DUI Consequences

April 1, 2014

Colorado Man Might Face First Degree Murder Charges for DUI Death

If you’ve been arrested on a Los Angeles DUI charge, odds are that you’re probably facing a relatively minor (but still serious) charge, such as misdemeanor DUI. If your case is extreme – for instance if you hurt someone – you might face a felony. This is a very serious charge that can lead to over a year behind bars.

However, unless your situation is very intense, you probably won’t face a first degree murder charge.

Not so for Ever Olivos-Gutierrez, a native Mexico living in Colorado, who hit and killed a man last Monday morning. Authorities say Olivos-Gutierrez ran a stop light and smashed his Ford Expedition into a Chevy Camaro driven by Juan Carlos Dominguez-Palomino, killing the 17-year-old on the scene. Olivos-Gutierrez then fled the crash, but police tracked him down. Per the arrest affidavit, he tested over four times the legal limit for DUI.

Prior to the fatal crash, Olivos-Gutierrez had been arrested multiple times on DUI-related charges and other traffic incidents. Approximately half of his arrests and offenses happened when he was living in the United States illegally – he never had a Colorado driver’s license.

Authorities say that his fatal wreck last week mirrored a similar crash in September 2008, when an illegal immigrant named Francis Hernandez hit a pickup truck while DUI — driving 80 miles per hour — on a street in Aurora. The force of the accident thrust the truck into a nearby ice-cream shop, where it killed a 3-year-old boy and two women who had been eating inside.

Despite the fact that Olivos-Gutierrez had been arrested twice for DUI – once in 2000 and once in 2007 — and that he committed multiple driving offenses and infractions, while driving without a license and living in the country illegally — he served less than a year of jail time. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only had documentation of one of his arrests. (When the Denver Post reported on this story, officials from ICE did not comment.)

Recently, in California, our Supreme Court decided to give the green light to prosecutors to pursue DUI murder charges – also known as Watson Murders. This charge is a second degree murder charge, and it can be punished by up to life in prison. Part of what makes this charge particularly strong is that it contains an element of what’s known as “implied malice” – i.e., the driver clearly understood the dangerous risks of his actions but engaged in bad behavior anyway and then killed somebody. After you have been convicted of a DUI, you need to sign a statement known as a Watson Advisement that acknowledges that you understand how dangerous DUI driving can be.

For help unpacking your Los Angeles DUI defense, connect with attorney Michael Kraut. Mr. Kraut is a former prosecutor (Deputy District Attorney). He has appeared on Good Morning America and written in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times about DUI cases in the news.
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March 31, 2014

Are You Reliving Your Los Angeles DUI…Over And Over And Over Again?

by Michael Kraut

You just got arrested for DUI in Los Angeles. Your mind is racing with questions:

•   “What attorney should I hire?”
•   “What can I do, if anything, to fight the automatic drivers license suspension?”
•   “How will I manage my life, if I have to spend substantial time behind bars or spend months without a valid license to drive to work?”
•   “What will my friends and parents think about me?”

You’d love to concentrate on solving those issues, but your mind just can’t stay focused. You keep getting drawn back into remembering the drama of what happened. Perhaps the event was actually dramatic, in an objective sense. For instance, maybe your car flipped on the 210, and you hit a concrete barrier. Or maybe you almost ran into (and killed) some pedestrians.

You can’t stop yourself from thinking about the different ways the accident or arrest could have “gone worse.”

Or maybe you keep recalling the feeling of fear that jolted through your body when the red and blue lights flashed behind you, or the maddening conversation you had with the arresting officer.

In any case, the following lesson is abundantly clear: you need to manage this non-stop, destructive mental monologue.

To the extent that you feel out of control about you case is to the extent that your mind will likely “hold onto” these negative thoughts and drive you nuts. But once you know what to expect about your case — and what to do in the next few hours and days — you’ll likely find yourself spontaneously letting go of the looping mental chatter. So that’s one key: get clarity on your case!

Here’s another suggestion. Practice deep breathing and meditation exercises. And/or get therapy, particularly if you were involved in a traumatic incident.

Lastly, connect with a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Attorney Michael Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor – he used to work as a Senior Deputy District Attorney for the City of Los Angeles, during which time he obtained a 99%+ success rate at jury trials. He’s won respect as a criminal defense lawyer not just from clients but also from his peers, such as judges and prosecutors.
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March 13, 2014

3-year-old Hurt Badly in DUI Crash: Also, Woman Lets Baby Fall Out of Her Car. What’s Going on with These Parents?

by Michael Kraut

As someone who was stopped and charged recently with a Los Angeles DUI, you’re probably inherently pretty sympathetic when you read stories about DUI offenses in the paper or online.

