DUI Checkpoints

June 6, 2011

Los Angeles DUI Memorial Day Numbers Are In – Stats are Similar to 2010s, and That’s Kind of a Shame

The California Highway Patrol released its Los Angeles DUI Memorial Day weekend statistics. According to various sources, CHP officers arrested 230 motorists in L.A. County from the period starting midnight Friday, May 27th, through midnight Monday, May 30th. All told, statewide, nearly 900 people were arrested for DUI – 132 fewer than 2010. So that’s good news, for the state. But in Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, and Los Angeles DUI news, other numbers weren’t so terrific. For instance, three traffic related DUI deaths happened in the first 36 hours of the Memorial Day weekend – thus L.A. County accounted for half of the six total California fatalities over Memorial Day.

Law enforcement officials are staging another anti-DUI effort starting on July 4th weekend ending on Labor Day weekend.

It’s a statistical reality that Los Angeles DUI injury accidents are far more likely to occur during holidays, such as Memorial Day, July 4th weekend, Labor Day, New Year’s Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday. Why?

The answer is at first blush obvious: more people party on those weekends. Therefore, more drivers — on average — will likely be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, prescription medications and thus more likely to commit injury accidents.

But take this idea and follow its logical extension: you might come to some pretty interesting conclusions. Holidays encourage reckless behavior. So since carousing leads to an increase in DUIs, would restricting or eliminating holidays therefore reduce DUIs?

In other words, say, starting immediately, we decided to end all national holidays – no more Memorial Day, no more Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. These days would no longer be days on which people would celebrate, carouse, and be more likely to drive under the influence. Undoubtedly, this practice would save lives, probably hundreds of lives each year in every major American city — as well as prevent untold injuries and costs associated with property damage.

The question is: At what cost?

Would sacrificing all of our fun times and holidays be worth the trade-off of preserving life and protecting property?

Obviously, the philosophical implications are far too deep to explore in any length in a short blog post. But they are certainly interesting, and they go to show that controlling DUI is a lot more complicated than simply setting up a checkpoint here and there and spreading educational campaigns. These issues touch on the very fabric of who we are as a people.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut (Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers – 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1520, Los Angeles, California 90028), a former prosecutor with a terrific record at jury trials, can help you understand how best to fight back against the charges you face. Whether you’ve caused minor property damage while DUI or got stopped at a checkpoint and tested to have a BAC level of just slightly over Southern California DUI limit of 0.08% BAC, Attorney Kraut can help isolate, design, and execute a sound strategy.

June 3, 2011

Burbank DUI Checkpoints Violating Civil Liberties?

by Michael Kraut

The police officers who stop drivers at Burbank DUI checkpoints are empowered to remove dangerous drivers from the roads to enhance public safety. And while everyone can agree that we want to reduce and ideally eliminate Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, etc., civil liberties groups are complaining that DUI checkpoints are being used to generate impoundment fees… as opposed to eliminating DUI drivers!

According to a May 24th story from the Associated Press, a lawmaker in Northern California (Santa Rosa), Assemblyman Michael Allen (D), has proposed a law to “restrict the inspections to their intended purpose of stopping drunken driving.” Allen’s bill, AB 1389, points out that impoundments have leapt over the 50% between 2007 to 2009.

In many California cities, Allen says, “the ratio of impoundments to DUI arrest is 20 to 1.” The California Police Chief Association, among other enforcement agencies, denies that DUI checkpoints are being abused to generate impoundment fees. David L. Maggard, Jr. responded via e-mail that “DUI checkpoints are exclusively about safety.” Another Assemblyman, Kevin Jeffries, complained that the bill would tie up police and prevent enforcement of anti-DUI policy: “I was a volunteer firefighter for 29 years, and I saw a lot of carnage the road because of drunk drivers…this weakens our ability to catch drunk drivers.”

The bill proposed by Allen would codify a state Supreme Court ruling that “requires officers to conduct their checkpoints on roads that already have a high rate of DUI arrest or accidents, and then give advance notice of the location.”

Clearly, there has to be some way to find a balance here between respecting the rights and civil liberties of drivers and keeping our roads safe and clear of dangerous drivers.

