DUI Checkpoints

September 20, 2013

Drug DUI in Los Angeles: Does New Colorado Law Portend Our Future?

Drug DUIs in Los Angeles are filed according to California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a), which makes it a crime if you operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other type of drug, both illegal and prescription.

Marijuana law is changing at a rapid place, here in California and in other states. As you may be aware, Colorado recently became the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana, and the CO state legislature just passed two historic marijuana bills to regulate and tax the substance.

The Colorado Senate approved House Bill 13-1325 by a margin of 24 to 11 and sent the law to Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who supports the initiative. HB 13-1325 creates a testable, objective legal limit for DUI for marijuana of 5 nanograms (or more) of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol per liter of blood. That substance is marijuana’s major psychoactive ingredient.

For years, Colorado lawmakers debated this bill fiercely. Advocates say that police officers need to measure marijuana DUI impairment objectively, to keep the state’s road safer. Opponents respond that the 5 nanogram standard is inappropriate because different people process marijuana differently. Someone who is effectively totally sober may still have a positive or near positive reading on this type of blood test, for instance, because of their biochemistry; whereas another person who’s actually legitimately under the influence might not even test positive.

In any event, the bill will almost certainly have reverberations throughout the nation, as more and more states push forward with efforts to legalize the drug. And the Golden State is almost certainly likely to proceed with legalization before, say, Georgia or Louisiana.

Los Angeles DUI drug testing
There are no breathalyzer tests for marijuana in Los Angeles. Instead, police officers can have you do a urine or blood test. Drug DUI cases are more difficult for prosecutors to win because many police lack the training to look for and catalog the objective signs of drug DUI. This lack of rigor gives an opportunity for an experienced Los Angeles DUI drug defense attorney to rip into the so-called science that prosecutors want to try to use against you.

Of course, if you fail in your efforts, the consequences can be pretty severe.

Not only can you earn jail time, fines, fees, and license suspension, but you also might be required to register as a narcotics offender with local police. You can lose your job or special security clearance, if you work in a classified job. And you can suffer tremendously due to the “downstream” effects of the conviction. For instance, if you lose your license and your job, you might not have money to support your family, which can add stress to your relationships and health.

Get in touch with Southern California drug DUI defense attorney Michael Kraut today for assistance with your case. Mr. Kraut has cultivated great relationships with law officials throughout the Southland, and he can provide a free and confidential consultation.

September 4, 2013

Want to Make Your Burbank DUI Charges Worse? Bite a Police Officer, Like This 27-Year-Old Woman Did.

by Michael Kraut

Hopefully, we can safely assume that you did NOT bite the police officer who arrested you for driving under the influence in Burbank.

But not every driver has that level of restraint!

Believe it or not, two major recent news stories involved drivers who bit people while getting busted for DUI.

For starters, let’s take a second look at the DUI arrest of former USF football star, Terrence Mitchell, who bit an EMT, after officers found him passed out in front of his car. The Tampa Bay Times summarizes the blow by blow: “while being evaluated by Tampa Fire Rescue personnel, Mitchell ‘became agitated’… and “twice attempted to bite an EMT [against the will of the EMT]…. Mitchell [later] admitted to police that he had consumed alcoholic beverages, was feeling its effects and ‘that he should not have been on the road.'”

But Mitchell’s spectacular story pales in comparison to the charges against 27-year-old Allison Richards of Connecticut.

Richards was arrested on August 13th for a variety of charges, including DUI, failure to signal, breach of peace, interfering an arrest, and – most vividly – assault on a police officer.

Here’s how it all went down.

Richard’s 2005 Subaru Legacy hit a lawn on Hollow Tree Road. Police found Richards standing by the vehicle, exhibiting signs that could indicate DUI in Burbank (or elsewhere), such as slurring her words. Inside the Subaru, officers found a six pack of beer with a bottle missing. Richards said that she was shopping at Lord & Taylor. She then took her son home and began to consume alcohol. She could not remember how she wound up on Hollow Tree Ridge Road.

Once the police moved to arrest her for DUI, things got heated – fast.

First, allegedly Richards stripped off her shirt and started cursing at the police. When the officers tried to subdue her, she lashed back by punching and kicking. Once they got her into the car, she continued with her tantrum, bashing at the partition with her feet. When they got to the police station, she wouldn’t get out. Eventually, they yanked her free and took her inside to be processed. Richards continued to try to strip off her clothing, and she bit one of the officers on the elbow. Eventually, police had to carry her to her cell, where she was held on $2,500 bond.

