Driving Under the Influence

March 6, 2014

Anybody Can Get Arrested for DUI Hit and Run – Even a 70-year-old

Imagine a “stereotypical” Los Angeles DUI driver. You might be picturing a young man in his late 20s or early 30s. He returns from a party or a club, and cops pull him over on the 101 for veering across five lanes of traffic in five seconds. This driver is clearly a disruptive influence, and the cops need to get him off the road, stat.

But the actual catalogue of DUI offenders is far more diverse.

Consider, for instance, an Illinois hit-and-run DUI case involving a 70-year-old man from the town of Naperville. Local authorities say Mario Perea caused a DUI accident and then hightailed his way from the scene.

Perea allegedly rear ended another vehicle at a stop light on Route 71 and then fled. Fortunately, the accident didn’t cause any serious injuries. Police eventually caught up with Perea a few miles later and hit him with a battery of charges including: leaving the scene of an accident, DUI, improper lane usage, driving without insurance, transporting alcohol illegally and driving with only one headlight.

It’s a flawed, but very human impulse to flee a crime scene.

But what actually happens if you commit a DUI and then run away, according to California law?

California Vehicle Code Section 20002 outlines the punishments for misdemeanor hit and run in Los Angeles. This CVC will apply if you hit someone else’s property and then leave the scene without identifying yourself or providing information for another person to identify you later. Even if you didn’t cause the crash, you can still be liable per CVC 20002.

You do not have to exchange insurance info, per this code, however. That said, if you don’t, you could be in violation of a separate vehicle code section – 16025. That is a lesser offense — an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor. But you can still be whacked with a fine of $250.

So what are the punishments?

First of all, the California DMV will give you two points on your driving record. Secondly, you can face up to six months in jail, three years probation, fines and fees, and forced restitution to the person (or company) whose property you damaged.

How can you respond effectively these charges?

There are many ways to challenge CVC 20002 charges.

First of all, if you only damaged your vehicle — and not the other person’s property — there is no misdemeanor. Second of all, if you didn’t know that you had been in a collision, you can’t be liable. Third, if you weren’t the driver at the time (e.g. someone else borrowed your car and got into an accident), you can’t be liable.

Connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to get help with a precise strategy to combat your misdemeanor Los Angeles DUI hit and run charges.

February 26, 2014

Justin Bieber Turns Up His Nose at Plea Deal in DUI Case

by Michael Kraut

Let’s say you’re pulled over for a Los Angeles DUI, after drag-racing on Olympic (between Bundy and Lincoln) in a rented Lamborghini — all while allegedly under the influence of marijuana, prescription medications, and alcohol. What if the police offered you a plea deal? You can clear your DUI, if you submit to drug testing, serve some community service, and complete an alcohol education course. Would you take the deal?

Many people would. Many people, in fact, would consider that deal rather lenient, particularly in light of the fact that the very act of driving under the influence can, under certain circumstances, lead to punishments like months behind bars, a lengthy license suspension, spikes in your insurance rates (which can cost you thousands of dollars over several years), and so forth.

And that’s if you didn’t hurt anybody or aggravate the situation by resisting arrest or refusing a breath or blood test.

Nevertheless, 19 year-old pop icon, Justin Bieber, just rejected a similar plea deal, stemming from his January 23rd arrest for allegedly drag-racing a Lamborghini while DUI in Miami. TMZ reports that Bieber decided that he will “not accept any plea that has probation” because he and his legal team worry that the “Baby” singer’s probation will turn into a spectacle and attract a lot of unwanted media attention and damage his brand.

The Florida State Attorney had been prepared to drop Bieber’s charges of DUI and resisting arrest, had he only agreed to perform 40 hours of community service and undergo testing for substance abuse. (In addition, Bieber would have had to install an interlock ignition device (IID) in his car for just three months.) Per the deal, Bieber would have had to attend a Victim Impact Panel and listen to stories of victims of DUI driving.

The ever cheeky TMZ insinuated that Bieber’s latest song – Broken – contains lyrics that speak tellingly to his situation: “I cannot be broken/they can’t take what’s mine/someone like me is hard to find.”

Further complicating an already messy situation, reports suggest that Miami Police had taken a video of the pop star peeing in his jail cell after his DUI arrest. TMZ reported that a source told the online tabloid “the stumbling and going to the bathroom is obviously reason enough for his attorneys’ request for it to be sealed… if I was trying to paint a picture that my client was innocent… I wouldn’t want a video of him stumbling around and looking out of it to go public either.”