Unfortunately, the way the system has been politicized, policy analysts, politicians, and many people in the legal system have been conditioned to believe that only “win-lose” outcomes are available. Either the police “win” or DUI drivers “win.” This kind of binary choice is obviously a false choice, if you probe the argument in any logical detail. Surely, we collectively can find ways to eliminate or reduce DUI driving and abuse of checkpoints and make our roads safer – all at the same time. It’s just going to take creativity and a little more willingness to both experiment with policy solutions and to measure the efficacy of the solutions in a smart way.

Changing our cultural expectations of drivers may help a lot more than simply punishing them. For instance, right now, in spite of the fact that California’s laws prohibit drivers from text message while driving, many people still do it anyway. If we can find a way to eliminate the “social permission” that we’re tacitly giving each other to text while driving, we can likely reduce accidents significantly – all without punishing anybody.

All of this philosophizing aside, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can provide crucial, tactical, and strategic advice and solutions for you, if you or someone you care about has been charged with a DUI crime. Michael Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) is a highly reputed former prosecutor (served as a Deputy District Attorney almost for 15 years), who is respected by prosecutors and judges and regarded by major media as an expert in Los Angeles DUI law.

May 18, 2011

Glendale DUI Brouhaha Brews in Senate over Google and Apple Apps

by Michael Kraut

Mobile apps designed and provided by the likes of Google and Apple can “yield up” the locations of Glendale DUI checkpoints (and DUI checkpoints throughout the US). These apps have raised the hackles of lawmakers. Last Tuesday, a US Senate Subcommittee held a hearing with Apple’s VP of Software Technology to discuss the legality of apps that can alert drivers to checkpoints for Glendale DUI, Burbank DUI, Los Angeles DUI, Pasadena DUI, and so forth.

Two of the most popular apps are Buzz’d and Fuzz Alert. Senator Chuck Schumer lashed into the software execs about these apps in particular, saying that they “really only have one purpose” – to clue drivers into where police stakeouts might be. Schumer did not mince words. He told Alan Davidson, the Director of Public Policy for Google: “I hope you that you narrowly look at this app. You agree that it is a terrible thing, and it probably causes death.”

Apple defended itself by saying that the apps often just publish data in real time that the police department themselves put out. Schumer and others countered that this argument qualified as a “weak read” and challenged the software company to admit that the apps essentially are designed to help people violate laws like California Vehicle Code Action 23152(a) and 23152(b).

Likely, the debate over the legality and general fairness of apps like Fuzzed and Buzz Alert has only just began. One question that seems to have eluded the Senator is: “Should drivers really be using their mobile devices while driving in the first place?” After all, as this blog has documented many times over, some evidence suggests that driving while talking on cell phones – especially while texting – can be as dangerous as or perhaps even more dangerous than driving under the influence in Glendale or elsewhere.

Irrespective of how the police stopped you for DUI (checkpoint, roadside stop, etcetera), you would like the services of a highly reputable Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney to work out a plan for your defense. The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) is dedicated to serving defendants through meticulous preparation and strategic planning. Lead counsel, Attorney Michael Kraut, is very experienced – he spent nearly 15 years as a prosecutor for the city before “switching over” to represent defendants. He is widely considered to be an expert in Los Angeles DUI Law, and he has appeared on KTLA, Fox News, and other media to discus and analyze critical DUI cases.

May 9, 2011

More DUI in Long Beach Sports News – Another Major Leaguer, Shin Soo Choo, Cited for DUI

by Michael Kraut

Not EVERY sports celebrity has been pulled over on charges of driving under the influence in Long Beach (and elsewhere) this year. But it sure seems that way, sometimes, doesn’t it? The sheer number of sports celebs who’ve been tagged in 2011 for driving under the influence in Burbank, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, etc, is, in a word, disconcerting.