Something about Burbank DUI arrests bring out the “inner animal” in some people. Not everyone reacts to being arrested the same way. Some people are calm and cooperative. Others activate the “flight” part of the “fight or flight” response and try to leave the scene of the crime. (a big no-no, particularly if you hurt someone or caused property damage.)

The reality is that being arrested is a foreign, terrifying, and uncertain experience. Very few people leave their homes thinking “today is the day I am going to be arrested!” It certainly doesn’t help matters that many people stopped for crimes like DUI are on controlled substances, like alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications.

The silver lining is that, no matter what charges you face, you may have major legal defenses available to you. Connect with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to explore your defense options now. Mr. Kraut is a former Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor; he and his team have the wherewithal and knowledge to build you a very effective Burbank defense to DUI.

July 22, 2013

North Dakota Passes HB 1302, Ratcheting Up DUI Penalties. Implications for Burbank DUI Law?

by Michael Kraut

As someone who has been recently stopped and arrested for Burbank DUI at a checkpoint (or elsewhere), your mind is obviously focused on your urgent situation and not on national news involvements. But you should try to understand the context of your arrest on a broader level, since that context can inform your defense strategy and what measures you might take going forward to prevent another Burbank DUI arrest.

To that end, let’s mentally traverse a few thousand miles up to North Dakota, where local Governor Jack Dalrymple just signed into law House Bill 1302, which ratchets up penalties for DUI in ND. The new laws, which will go into effect on August 1, are far more draconian than the state’s old laws. Governor Dalrymple signed HB 1302 into law while surrounded by victims and family members of victims of DUI accidents. Here are key highlights:

• Anyone who blows a BAC of 0.16% or higher (even first time offenders!) will be hit with an aggravated DUI charge;
• If you test at 0.16% or more (twice the limit for DUI in Burbank, by the way), and you’re a recidivist, you must enroll in a 24/7 sobriety program and face an increase in mandatory jail time;
• Even first time offenders convicted of aggravated DUI must perform 10 hours of community service and serve two days behind bars;
• If you kill someone while driving under the influence, you could be charged with the new type of felony called a Class A felony. If convicted, you face a mandatory 3 year jail sentence;
• If you’ve been convicted of reckless or DUI driving in the past, and then you kill someone, you face a mandatory decade-long prison sentence;
• The law also creates a Class C felony charge (one to two year mandatory sentence) if you injure someone while driving DUI.

A local North Dakota state representative, Kim Koppelman, applauded the new stringent DUI laws: “We’ve sent a powerful message, supported by so many…this marks the culmination of a long, collaborative effort involving law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, the Governor, the Attorney General, corrections officials and the families of victims of drunk driving.”

Reflecting on what’s happened at North Dakota leads to a few observations:

• First of all, Burbank DUI laws (and DUI laws everywhere) are fluid. They change over time.
• Secondly, all the stakeholders in the DUI process – DUI defendants; lawyers; insurance companies; lawmakers; victims; and the general public – have a mutual interest in making our roads safer and ensuring a proper balance of punishment and rehabilitation.
• Given the ever-changing and complex nature of DUI law, you should strongly consider finding a talented, effective Burbank DUI defense attorney to help you with your case.

There is just too much information – changing too quickly – for you to be able to process and deal with your case on your own, if you want optimal results. Connect with Mr. Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for a thorough, strategic free consultation about your situation.

July 10, 2013

Talking to Your Kids about Your Long Beach DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

You just got arrested for DUI in Long Beach. You’re not happy about it. But you’re brave enough to acknowledge the difficulty of your reality.

Although you fear going to jail, losing your license, paying thousands of dollars in court costs and fees, and having to attend alcohol classes for weeks and months, what you fear most of all is talking to your children about what happened to you and why.

How do you broach the subject in an intelligent way that doesn’t make your kids too uncomfortable?

The answer obviously depends on the state of your relationship with your kids, their ages, and your own feelings of comfort about disclosing personal information. There is no one size fits all recipe here.

In some sense, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place:

“The rock” = you’re embarrassed.

Your children may be embarrassed. Your wife/partner/co-parent may be embarrassed. In an ideal world, no one would say anything, and you’d just clear the Long Beach DUI off your record and move on with your lives, as if nothing ever happened.

“The hard place” = lessons must be learned.