Bonus Information: What If You Refuse Your Chemical Test?

Before a DUI arrest, you cannot refuse a chemical test, if you’re on probation or if you’re under 21 years old.

After you’ve been arrested for DUI, you MUST submit to a blood or breath test, no matter who you are (i.e. even if you’re over 21 and you’re not on probation). If you’ve been arrested under suspicion of drug DUI, you need to submit to a urine test.

For help understanding the dynamic nature of your charges and developing an effective defense, connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free, confidential consultation with Attorney Michael Kraut, a former deputy district attorney and Los Angeles DUI prosecutor.
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February 26, 2014

Finding Self-Compassion After Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Your Los Angeles DUI charges have thrown your life totally out of balance. You’re not just worried about the immediate penalties – although you’d like to avoid jail time and losing your license, if possible. You’re also worried about the longer term ramifications for your life, career, and relationships.

•   If everyone at your office begins to think you of as a “DUI offender,” how will that affect your employment/promotion prospects?
•   Will people close to you forgive you, especially if you hurt someone while DUI?
•   Will you be able to move beyond the unfortunate event to build new relationships and enjoy life again?

The answers obviously depend on many factors, including:

•   The nature of your DUI crime (e.g. did you hurt someone while under the influence, or did you just get stopped at a checkpoint?);
•   Do you have other DUIs on your record?
•   Were you already struggling with career, relationship, money or self-esteem issues before the DUI?
•   How psychologically resilient are you?
•   Do you understand your potential DUI penalties and defense options?
•   Etc.

We live in a world where people like to categorize other people in black and white terms. He is either a “criminal” or an “upstanding citizen.” She is either “a good person” or “a bad person.” We create labels for other people and for ourselves, subconsciously and consciously. We do this despite the obvious reality that human beings fluctuate wildly, depending on variables such as our environment, level of sleep, cultural encoding, peer groups, financial stresses, age and life experience. In other words, we’re dynamic creatures who are trapped by our language to think of ourselves as more static than we really are.

This “cataloguing issue” causes problems in diverse areas of our lives, but it causes particular pain for DUI defendants. After all, when you start to use the language like “I’m a Los Angeles DUI defendant,” you begin to think of yourself as having certain attributes – a lack of ability to control behavior, a tendency to be wild, etc. Associations connected with the term “DUI driver” glom onto you. You start thinking of yourself that way, and people around you start to think of you that way. And that can be very damaging. The label obviously fails to represent, accurately, who you are, what you’re about, and even why you did what you did when you did it.

Finding compassion – and reframing your situation to reflect a more objective reality – is no small task. Fortunately, you do not have to go through this process by yourself. The experienced, ethical, and highly effective Los Angeles DUI criminal defense team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is on your side to advise you about best practices.

February 20, 2014

Actor David Cassidy, of “Partridge Family” Fame, Charged with Los Angeles DUI

by Michael Kraut

Early this month, actor David Cassidy faced his Los Angeles DUI charges in court.

Police arrested the Florida resident at LAX in January. It was Cassidy’s third DUI arrest and his second in less than six months. Cassidy allegedly blew a 0.16% BAC on his breath test – twice the California limit.

Back in August 2013, police in New York arrested the actor and hit him with a felony DUI charge. Tragically, Cassidy had just finished a stint at rehab. His manager said the actor had felt overwhelmed after being deposed.

But Cassidy’s DUI trouble started way before that. In February 2011, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor DUI in Florida. He got off with a year’s probation and a relatively short (six month) license suspension. Police had stopped him on a Florida parkway, and he blew a 0.14% on a breath test. Police also said he had had a bottle of Bourbon open in his vehicle.

After this latest arrest, Cassidy released a statement from rehab: “this has been a very difficult time for me battling this deadly disease, like millions of others in our country. I will remain in treatment for as long as necessary, and I am getting the best care I can possibly get anywhere. I am working as hard as any human being to live a sober life.”

What happens when someone’s convicted a second time for DUI in Southern California?

If you’re convicted of DUI in CA twice within a 10 year period, you face mandatory jail time — up to six months! You will also need to spend a year and a half in alcohol school (up to 30 months, in some cases). The court can suspend your California driver’s license for two years and impose what’s known as “formal probation.” This means you’ll need to check in with a probation officer on a regular basis. Alternatively, you may face “informal probation.” This means you won’t have a probation officer, but you will need to hew to certain standards. You may also need to install (and pay for) an Interlock Ignition Device on your car and face massive fines, fees, and court costs – on top of a likely spike in your insurance rates.