The latest big sports related DUI arrested occurred last Monday morning, when Shin Soo Choo, an outfielder for Cleveland Indians (the MLB’s best team, currently) got arrested for DUI in Sheffield Lake, Ohio. USA Today reported that Shin Soo Choo became “the sixth major leaguer cited for a possible DUI this year… he joins Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, Seattle’s Adam Kennedy, Cleveland teammate Austin Kearns, Atlanta’s Derrick Lowe and Oakland’s Coco Crisp as players arrested on suspension of DUI.” Is it just quirky that so many sport celebs have been arrested for DUI? Or are quirks becoming the norm this year?

Here is an argument for the second interpretation: A Connecticut women actually delivered her child at a DUI checkpoint! This story comes courtesy of www.whac.com: “Bethel and Trevor Hairston were in their Plainfield, Connecticut home Saturday night when Beth went into labor. When they hit a DUI checkpoint, Trevor tried to roll through it… “I kind of did a California role. I didn’t really stop, but I just rolled up the window and said ‘my wife is in labor, we’re going!’… a police officer got into the car with them to help to deliver the baby. Ten minutes after stopping at the checkpoint, baby Christian Hairston was born at exactly 1 am in the passenger seat of the Hairston’s car.”

So, we’ve got lots of sports stars getting arrested for DUI, a couple giving birth at a DUI checkpoint, but no additional lawnmower DUI arrests (at least according to a recent scan of Google News).

The symptoms of Long Beach DUI often mimic “symptoms” of other conditions – such as fatigue, stress, disease/exhaustion, and yes, even pregnancy. If an officer notes that you seem shaky, wobbly, disoriented, uncoordinated, unable to explain where you’ve been, nervous, agitated, etc, he or she will be more suspicious that you might be DUI. But as the story about the Hairstons proves, not everyone who acts oddly – for instance, rolls through a DUI checkpoint – is breaking the law or even fractionally intoxicated.

To develop a smart defense to charges against you, connect with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, like Long Beach’s Michael Kraut (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). Although Mr. Kraut cannot guarantee that your charges will be dismissed or reduced, he can leverage his 14 plus years as a former prosecutor, excellent record at jury trials, deep relationships with prosecutors, and strong knowledge of Los Angeles DUI law to improve your odds of getting good results.

March 30, 2011

Long Beach DUI Sexual Battery: San Diego Officer Slapped with 10 Felony Counts for Harassing Women

by Michael Kraut

Most salacious stories involving Southern California DUI involve drivers doing or saying queer things that illicit eye-rolling, head-shaking, or other condemnation. But last week, the tables turned: Instead of a DUI defendant getting charged with a crime like DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, Pasadena DUI, or Los Angeles DUI, a San Diego police officer was charged with harassing up to nine different women during a string of DUI stops.

As the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on March 21, Officer Anthony Arevalos pled not guilty to 10 different felony counts pursuant to charges that he sexually assaulted, restrained, and falsely imprisoned several women over the course of months. Officer Arevalos allegedly pulled over women in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego on October 22, December 29, March 8, and several other times for DUI and then proceeded to “ask them all what they could offer him to get out of their compromising situations. The women ranged in age from 20 to 31.”

According to Deputy DA Sherry Thompson, Arevalos scared the women by pointing out how costly Southern California DUI defense can be. In one of the most salacious examples of the alleged abuse, “he asked a woman leaving Mardi Gras celebrations what it was worth to her to get out of an arrest… Arevalos responded by directing her to drive to a nearby 7-Eleven and then allegedly asked for her panties and bra in a locked restroom… The woman claims that he then put his arm around her and fondled her crotch before letting her go.” According to the Union-Tribune, authorities have surveillance video of this act occurring.

Obviously Arevalos’ alleged misbehavior was not only illegal but also a violation of the rights of DUI suspects. Long Beach DUI process must be upheld. If a police officer fails to follow proper protocol by setting up a checkpoint station incorrectly or by violating the Constitutional rights of suspected DUI drivers, then the charges can be dismissed, and the officers who violated your rights can even get in trouble.

The challenge that many Long beach DUI defendants face is how to demonstrate that they are actually telling the truth. Often, a defense seems like it must devolve into a game of “he said, she said” – your word versus the word of one or several police officers.