On the other hand, you need address reality. Your family needs to plan. If you lose your license or go to jail, your spouse or co-parent will need to pick up responsibilities. Your kids may need to fend for themselves a little more. You might need to call in friends and relatives to help with child care and other household business.

Before you engage in any momentous conversations with your kids, sit down and think through – and even write out – how you’d like the conversation to go. It might seem unnatural to “prescript” an emotional conversation like this. But just like you’d prepare to have an intense business conversation with a prospective client or boss; so, too, can you benefit from preparing to have an intense personal conversation.

Begin with purpose. WHY are you disclosing this information? What is the point in talking about your Long Beach DUI.

For instance, you might need to have this conversation just because the kids’ lives will be radically altered if/when you go to jail. Or you just might want to have the conversation because you fundamentally believe in being honest and open with your kids.

Next, derive the principles that you use to have the conversation. Here is an easy “hack” to derive these. Think about all the ways the conversation could “go wrong.” The opposite elements would make up your principles. For instance, if everyone started yelling and screaming, that would be unpleasant and would violate your principles. So one rule for the conversation would be “keep as calm and emotionally balanced as possible.” You might have 6 to 10 principles that you derive during this exercise.

Finally, imagine the conversation from a place of “best outcome.” In other words, if this conversation went as well as it could go, what would that look like? What would you feel like? What would you do afterwards? Really try to be positive (yes, it’s hard considering your Long Beach DUI arrest!) and imagine a wildly successful result. For instance, maybe your kids would give you a hug, and they would step up in the wake of your trial or license suspension to help out around the house, and you would all grow from the experience.

Of course, you also want to give serious consideration to the next steps in your case. A Long Beach DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you appreciate the charges and challenges ahead and guide you resourcefully and compassionately.

June 17, 2013

How Does Your Los Angeles DUI Compare to the Following?

by Michael Kraut

Was your Los Angeles DUI this bad?

After consuming 15 beers, 28-year-old Kile Wygle, of Newark, Ohio, hopped onto a motorized bar stool that he had made himself out of a deconstructed lawnmower.

Unsurprisingly, he crashed.

Wygle’s friend called 911 and told police “I got a friend who wrecked a bar stool.” The dispatcher at first was confused and thought Wygle had hit his head on a bar. The friend said, “no, he was riding the bar stool … a motorized bar stool.”

Wygle had to go to the hospital for minor injuries. After the crash, he told a reporter “I drank quite a bit after I wrecked.” He also told police that his homemade contraption could reach speeds of up to 38 miles per hour.

Whether he overestimated his vehicle’s capacity or not, his statement indicates that he knew that the stool could be dangerous. Had he ridden it on an open road, he could have hurt other people.

Unfortunately, when you’re young — and trying to impress friends with a homemade, motorized gizmo — safety may not be at the top on your list of concerns. But you can still land a serious DUI charge, even if what you’re driving does not technically look like a car or truck.

Most Los Angeles DUI charges are relatively “boring” — they involve stops at checkpoints and commonplace violations of California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 or 23153. Perhaps your situation was more “exotic” than the standard DUI. Maybe you were at a UCLA or USC frat party. Some “new wild friends” got you to drive up to the Hollywood sign, but you drove your car into the woods and got stuck on a hiking trail – something like that.

No matter how ridiculous (or pedestrian) your charges are, you need two forms of clarity.

#1. Get Clear on Where You Are Now
What charges do you face? What might your punishments be? What options you have to deal with your legal crisis? etc.

#1. Get Clear on Your Ideal Outcome
Given the realities of your situation — from a best case scenario — what could you expect? How can you make that positive outcome occur?

While you’re certainly free to try to figure out the answers to these questions on your own, that’s not a particularly savvy strategy. Consider connecting with a Los Angeles DUI defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut is an ex-prosecutor who retains very good relationships with his former prosecutorial colleagues… as well as with judges, police officers and other members of the Southern California legal community.

June 12, 2013

Pasadena DUI Trifecta: Man Gets 3 DUI Arrests in Just 5 Days… And Is Let Go!

by Michael Kraut

Imagine getting arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena three times within ten years. You know what happened to you if that occurred?

Prosecutors could throw the book at you.