That said, you also resent being “lumped in” with offenders who have committed crimes that you consider to be far more reprehensible than what you allegedly did.

What happens when you drive under the influence with a minor in your car? Short answer: nothing good.

Let’s take a look at two recent examples.

WLTX in South Carolina reports that a 3-year-old boy, Josiah Jenkins, is on life-support, after a suspected DUI crash. Per local police, 43-year-old Lonnie Gross hit Jenkins’ mother’s car on North Springs Road last Friday night at around 10 PM. Authorities charged Gross with felony DUI with great bodily injury as well as with driving on a suspended license. The local police chief – who also happens to be the 3-year-old’s great uncle — says the mother had been traveling to get pizza when the crash happened. The poor child needs a ventilator to stay alive.

Meanwhile, out in Missouri, according to KCTV, 30-year-old, Gianni Henderson, faces a battery of charges, after she allegedly let her infant fall out of a moving car – while she was driving under the influence of alcohol!

Authorities charged her with child endangerment, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, failing to provide proof of insurance and child restraint violations. Per reports, the child fell out of the back seat of the car, when Henderson made a turn onto an onramp. Fortunately, the child survived the incident, thanks to care from a Good Samaritan.

What happens in California if you drive DUI with a minor in your vehicle?

Prosecutors can hit you with charges per CVC 23572, which mandates jail time if you’re convicted of driving DUI with a minor under 14 in your car. Prosecutors also often pursue child endangerment charges per California Penal Code Section 272(a). This charge is technically known as a “wobbler,” which means it can be prosecuted either as a felony or as a misdemeanor.

For help developing a defense to your Los Angeles DUI charges, connect immediately with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for effective, ethical, and comprehensive assistance. Mr. Kraut is a former prosecutor and Harvard Law School educated attorney. He’s often quoted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Good Morning America about DUI cases.
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February 28, 2014

Did Your Son’s Friend Get a DUI in Los Angeles?

by Michael Kraut

This Los Angeles DUI blog spends a lot of time talking directly to offenders and direct relatives of offenders.

But what if you’re concerned about a person who isn’t in your family? What if one of your teenage son’s good friends, for instance, got arrested for driving under the influence? What then? What should you do? What CAN you do?

Obviously, the answer depends on the context of the arrest. For instance, did your son do anything illegal or not? Was he hurt? Did he supply the alcohol that the other young man drank? How many people were arrested? Did charges include drug possession, hit and run, resisting arrest, etc? If your son faces charges also, you’ll likely want to retain an effective Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer at your earliest convenience.

On the other hand, you might want to consider another subtle danger that has to do with your son’s peer group. As adolescent psychologists will tell you, peers can profoundly influence on one another. If your son, for instance, hangs out with kids who are driving DUI in Los Angeles and engaged in other criminal activity, he will be much more likely to ape that bad behavior and get in trouble himself. As a parent, you have only limited control over your child’s behavior and decisions. But if you can get your son to stop hanging around with kids who break the law, that’s a great idea.

Obviously not every kid who gets arrested is a “bad seed.” And even the most brilliant, moral, sober-minded people make mistakes and go through challenging times. So you shouldn’t necessarily be prejudiced just because of this one incident. However, in general, pay attention to the peer group’s influence, and respectfully steer your son towards people who exhibit values that resonate with you.

For practical, nuts and bolts help with your (or your son’s) underage Los Angeles DUI defense, look to Harvard Law School educated lawyer Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut spent more than 14 years in the District Attorney’s office, prosecuting crimes, so he has a compelling and unique viewpoint on criminal defense cases.
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February 14, 2014

Be Grateful Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest Didn’t Happen in El Salvador…

by Michael Kraut

As someone who was recently arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, you’re feeling pretty down about your situation. California Vehicle Code Section 23512 spells out a variety of punishments — all unpleasant — that could be in your near-term future. These could include fines and fees, court costs, probation, alcohol school, suspension of your CA license, forced installation of an IID device in your car and, of course, jail time.

That’s all less than ideal.

That said, give serious thanks that you did not drive DUI in El Salvador. Why? Because in that country, first time DUI offenders can be punished by death by firing squad!