To make sense out of your Los Angeles DUI charges, connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for sensible, sensitive insight and a free consultation.
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February 13, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Crash Leads to 6 Deaths

by Michael Kraut

A horrendous Los Angeles DUI accident has left six people dead – including an entire family of four – and the 21-year-old female driver faces profound criminal charges.

Police allege that a young woman, , drove the wrong way on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar early Sunday morning, causing her to crash into two vehicles. Officials say that five women died (including the wrong way driver’s sister) and one man died. The driver of one of the vehicles involved in the collision — a Ford SUV — survived, as did Culbreath.

California Highway Patrol Spokesman, Rodrigo Jimenez, told reporters: “there are witnesses saying [Culbreath] was exceeding 100 miles per hour… we believe alcohol had something to do with this crash.”

Police took Culbreath to the hospital with a broken femur and ruptured bladder, and she was reported to be in stable condition. The accident caused a massive Sig-alert on the 60 for several hours, as authorities combed through the crash site to investigate what went wrong, how, and why.

In addition to felony Los Angeles DUI charges, Culbreath faces multiple counts of vehicular manslaughter. Prosecutors in vehicular manslaughter cases can often get quite heavy-handed and seek enormous and punitive sentences. Not all DUI attorneys know how to cultivate and develop appropriate defenses to such serious charges. The truth is that you may need to:

•   Find witnesses and take statements from them;
•   Pore over toxicology reports;
•   Interview experts in accident reconstruction;
•   Obtain other potentially pertinent evidence as soon as possible;
•   Even slight delays in the construction of your defense can make your case more challenging and complicate and weaken your defense.

You’re undoubtedly shaken up, disturbed, guilty, and potentially even physically injured. That said, you should waste no time constructing your Los Angeles DUI defense! Connect with Michael Kraut, a former senior level prosecutor who has handled many high profile serious criminal cases (from both the prosecutorial and defense vantages) today at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers.

February 10, 2014

Sheriff Accused of Driving DUI Rolls Over Pickup Truck with 4 Kids Inside…

by Michael Kraut

People who are intimately familiar with the dangers of Los Angeles DUI (or DUI anywhere) can still make horrendous mistakes – mistakes which can kill people and traumatize whole communities. Some people make bad mistakes, which, miraculously, do not lead to serious harm.

Fortunately for Utah Sheriff Lieutenant, Jake Adams, his recent DUI crash falls into the latter category.

The 39-year-old Adams, who’s worked at his local Sheriff’s Office since 1988, rolled over his Sheriff’s vehicle — a F150 pickup truck — with all four of his kids inside! According to the Utah Highway Patrol, Adams had been driving on Route 17 near the community of La Verkin at around 4:30 in the afternoon, when his vehicle suffered a “slow speed rollover.”

Todd Royce, a sergeant for the Utah Highway Patrol, reported on how the accident occurred: “Adams drifted off the right shoulder and then overcorrected back to the left. The truck left the roadway and went down a dirt embankment in a sideways slide.” The pickup then flipped onto its hood. Adams suffered a slight injury to his head (a red gash on his forehead), but the children (aged 8 to 14) remarkably made it through the incident without injury.

Police arrested the lieutenant for DUI as well as for making an unsafe lane change and carrying a gun while under the influence.

As Lieutenant Adams probably knows, the immediate hours and days after a DUI charge can be the most pivotal, from a legal point of view. Prosecutors often “jump the gun” and file DUI cases prematurely, prior to collecting enough evidence. An ex-prosecutor — with a thorough and detailed knowledge of how the government typically goes after DUI defendants — can advise you and make sure you follow best practices.

Understand that a California law enforcement agency may not file a DUI charge immediately. Just because you haven’t yet been charged doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Police may just be doing a thorough investigation to amass as much evidence as possible before charging you.

No matter where you are in your “post Los Angeles DUI journey,” it can behoove you tremendously to connect with an experienced former prosecutor at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to go over your defense options. Michael Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated attorney who’s racked up an impressive 99%-plus success record at jury trials. He maintains excellent relationships with his former prosecutorial colleagues as well as with judges and police officers in L.A. County.
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January 30, 2014

19-year-old Walloped with Six DUI Charges in Four Car Accident

by Michael Kraut

19-year-old Kayla Garcia, a Miami woman who allegedly caused a four-car crash on Hallandale Beach Boulevard, faces six DUI charges. The wreck allegedly caused over $27,000 in damage. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Officers who responded said Garcia displayed classic signs of DUI in Los Angeles (or anywhere), including:

• Glassy eyes;
• Trouble walking;
• Failure on road sobriety tests;
• Slurred speech.