In fact, punishments for “just” a misdemeanor DUI can be pretty astonishingly diverse:

• a year’s suspension of your California license;
• mandatory alcohol school;
• difficult probation terms;
• jail time;
• fees and fines;
• those punishments don’t even scratch the surface.
• Often, the most painful aspects of a DUI arrest/conviction involve the indirect consequences, including the loss of a job, the devastation of a relationship, and the break down of self-esteem (not to mention higher insurance rates).

Again, that’s just for a standard misdemeanor Pasadena DUI. If you get three convictions within a 10 year period, prosecutors can “hit you” much harder with a mandatory minimum of 120 days jail time, 18 months of alcohol school and a three year suspended license (among other things). They can also elevate what would ordinarily just be a misdemeanor to a felony count, meaning that you could spend over a year in jail for a crime that once might only have netted you several hours behind bars.

Put that in context, as we talk about an astonishing situation up in Marin County, California, where 71-year-old Gary Arnone was arrested three times for DUI within a span of just five days.

You read that right. That’s not a typo.

The first arrest came on Thursday, May 16th at around 3 AM, after a witness told police about a possible DUI driver. The second arrest happened less than 12 hours later at 2:45 PM – again, after a witness told police about an erratic driver. The third arrest, on Monday the 20th, followed a similar pattern. Police in San Rafael got a report that a driver on the 400 Block of Las Gallinas Avenue had been driving erratically – very slowly, with difficulty braking. Local police stopped the vehicle and found Arnone once again at the helm.

First time misdemeanor DUI bail amounts at Marin Superior Court are typically around $2600. But when police found out about the multiple arrests, the local judge boosted the bail to $75,000.

Arnone’s tangled tale was overshadowed by other Pasadena DUI news – mostly notably the arrest of Barbara Walter’s daughter, Jacqueline, which we covered in a separate post. But the implications of Arnone’s case are arguably more interesting and relevant to your situation.

After all, these multiple arrests raise questions that you may consider asking yourself, such as:

• Why might someone commit a crime like Pasadena DUI again and again within a short span of time?
• What types of psychological, financial or emotional crises fuel this kind of “DUI binging” behavior, and are you at risk for engaging in similar recidivism?
• What steps can you take – or processes can you put in place – to prevent you from heading down a similar path?
• Given your charges, can you avoid the worst penalties and protect key interests, like your freedom and your driver’s license?

The answers obviously depend on what Pasadena DUI crime you allegedly committed and other factors, such as your driving history, criminal record, and whether anyone was hurt or not in the crash.

Get in touch with attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for insightful, thorough free consultation about your matter. Mr. Kraut is an ex-prosecutor who attended Harvard Law School, and he maintains terrific relationships with important people in the Southern California legal community.

June 3, 2013

DUI in Los Angeles News of the Weird (Part I)

by Michael Kraut

As someone who’s been arrested recently for DUI in Los Angeles, you’re probably not in a “joking” or jovial mood. But you might find it helpful to reflect on the following stories (culled in part from a Funny or Die article from 2010 called “The Six Weirdest DUI Arrests Ever Made”) not only to “feel better” about what you’ve been through but also to understand that crazy, strange stuff happens to everyone.

With that preamble, let’s dive into this catalogue of curiosities…
Weird DUI #1: DUI on a horse, of course!

Several years ago, Colorado police got a shock when they saw local man, Brian Drone, riding a horse through a local strip mall. Turns out, Mr. Drone had consumed a few alcoholic beverages before hopping on his steed, and officers arrested him. This makes sense. We don’t want people to drive DUI in Los Angeles (or anywhere) because they might lose control of their vehicles and cause injuries, property damage, etc. A DUI horse rider could easily wreak havoc and destroy a mall. Probably in the days of horse-drawn wagons — before the emergence of the automobile – “RUI” accidents were all too common…
Weird DUI#2: DUI on a Barbie car – going 3 miles per hour!

Our second ridiculous case comes out of England, where 40 year old Paul Hutton, a Ex-Royal Airforce Aeronautical Engineer, got arrested by police after driving a “souped-up” electric Barbie car at 3 miles per hour near his Essex home.

Mr. Hutton had been showing off for his four children (ages 11-17). He later admitted that he had been a “complete twit” for hopping in the car while being twice the legal limit. (The legal limit for DUI in Los Angeles, as you might remember is 0.08% BAC, per CVC 23152).

Mr. Hutton told the court in Colchester: “I was very surprised to get done for drink-driving, but I was a twit to say the least… I’m in the third year of my electrical engineering course, and it was a little project [I was doing] with my son, who’s doing a car mechanics course…When [the car] was done, I couldn’t resist the temptation to take it out.”

