime or who has gotten into serious injury accidents? The best predictor of future accidents is past driving behavior. Pick up on clues left by the past, so that you can more effectively manage your own behavior and minimize risk. For instance, say your cousin Arnie comes to town and wants to go bar hopping with you. But you know that cousin Arnie has two DUI priors on his record; you might want to aggressively suggest that everyone take a cab.

4. Organize Thanksgiving events in a way that requires less driving overall.

One of the best ways to prevent problems is to negate temptations altogether. For instance, maybe you and your family typically go out to a restaurant that serves copious amounts of alcohol. Consider changing your plans this year, so that you all stay at someone’s house, so that you are not tempted to drink and then get behind the wheel.

For help dealing with the aftereffects of a crash or arrest, call a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free consultation with a former Deputy District Attorney with nearly two decades of experience fighting on both sides of these types of cases.

November 21, 2014

The Most Dangerous and Deadly Day for Los Angeles DUIs is Approaching…

by Michael Kraut

We’ve actually touched on this issue before in previous posts, but even if you are a regular reader, you might have forgotten. What is the most dangerous day for Los Angeles DUI in the calendar year? Common (but wrong) guesses might include:

•   New Year’s Eve;
•   Super Bowl Sunday;
•   Fourth of July;
•   Memorial Day Weekend;
•   Labor Day Weekend;
•   Christmas Eve;
•   Halloween;
•   St. Patrick’s Day.

All these days actually do witness an above average rate of DUI driving, and you need to take special precautions during those holidays, whether you are driving or walking around as a pedestrian. But there is one day that’s actually substantially more dangerous – and that day is the day before Thanksgiving.

That might strike many people as strange.

Why would the day before Thanksgiving be a time for DUI driving? The answer probably has to do with the behavior of college kids who are returning home from college to their families for the Thanksgiving holiday. For college students who have left home to go to college, Thanksgiving break is often the first time that they get reunited with their high school friends. And even though young people cannot legally consume alcohol until they are 21-years-old, many people who go off to college find ways around these restrictions and end up experimenting substantially with alcohol during their first 2.5 months of college. So when they come home, they may be still in a giddy experimental stage with alcohol. These young college students come home to meet up with their friends who are also experimenting. Thus, things can get a little haywire. Some statistics suggest that the spike in DUI rates over Thanksgiving can be at least partly attributed to this kind of “college student effect,” although more research is needed to determine the real truth.

So why would the night before Thanksgiving be more dangerous than Thanksgiving itself?

The answer again comes back to patterns of behavior. On Thanksgiving, most people stay in with their families and eat and watch football and talk. In other words, there is not a lot of mobility. So even if people might be consuming lot of alcohol on Thanksgiving, they are staying in. On the night before Thanksgiving, however, many people who have already returned home for the holidays, but they are not necessarily hanging out with their families. Hence, we see this spike in DUI accidents on the day before the holiday.

So what can you do if you or someone you love got arrested for DUI driving during the Thanksgiving holiday?

Your first step should be to contact a reputable Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut has an extensive track record of success as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney; he previously served as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles for nearly 15 years. He and his team can provide critical guidance you need to make your decisions. Call today for a free consultation.

November 20, 2014

Parallels Between Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest and the Comet Landing of the European Space Agency’s Philae Lander

by Michael Kraut

You’ve heard our Los Angeles DUI blog pound on the theme of “get help as soon as you can after a DUI” numerous times. Any credible attorney or authority who knows anything about California DUI law will tell you that you need to act rapidly to preserve your freedom and protect your options.

Nevertheless: many, many people recently arrested for the crime exhibit a lackadaisical attitude about the timeframe.

For instance, you only have 10 days after the arrest to contest the license suspension, after which time you may be forced to live without your driver’s license for months or longer. It’s understandable that you might be stunned by the rapid turn of events and overwhelmed by the potential legal ramifications. But when time is of the essence, you absolutely need to act.

It’s hard to get people to understand this theme, however, no matter how many different ways we (and others) bring it up and highlight the need for urgency.

Fortunately, recent news events have given us a golden metaphor to re-explain the problem.