Someone at the scene also saw a can of beer (Natural Light) fall on the ground from her car. In addition to four counts of property damage, Garcia faces charges of DUI first offense and DUI with a BAC of over 0.15%.

This is the not the teenager’s first run in with the law: Garcia faces other criminal charges in Miami-Dade County. The judge in her DUI case ordered a GPS monitor for her and set her bail at $40,000. The judge also warned “if it’s found you have consumed any alcohol [after being release on bail], you will be rearrested.” He also ordered her to submit to drug and alcohol testing every week.

The Golden State has a “no tolerance” policy for teen DUIs, and offenders can be punished per the traditional DUI vehicle codes (such as 23152 and 23153) as well as by two other laws, 23136 and 23140. Let’s unpack these and try to understand them.

California Vehicle Code Section 23156 subjects underage drivers (less than 21 years-old) to a mandatory one-year California license suspension, if they test with even a small fraction of alcohol in their systems. A reading of 0.01% on a breath test, for instance, can lead to license suspension. (If you don’t already have your license, you’ll still be penalized – you’ll be forced to wait an extra year before getting your license.)

And that’s just a civil penalty.

A violation of 23140 is classified as infraction: you’ll face a fine in addition to the loss of your driving privileges for a year. A BAC level between 0.05% and 0.07% is enough to trigger this penalty.

And, of course, if you’re over the legal limit of 0.08%, you face a whole gamut of punishments that we’ve discussed in detail on this blog and on the website.

For help getting to the bottom of your charges — and coming up with constructive, intelligent defense options — connect with Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor, Michael Kraut, and his legal team today to discuss your Los Angeles DUI defense.
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January 24, 2014

Justin Bieber Walloped with DUI Charge: Pop Singer Arrested in $250,000 Lamborghini

by Michael Kraut

If you recently got arrested for Los Angeles DUI, at least be grateful that your arrest is not international front page news.

The same CAN’T be said for 19-year-old pop star, Justin Bieber, who was arrested Thursday morning in a rented Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder Lamborghini in Miami Beach and charged with DUI, drag racing, and resisting arrest.

Apparently “the Biebs” left a club and hopped into his yellow Lamborghini to drag race 19 year-old rapper, Khalil Sharieff. (Incidentally, Sharieff was also arrested at the scene and hit with charges of drag racing and driving DUI.)

The teen crooner is no stranger to controversy. Beiber potentially faces felony vandalism charges for throwing eggs at his neighbor’s house in Southern California and causing upwards of $20,000 worth of damage to the property. That’s right — $20,000 worth of damage with eggs alone. How is that even possible? Was he chucking them right at chandeliers?

Beiber allegedly did not exactly react to the DUI stop with grace and poise. Reports say he berated the officer who stopped him at around 4 in the morning with a less than courteous: “What the f**k did I do? Why did you stop me?” and uttered a string of other profanities before he finally submitted to the arrest.

The pop star allegedly admitted to having smoked marijuana, taken prescription medications, and consumed alcohol.

Raymond Martinez, the Miami Beach Police Chief, told reporters that Bieber had been belligerent (at first), “using some choice words questioning why he was being stopped, why the officer was even questioning him.”

Two SUVs blocked traffic on Pine Tree Drive and 26th Street, creating an ad hoc strip for Bieber and Sharieff to drag race their Lamborghini and Ferrari.

Deputies in Los Angeles County have investigated reports of Bieber drag racing right here in Southern California in the normally sleepy town of Calabasas, and one neighbor said that Bieber one time spat in his face. However, police lacked evidence of the speeding and the spitting, so the L.A. County District Attorney decided not to prosecute.

If you drive after smoking marijuana – like Bieber allegedly did – you could be hit with a drug DUI charge per California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a). Per this vehicle code, even if you have a doctor’s order to take a medication, you can still be hit with a Los Angeles DUI charge. Police do not use breath tests in drug DUIs, but they can test you with urine or blood tests, and this chemical analysis can convince a jury that you were driving under the influence of narcotics or medications.

The good news – at least from a defendant’s standpoint – is that prosecutors have a much harder time convicting in drug DUI cases, in general, and police officers often don’t know what to look for when investigating drug DUIs.

Connect with experienced ex-prosecutor, Michael Kraut, today to develop your Los Angeles DUI defense.