Fortunately, a competent and experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can prepare you effectively to meet challenges and build a compelling, evidence-based argument to either get your charges dismissed or get them pleaded down. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) is a Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor for the city (14+ years as a Deputy DA) who boasts a terrific record at jury trials and a history of getting excellent results for clients even in difficult, legally complicated situations.

February 28, 2011

Pasadena DUI Gossip: Juicy DUI Stories from Last Week

by Michael Kraut

Let’s face it: Most Pasadena DUI stops involve work-a-day misdemeanors – generally well-meaning folks who make errors in judgment or take undue risks. But sometimes, stories about DUI in Burbank, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Los Angeles, and Glendale DUI take turns for the bizarre, spectacular, or simply queer. In this blog post, we will take a look at two standout DUI stories from last week and explore resources to help defendants develop better road habits and equip themselves with a proper legal defense.

Story Number 1: Beware the Ice-Cream Man
We all know that kids love the ice cream truck and parents fear it because ice-cream contains gobs of sugar, which has long been associated with obesity, diabetes, and a host of other health problems. But a Tampa Bay ice-cream truck proved unusually dangerous last week for a totally different reason. On Monday afternoon, the police pulled over a Sub-Zero ice-cream truck in Tampa Bay driven by 49-year-old Ronald Purdy, after Purdy nearly plowed into a child awaiting his tasty treats. Deputies who arrived at the scene tested Purdy to have a blood alcohol constitution of 0.227% and found two open bottles of whisky in his truck. Yikes.

Story Number 2: Real housewives get in real big trouble
Star Magazine reports that Marysol Patton, a 44-year-old star of the Real Housewives of Miami, was arrested in January 2010 for DUI in Miami Beach. Patton’s mother, Elsa, also got arrested in 2010 for DUI (October). The 76-year-old pled not guilty and got her charge dismissed, when the officer who pulled over failed to show up. Meanwhile, Marysol and her mom had even more company – Philippe Pautesta, Marysol’s boyfriend, also got charged with DUI last year and drove away from the scene of an accident.

The ice-cream truck story and the story about the Real Housewives’ DUI mess suggests that many people might still be confused about what exactly constitutes the crime of driving under the influence. If you have one drink, does that make you too intoxicated to drive? What about two? Three? Clearly, four would…right? The answer has less to do with the number of drinks you have than your degree of impairment and your blood alcohol concentration.

California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (a) and 23152 (b) define the crime of driving under the influence in Pasadena (and elsewhere in California) and spell out the penalties that offenders will face. If you are too impaired by drugs or alcohol to drive, you violate 23152 (a). If your blood alcohol concentration is greater than 0.08%, you violate 23152 (b). Do note that ice-cream truck driver Ronald Purdy allegedly had a BAC of more than 0.22% – nearly three times the CA limit.

Discussing your DUI case with an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney is a smart and probably necessary first step for you, if you face charges. Get in touch with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) to set up a free case evaluation to build your Pasadena DUI defense. Mr. Michael Kraut has a fantastic record at jury trails – a 99% success rate – and he is a former prosecutor who has a Harvard Law School education. In other words, he has both formidable credentials and proven “on the ground” results. Let him help you figure out your best next steps.

December 6, 2010

Los Angeles DUI by Faith Evans Results in a Plea of “No Contest” to her Misdemeanor; Singer gets Probation

by Michael Kraut

Last Monday, singer Faith Evans plead “no contest” to her charge of misdemeanor Los Angeles DUI, pursuant to her August arrest in Marina del Rey. The Grammy award winner and widow of the Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) heard Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton lay out her sentence. If you have recently likewise been arrested and charged with misdemeanor DUI in Los Angeles, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Burbank, or DUI elsewhere in the County, you might be fascinated to hear the celebrity’s ultimate verdict:

• Three months of alcohol education
• Three years of probation
• $300 fine on top of other penalties
• Prohibited from driving with any alcohol in her system during her probation
As you may remember, the drama happened at 10:40 p.m. on August 21, when Ms. Evans got pulled over at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard at a Los Angeles DUI checkpoint.

The “I’ll Be Missing You” singer experienced a brush with the law six years earlier in Atlanta, when she and her boyfriend at the time, Todd Russaw, got pulled over at an Atlanta suburb and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana. Following her August 2010 arrest, Evans reassured her fans via Twitter that she was doing well and stoked enthusiasm for the upcoming release of a new music video.