Last week, the European State Agency (ESA) landed a small ship on a comet – the first time humanity has ever landed a probe on a comet. The 2.5 mile wide Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet is about 317 million miles from Earth, and it’s traveling at breakneck speeds of 84,000 miles per hour. Unfortunately, the probe encountered a few technical problems on its way down from its mother ship, Rosetta, and it was not able to clamp down to the surface of the comet.

Unsurprisingly, the gravity on the comet is much, much, much weaker than it is here on Earth. So when the probe landed, it bounced and then landed again in a shadow of a cliff on the comet. While the search for the final landing site is still ongoing, the lander is racing against the clock to meet as many of its core science goals as possible before the primary battery is exhausted.

Scientists had hoped that the probe would land in a sunlit place and be able to access solar power to continue its mission for longer. But now they have to act quickly or lose out on science that researchers have spent billions of dollars trying to procure. The point is that these researchers understand the dangers of failing to act in a timely fashion. When there is billions of dollars at stake and millions of eyes on you, you tend to take your job pretty seriously.

But the consequences of not acting in situations where action is required may not be so clear if you are the only person affected by delay. To that end, please contact the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to schedule a free and confidential consultation regarding your rights. An experienced Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer can help you understand your next steps and act rapidly and with clarity.

November 12, 2014

3 Surprising Lessons about Los Angeles DUI Defense from the Recent Ebola Scare

by Michael Kraut

Unless you’ve been living under a rock – or you’ve been so totally overwhelmed by your Los Angeles DUI that you haven’t checked CNN or your Facebook feed in months – you probably are keenly aware of the explosive Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.

In mid-October, officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other prestigious bodies panicked and worried that the epidemic could explode outside of West Africa and create a worldwide pandemic that could lead to the infection of hundreds of thousands if not millions of individuals. Thanks to alert action on part of the U.S. Military, health authorities, and philanthropists, it at least appears that we are finally staunching the Ebola tide. However, the Ebola outbreak – in particular, how it played out in the media – holds powerful lessons for DUI defendants. Here are three.

1. We tend to fear the disturbing and exotic as opposed to the mundane and realistic.

For instance, if you have been arrested for DUI, you might be terrified about going to jail for 2+ days. While staying in jail is not a picnic, you might be overlooking far more profound consequences… such as losing your California driver’s license for a year or longer. Imagine not being able to drive to work, take your kids to school, and even go on simple errand runs.

2. When things go wrong in life, it’s easy to spiral out of control into a panic, but overreacting can make problems worse.

For instance, despite statistical and epidemiological evidence that closing off the U.S. borders to West African countries would not stop the spread of Ebola in the U.S. — and potentially even impede efforts to contain disease, because rescue workers and doctors could not as easily travel back and forth — many people choose not to hear these rational arguments. Likewise, many DUI defendants react in nonstrategic fashion by, for instance, waiting way too long to hire attorneys to represent them and guide them through the process.

3. The right kind of help at the right time can make a huge difference.

If you look at the projections for Ebola before and after the massive international reaction, the data are stark. Our intervention really seems to have made a big difference. Likewise, if you find the right people, such as a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, you may be able to powerfully affect your future, win back your freedom, and avert personal catastrophe.

Call the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free and confidential consultation.

November 10, 2014

After the Passage of Proposition 47… What Next for Los Angeles DUI Offenders?

by Michael Kraut

Last week, voters ratified Proposition 47, which will likely have profound, if still not very well understood, ramifications for criminal defense trials in the Golden State for years to come.

How, specifically, might this new proposition impact your Los Angeles DUI defense options?

The answer obviously depends intimately on the details of your arrest as well as your criminal history. The purpose of the law, basically, was to partially decriminalize certain nonviolent offenses, like drug possession crimes. Supporters of the proposition hoped to restore a level of racial equality to California law. Advocates of the proposition argued that draconian drug possession laws punished African-Americans and Latinos in a lopsided fashion. They also said that our state’s harsh drug laws had contributed to prison overcrowding as well as to a deterioration of certain communities and neighborhoods.

Prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys alike will soon be puzzling over — and arguing over — how this new proposition will change the course of business in the world of criminal defense.

Defendants who have questions and concerns about their rights should get in touch with an experienced Los Angeles DUI criminal defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers ASAP to explore their options. Whether someone you know or love has been imprisoned for DUI or for a nonviolent drug offense; or whether police recently arrested you — and you’re trying to figure out how to preserve your freedom and understand your legal options — call a former prosecutor with a rock-solid record (99+% success rate jury trials as a prosecutor) and excellent connections in the Los Angeles legal defense community.

November 5, 2014

Ted Vick, Legislator from South Carolina, Beats His DUI Charge

by Michael Kraut

When someone – a politician, actor, or ordinary Joe – beats a Los Angeles DUI charge “on a technicality,” the peanut gallery often groans.

After all, we have come to associate the term “technicality” with a lack of justice being served. A TV movie villain, for instance, might escape a just prison sentence because his lawyer “gets him off on a technicality.”

But technicalities exist in our legal code for a reason: we need our laws to be fair, systematic, and balanced, so that they can adequately protect the population and also ensure the rights of suspects in criminal cases.

With that prelude, let’s take a look at a peculiar story about South Carolina State Representative, Ted Vick, who just successfully beat back a 2013 DUI charge. (Vick still faces other charges stemming from a 2012 arrest on weapons possession charges and DUI.)

According to news reports, Vick had consumed wine at a local restaurant in May 2013. On his way to the car, an officer allegedly saw Vick struggle to get a pebble out of his shoe. This alerted the officer’s suspensions, and he followed victim to garage, where he said the state rep drove over a traffic cone. The officer stopped Vick and arrested him after a struggle.

During the trial, before prosecutors could show the tape of the struggle, Vick’s attorney asked the court to dismiss the case, because the video camera did not show the officer reading Vick his Miranda rights. The court agreed and dismissed Vick’s charges.

The news reported this story as an “escape by technicality” situation, but the Miranda rights are crucial. They exist to prevent people from self-incriminating; we need to protect and preserve them.

If someone you love stands accused of a similar crime, an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you understand what your charges mean and respond effectively and strategically to them.

Call a former prosecutor today to schedule a consultation about your defense.

October 27, 2014

Multi-Vehicle Crash Involving a Suspected DUI Driver Claims Life of 10-Year-Old Boy and Injures Family Members

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles DUI manslaughter charges are incredibly serious but also surprisingly diverse.

Let’s say you’ve never driven DUI before, and you didn’t engage in an act of gross negligence, like driving 100 miles the wrong way on the freeway. But you did get into a DUI accident that caused someone to die. You could still go to jail for a long time, lose your license, and face an array of other punishments.

However, prosecutors could try to convince the court that you engaged in a more serious crime — “gross vehicular manslaughter” — which can lead to even steeper punishments.

And if you had been convicted of a prior DUI — and you had signed a document known as a Watson Advisement, which indicates that you understand the lethality of driving DUI –prosecutors can even go after you for an even more intense count, known as DUI Murder.

Bearing that in mind, let’s reflect on a tragic case in Anaheim. On October 18, a 10-year-old boy died in a multi-car DUI-related collision at North Euclid Street and West Oklahoma Avenue, per Anaheim Police Department reports. A black pickup truck smashed into the boy’s Toyota Camry from behind, throwing the vehicle into another car. Everyone in the Camry suffered critical injuries, and the 10-year-old boy died at a local hospital. Los Angeles police later arrested Gary S. Hunt, the driver of the black pickup truck.

The accident moderately injured the driver of the third car.

Whether Hunt actually had been under the influence of alcohol or not, he could face serious criminal and civil charges. The media coverage understandingly focuses on the awful tragedy that befell Ramirez and his family, but it’s important to appreciate that DUI crashes also devastate the lives of people charged with crimes.

For instance, perhaps Hunt also has children, who now may be forced to deal with the fact that their dad could go to prison for many years.

To respond conscientiously, compassionately and effectively to complex criminal charges, contact a Los Angeles DUI injury defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers right now to schedule a consultation with former prosecutor, Michael Kraut.