The magistrate who heard the case said that the Barbie car DUI was “most unusual…I have never seen the like of it in 15 years on the bench… The vehicle is not even capable of doing the speed of a mobility scooter and could be outrun by a pedestrian. Taking this into account, we feel we can impose a sentence of a conditional discharge for a period of 12 months.”

Of course, not all Los Angeles DUIs are trivial matters – or laughing matters, for that matter.

For astute, thorough, and ethical assistance with your case, look to Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Attorney Kraut has a Harvard Law School education, and he has worked as a City Prosecutor (Senior Deputy District Attorney) and as a highly regarded LA criminal defense lawyer.

May 17, 2013

Victory at Supreme Court for DUI Defendant. Los Angeles Defendants, Take Note!

by Michael Kraut

The Wednesday before last, the Supreme Court issued a big decision in a DUI case that Los Angeles defendants should know about.

Justices ruled 8-1 in favor of a Missouri man, Tyler McNeely, concluding that the police should have obtained a search warrant prior to ordering a DUI blood test on him. Justice Clarence Thomas was the sole Justice to rule that a warrantless blood test would have been Constitutional.

The State of Missouri – and the Obama administration – had asked SCOTUS to endorse a sweeping improvement of rule to allow such warrantless DUI blood tests.

Background on the case
As we reported several months ago, McNeely got arrested in Cape Girardeau County, when a local trooper saw his car swerving and speeding all over the road. McNeely already had two DUI convictions, and he refused to take a breath test.

He also bombed out on the field sobriety tests. If you recently got arrested for DUI in Los Angeles yourself, you no doubt are familiar with what he likely went through – the finger to the nose test, the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the stand on one leg test, count backwards from 100 by 3’s test, etc.

Corporal Mark Winder of Missouri’s State Highway Patrol certainly had enough evidence to ask for a warrant for a blood test. Instead, he took the defendant to a nearby hospital, where a technician took blood for the test – all while McNeely was handcuffed. The results of the blood test were pretty substantial. McNeely’s blood had 0.154% BAC, nearly twice the legal limit for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, as defined as by California’s Vehicle Code Section 23152. Both a Missouri lower court and the Missouri State Supreme Court tossed the blood test results, because they said they violated McNeely’s Constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

According to the Missouri court, unless delaying could destroy critical evidence (or cause a threat to someone’s life), the police need to get warrants in such cases. In the latest SCOTUS ruling, the eight Justices who penned the majority opinion did not give guidance about when police should (or should not) seek warrants. Justice Anthony Kennedy – writing separately – said that a future case may give the Court a chance to get more in depth.

What does the SCOTUS ruling – and other recent, important DUI law fluctuations – mean for your case?

The SCOTUS situation highlights the fluidity of local and national DUI law. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced, up-to-speed, results-proven attorney to make sense of what’s happened to you and to build an appropriate defense.

The team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is ready to help you. Attorney Kraut is a very experienced, highly respected local lawyer who attended Harvard Law School and who worked for over 14 years as a prosecutor before becoming a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer.

May 15, 2013

Jury Doesn’t Give a Hoot about Hoot’s defense – Montana Man Convicted of 13th DUI. Burbank Repeat Defendants, Pay Attention!

by Michael Kraut

As someone who’s recently been arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank (or somewhere else in the Southland), you may be facing your second or third (or worse!) DUI charge within 10 years.

The California justice system is not exactly “soft” on recidivists.

As you probably already know, a Burbank DUI conviction – even a misdemeanor one, in which no one got hurt and no other crimes were committed – can lead to jail time, alcohol school, a year of license suspension, mandatory IID installation in your car or truck, humiliation, insurance problems, fines and fees, disruption to your life, and a criminal record.

As you rack up more and more Burbank DUIs (within a 10-year period), prosecutors can choose from a more diverse and brutal catalogue of punishments, including enhanced fines and fees, more jail time, longer probation, longer alcohol school, longer license suspension, and even special punishments.

To illustrate, let’s say you just got your third DUI charge. Under normal circumstances, you probably would only face a misdemeanor – perhaps a few days in jail, fines and a suspension. But because this is your third time, prosecutors could turn that misdemeanor into a felony charge. Now, if you’re convicted, you could face a year behind bars as well as the prospect of being forever stripped of key rights, such as your voting rights.