Although the punishments doled out to Ms. Evans may seem somewhat harsh – who wants to pay a $300 fine and be prohibited from driving with any alcohol in your system whatsoever for three whole years? – in reality, things could have been a lot worse for her. The court can impose harsh penalties, even for a minor misdemeanor Marina del Rey DUI involving no property damage, injuries, or other traffic violations. For instance, at maximum, you could get six full months behind bars, fines of $1,000 on top of court costs, a full year license suspension, nine months of DUI alcohol school, a court-imposed requirement to install an interlock device in your vehicle, and seriously strict terms of probation.

Of course, these Los Angeles DUI punishments can be ratcheted up even further, depending on the circumstances. For instance, if this is your second or third DUI conviction within 10 years; if you hurt somebody or destroyed property while DUI; or if you violated other laws or traffic rules while DUI, the court can hammer you with a longer jail sentence, steeper fines, and many other penalties.

To protect your rights, your ability to drive, and your professional reputation, it behooves you to retain an experienced attorney to draw up a plan of action for your defense. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut spent nearly a decade-and-a-half as a prosecutor for the city (Deputy DA for Los Angeles) before opening The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers and representing criminal defendants.

Attorney Kraut is regarded as an expert in Los Angeles DUI law by both his legal peers and by the mainstream media (e.g. The New York Times, Fox KTLA News, Los Angeles Times, etc.) and he boasts a Harvard Law School education and an exceptional track record at jury trials.

December 2, 2010

Southern California DUI Bloggers React to “Hogan Knows Best” Sidekick’s Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Many celebrity Los Angeles DUI arrests that “go viral” revolve around extremely well known celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, and Nick Nolte. But as this blog tries to highlight, many “minor” celebrity DUI arrests happen every week. Last week, Glenn Douglas Packard, a regular on the reality TV series “Hogan Knows Best” got pulled over for DUI in Miami Beach. Glenn%20Douglas%20Packard%20DUI.jpg

If you have recently been pulled over for a DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Burbank, or DUI in Los Angeles or elsewhere in the Southland, the debate over Packard’s legal “prognosis” may intrigue you.

According to reports from the gossip website TMZ.com, a Miami Beach police officer pulled Packard over last Wednesday morning and observed that he “definitely had a strong odor of an alcohol beverage on his breath” and had “red and watery eyes, slurred speech, and unsteady stance.” Packard allegedly admitted to the officer that he was the evening’s designated driver and that he had had “only three drinks.” Packard submitted urine samples for testing. Low and behold, two tests came back below the Florida (and California) legal limit of 0.08%. He tested at 0.65% and 0.77% respectively – close to DUI but not necessarily over the line. As of this posting, it’s unclear how Packard’s defense will play out, but his conundrum might be instructive.

After all, in certain cases, it can be very difficult to completely deny a DUI charge. For instance, if you crash into a tree and test having a BAC of 0.35%; and if dozens of witnesses testify that they saw you chugging down Long Island ice teas like there was no tomorrow — then your ability to plead “not guilty” gets, shall we say, quite complicated.

However, many cases are very similar to Packard’s – they involve drivers who test near or at the legal limit, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b), which says that a driver who operates a motor vehicle with a BAC of 0.08% or greater can be convicted for Los Angeles DUI and can face points on their DMV record, jail time, suspension of a CA driver’s license, court costs and fines, and other unpleasant penalties.

But even if you tested over the 0.08% limit, a savvy and experienced lawyer, such as Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut, can challenge the results of your test by doing things like examining the accuracy of the breathalyzer test, probing the police work done, and even looking for factors that might have interfered with the test results. For instance, diabetics often have chemicals on their breath which interfere with breathalyzer results and cause them to blow “false positives” for DUI.

The general point here is that, if you or someone you care about has been recently arrested for Los Angeles DUI, it behooves you to consult ASAP with a good lawyer. Attorney Kraut has a terrific reputation in the industry – not only is he well respected by past clients, but he is also held in high regard by judges and prosecutors, most likely because Attorney Kraut served himself as a prosecutor for 14+ years, and he attended Harvard Law School.