January 20, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Demolition: MMA Fighter, Tito Ortiz, Whacked with DUI After Smashing Up his Porsche

by Michael Kraut

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard something about the big Los Angeles DUI news story of the week: MMA Champion, Tito Ortiz, smashed up his 2012 Porsche Panamera on the 405 at around 4:00 a.m. earlier this week.

The California Highway Patrol reports that the crash happened near Santa Monica Boulevard and Sepulveda – a notoriously confusing stretch of the 405.

According to some reports, that section of the 405 – near the freeway’s intersection with the 10 – is one of the most congested intersections on the entire continent… during the day, that is! During evenings and nights, the 405 can transform into almost dystopian landscape with seemingly endless stretches of barren freeways punctuated by drivers zipping along at breakneck speeds.

In any event… the 38-year-old Ortiz had been heading north, when he lost control over the Porsche and smashed into the center median strip. Two people in the car with him luckily survived without serious injury. Ortiz blew a 0.12% on a subsequence breathalyzer test. (As regular readers of this blog know, 0.12% is 1.5 times the legal limit for DUI in Los Angeles, West LA, or elsewhere in Southern California.)

Police booked Ortiz at 6:00 AM at a local station; he easily met his bond of $15,000. Reports say that Ortiz and his friends had been partying at the Playboy Mansion — a pre-party for the BCS National Championship. Ortizs holds the title of UFC light heavyweight champion.

He will face his misdemeanor DUI charge in court on January 27th.

Putting Ortiz’s Arrest in Context to Help You Make Sense of Your Los Angeles DUI Charge

One of the weirdest elements of the Los Angeles freeway and surface street system is the disconnect between what our roads are like during the day and what our roads are like during the evenings. Of course, there’s always a chance you’ll hit a sig alert on the 134 or the 101 at 4 a.m. But for the most part, the freeways clear off at night. During the day, however, they clog like arteries. As a result, traffic congeals, then freezes, then flows, much like how Antarctic ice floes operate. This peculiar process may be important to your defense, because different types of freeway conditions promote different types of driving behavior. (For instance, Ortiz would have had a difficult time careening wildly into the median on the 405 at 4:00 p.m. on a Monday because of the traffic congestion.)

To make sure that you understand exactly what happened, why, and what kind of Los Angeles DUI defense you may be able to construct, connect with an experienced attorney here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for insightful, lucid, and strategic insight.

January 6, 2014

Will Your Burbank DUI Arrest Ruin Your Acting, Singing or Modeling Career?

by Michael Kraut

Maybe your Burbank DUI arrest came just a few months after you moved into the Oakwood Apartments complex to kick off what you’d hoped would be a wonderful, enduring acting career.

Or maybe police stopped you on Olive Boulevard, late at night, while you were driving back from your “best audition yet.” In either case, you’re worried about what your Burbank DUI charge might mean for your acting, modeling or singing career.

In Hollywood, brand management is crucial. You need to be able to sell yourself, not just so agents and managers will pay attention to your work (and casting directors will call you back), but also so that your audience will cheer you and look at you in a good light.

It’s one thing for an already established actor, like Lindsay Lohan, to collect a string of Los Angeles DUIs. That’s not necessarily good for her career, but she already had cache that she could afford to “burn off” and remain viable as an acting commodity.

But if your name is associated with a Burbank DUI arrest (or, worse, an injury accident punishable as a felony under California Vehicle Code Section 23153), your career can be stunted. (It’s not as if casting directors and executive producers don’t know how to use Google!)

Your carefully wrought (and expensive to edit) personal home page may come up as the top result in Google, when someone Googles your name? But do you really want result #2 to be along the lines of “24 year-old Janie McBanie was busted for Burbank DUI Thursday. The aspiring actress and comedian smashed her Toyota Corolla into a telephone poll on Olive and tried to scratch the arresting officer with her nails.”

Unfortunately, you can’t turn back the clock. What’s happened has happened.

But you can be judicious about how you defend against your Burbank DUI charge.

When you retain our Burbank DUI defense lawyer, we will immediately go to work for you to collect evidence and advise you strategically. For instance, we can represent you at your DMV hearing and help you deal with the suspension of your California driver’s license. (If you can’t drive, it’s hard to book auditions and jobs).

We can challenge evidence, such as your breath test results, and answer all of your questions and concerns throughout the process. You have so much potential. Don’t let your Burbank DUI charges threaten your ability to do good work. Let the team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers help you.