Convicted felons have a much harder lot in life – trouble finding employment, getting leases approved, and securing housing.

Consider all those consequences in light of a jaw-dropping story out of Billings, Montana.

A Yellowstone County District Court just convicted 54-year-old John Harvey Hoots of his 13th DUI. You read that right. That’s not a typo. Hoots was arrested on July 31, 2012, just six weeks after he had gotten out of prison, after serving a decade for his 12th DUI conviction.

Hoot testified that he was trying to escape from an angry neighbor, when police arrested him for DUI. According to multiple witnesses, Daniel Belmarez called police at 7 in the evening to say that Hoots had “dropped his pants to the ground and exposed himself …a second call to 911 was made about 15 minutes later by Belmarez’s mother, who said Hoots had returned and made a gesture indicating he had a gun.”

The police showed up, just as Hoots hopped in a pickup truck to take off. Police stopped him and arrested him, after discovering that he had a BAC of 0.20%. For those of you keeping score, that’s precisely 2.5 times the Burbank DUI legal limit, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152.

Hoots defense rested on “he said, she said” argument. Hoots said that Belmarez threatened him with a gun and that he had no choice but to flee in his truck. Hoots’ attorney asked him: “did you believe that if you didn’t leave their [presence] that Mr. Belmarez would cause you serious bodily injury and kill you?” Hoots replied that he did and that he was “very scared.”

Prosecutors rejoined that Hoot’s claim had no credibility. Even though evidence of his prior DUI convictions – the checkered criminal history – was not allowed, the jury still didn’t buy his story.

Obviously, we can’t really comment about the strategies involved, without delving into the details of the case. But the case illustrates something very important: To build an effective Burbank DUI defense, you need to be credible. Avoid “making stuff up,” not just out of fear of perjury but also out of respect for the law and a need for good ethics.

If you strategically approach your case the right way, you might be surprised by the amount of leniency the judge (or jury) might give you.

Of course, it takes skill and experience to build a strategic case. Fortunately, the Burbank DUI defense attorneys at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers have that experience, and they are standing by to take your call and help you feel more prepared about what’s going to happen to you next.

May 3, 2013

Long Beach DUI Sports News: Trumaine Johnson of St. Louis Rams Busted for Misdemeanor DUI in Missoula

by Michael Kraut

Although this blog focuses on Long Beach DUI cases, we’ve been covering a surprisingly sizable number of cases out of the Big Sky State of Montana recently.

To wit, The Associated Press is reporting that Trumaine Johnson, a cornerback with the St. Louis Rams, got arrested for a misdemeanor DUI, after police saw him driving without his headlights.

Like many Long Beach DUI defendants do, he refused a breath test. Police booked him into jail. He later secured his released on a $700 bond. The former University of Montana star had a great first year with the Rams, racking up 31 tackles and 2 interceptions as a first year player. Not bad.

Obviously, without knowing any more details, we can only speculate on what happened — why he got the DUI. Perhaps, for instance, he would have passed the breath test had he chosen to take it. As we’ve reported in multiple posts, DUI breath tests are surprisingly unreliable – in both directions. For instance, if you exhale very lightly into a machine — or if the machine isn’t calibrated — you can blow a negative, when really you’re technically positive for Long Beach DUI. On the other hand, if you blow a very deep breath — or if you’re on an intense ketogenic diet, or if you have diabetes — you can easily blow a false positive.

It’s easy to get lost in technical details.

To that end, consider investigating your Long Beach DUI charges with the help of a qualified, respected attorney. You might also aim to focus on the deeper reasons for your Long Beach DUI stop. Perhaps the police treated you unfairly. Perhaps you weren’t even under the influence – or just barely under the influence.

In an ideal world, you want not only to beat the charges but also to prevent similarly embarrassing/danger situations from happening again.

To protect yourself (and others), you need to be very honest with yourself (and with your attorney) about what exactly happened, why, and what you can do to avoid trouble in the future.

These questions can touch on deep, troubling topics.

That’s why the most respected Long Beach DUI defense attorneys are excellent listeners – they often need to do both the “nuts and bolts” work of executing a defense and the “softer” work of counseling clients to help them become safer, more conscientious drivers.

For help managing your Long Beach DUI case, connect with the astute, thorough team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Attorney Michael Kraut is a former prosecutor (Senior Deputy District Attorney) who has tremendous experience on both sides of high level DUI cases.