November 28, 2010

Los Angeles DUI Arrests This Thanksgiving Weekend

by Michael Kraut

DUI arrests were up significantly this Thanksgiving weekend. The California Highway Patrol assigned all available units to man the streets to catch as many Los Angeles DUI drivers as possible. The statistics have now been released and the number of drunk driver arrests are up. Over the same period last year there were 271 California DUI arrests. This year the number increased to 289 DUI arrests in California. The good news is that the number of driver’s killed was significantly down. The total number of deaths due to Los Angeles DUIs was down to eleven.

The statistics are as follows:

Burbank DUI cases

The number of Burbank DUIs also rose this weekend. The statistics are not fully in for the number of DUI arrests in Burbank. According to a leading Burbank DUI Defense Attorney, there has been a significant increase in the efforts of law enforcement in Burbank to stop the number of people driving under the influence of Alcohol in Burbank.

Pasadena DUI cases
The Pasadena Police Department mobilized their officers in an attempt to catch as many Pasadena DUI drivers as possible. While it may seem that that the efforts were overkill, the police want to put the word out this holiday season that driving under the influence in Pasadena will not be accepted. Ask any top rated Pasadena DUI Defense attorney and they will tell you that this is the best way to keep the public safe and away from harm.

Beverly Hills DUI Arrests
The Beverly Hills Police Department is one of the best trained and most highly paid of all law enforcement in Los Angeles County. The department leads the way in Beverly Hills DUI arrests and some of the highest jail sentences for a conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills DUI Defense Attorney Michael Kraut is one of the top rated DUI defense lawyers in California and he is often quoted in news and print media. When asked about DUI news in Beverly Hills, Mr. Kraut explains that the City has the resources and public backing to quash those charged with this crime within the City limits.

November 17, 2010

Los Angeles DUI Checkpoints will Expand, Thanks to Large Grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety

by Michael Kraut

Last week, the California Office of Traffic Safety announced that it has awarded a $1.1 million grant to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to expand Los Angeles DUI checkpoints, in an ongoing effort to fight back against injuries and deaths on Southland freeways and surface streets.

If you’ve recently been pulled over for Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, or Burbank DUI, you may have had an inkling that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was stepping up patrols and enforcement. In fact, the LASD has experimented with new methods and generated new results over the past several years. Three separate motorcycle safety enforcement operations apparently have reduced motorcycle accident fatalities in California. In 2009, 29% fewer motorcyclists died on Southern California road than did in 2008. That said, California is still one of the three most dangerous states for motorcyclists.

The LASD hopes to use the grant money to pursue “warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, saturation patrols, and court stings.” The Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety, Christopher Murphy, celebrated California’s reduction in alcohol impaired collisions over the past several years. But Murphy insisted “to keep this trend going, we will continue to strive the meet our vision – towards zero deaths, every one counts.”

Two vehicle code sections may be applicable to the crime of DUI in Southern California. The first, California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a), says that, if a police officer pulls you over while you are driving a car, truck, motorcycle, or other motor vehicle, and you happen to be under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic, you may be arrested and taken to jail and then charged with a crime. If you are convicted of this crime – even for a misdemeanor – you can face fines and court costs, license suspension, forced installation of a device in your vehicle that will prevent you from driving if you’ve been drinking at all, and mandatory jail time.

A second relevant law, California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b), defines the crime of Southern California DUI slightly differently. It says that, if you drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more, you can be arrested for DUI and subject to the penalties described above set forth in 23152(a).

If you’ve injured somebody while driving under the influence, other sections of the CVC may be relevant. For instance, DUI with injury is covered by California Vehicle Code Sections 23153(a) and 23153(b). Essentially, these sections can elevate standard misdemeanor charges to felonies if the DUI driver caused injury to another person.

Responding Effectively to Charges
Your legal representation can make an enormous difference to your ultimate sentencing and punishment. A resourceful Los Angeles DUI attorney, like Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Michael Kraut, may even get the charges against you dropped altogether.