Let’s take a tour of other DUI punishments from around the world:

•   In the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, the law of the land says that if you get caught for DUI, not only will you go to jail but your wife will to go to jail, too – even if she didn’t do anything wrong!
•   In South Africa, first time DUI offenders can get a decade long jail sentence on top of a fine equal to $10,000.
•   In Russia, authorities can revoke your driver’s license for life if you get a DUI.
•   In Turkey, if you’re busted for DUI, police can take you 20 miles beyond the town’s borders and march you back by foot via police escort.
•   Bulgaria is almost as intolerant of DUIs as El Salvador is — a second conviction results in execution. (For comparison, a second Los Angeles DUI conviction within 10 years results in escalated penalties as well. You might face a little more jail time, stricter probation terms, more alcohol school, and so forth. But odds are extremely low that you will be executed by firing squad.)
•   Scandinavian countries are also known for their extremely stringent anti-DUI laws. Sweden and Finland both punish the offense with a mandatory one-year jail sentence. In Norway, you lose your license for a year. Two offenses in five years leads to a Russia-style revocation of your driver’s license for life.
•   If you get convicted of Los Angeles DUI, you may find it difficult to travel to Mexico and Canada, both of which have laws on the books that allow Border Patrol agents to stop you from entering their countries if you have a DUI conviction on your record.
•   Even our “civilized friends” across the pond in England and France have tougher DUI laws than we have in the U.S. In France, you get a $1,000 fine, a whole year in jail and the loss of your driver’s license for three years.
•   In England, you get a $250 fine, a year license suspension and up to a year behind bars.

Of course, this article is not meant to convince you that you’re “all in the clear” just because you got arrested in the United States, where the laws are slightly more lenient. In fact, we still live in a relatively punitive society. Fortunately, the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you come up with an effective, intelligent Los Angeles DUI defense strategy.
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February 5, 2014

Guilty Verdict in Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent’s DUI Manslaughter Case

by Michael Kraut

Breaking Los Angeles DUI news…

A jury has found ex-Dallas Cowboy lineman, Josh Brent, guilty of DUI manslaughter after deliberating for only two days.

Brent crashed his Mercedes in the early morning hours of December 8, 2012, killing his passenger, Jerry Brown, a fellow Cowboy, in an awful crash. The nose tackle — who played 12 games in the 2012 season for the Cowboys — faces up to 20 years behind bars. Stacy Jackson, Brown’s mother, says that she forgives Brent, and she plans to testify to help him get a lighter sentence.

The verdict came just a few weeks after another Texas DUI manslaughter case concluded. In that case, a defendant named Ethan Couch got let off with just probation, after he caused a crash that killed four people. Couch’s “affluenza” defense sparked an intense and vigorous debate in Texas, online, and elsewhere.

The Case Against Brent

Prosecutors showed jurors receipts from the night in question, showing that Brent had purchased three bottles of champagne. Brent was also seen in pictures holding champagne bottles in each hand, and jurors saw footage of Brent in the police vehicle’s dashboard cam stumbling during a field sobriety test. Prosecutors called Brent’s a “textbook” DUI manslaughter case, and they argued “[DUI drivers] shouldn’t be driving, no exceptions, no excuses!”

Jerry Jones, the owners of the Cowboys, talked to the media about the conviction: “certainly it’s tragic. We’ve all, to some degree, have been a part of this… we support Josh. This has been a terrible experience for the families who lost a loved one and for Josh who loved Jerry as well.”

Prosecutors said that Brent and his friends had gone to Privae, a private club in the Dallas area, and consumed alcohol before driving. Brent’s attorney countered that Brent had only been “guilty of being stupid behind the wheel of a car.”

Here’s a quick primer on Southern California DUI gross vehicular manslaughter cases.

Penal Code Section 191.5 (A) outlines what prosecutors must prove to win a gross vehicular manslaughter case.

First, the prosecution must show that a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol — i.e. that his blood alcohol concentration was 0.08% or above.

Second, the prosecution must show that the driver committed a misdemeanor or infraction — or some other act that could have caused someone to die.

The prosecution must also show that this act was committed with “gross negligence” – a kind of negligence above and beyond a normal lack of attention or carelessness.

Finally, the prosecution must show that said conduct resulted in someone’s death.

Defending against DUI manslaughter charges can be complex, fraught work. If you or someone you love needs help with a serious Los Angeles DUI defense, connect with ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut and his legal team today for guidance.
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January 17, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Sports News: Erin Henderson (of the Vikings) Arrested Yet Again

by Michael Kraut

Whether you were arrested for DUI in Los Angeles recently – or you’re just a sports fan who’s rabidly obsessed with the NFL – you may have heard that Minnesota Vikings linebacker, Erin Henderson, just got arrested after a nasty DUI crash in Minnesota.

The six season veteran drove his black SUV off the road in Carver County, scraped across a grassy landscape, sailed across a parking lot, and then smashed into a copse of trees. The SUV’s front was “heavily damaged” in the crash.

The Vikings had a less than stellar season, as exemplified by a late season game against the Baltimore Ravens, during which the two teams traded a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game. (The Ravens won that battle… only to get knocked off by the Bengals in the last week of regular season play).

As for Henderson, he, also, struggled off the field before this latest DUI arrest. On November 19th, police arrested him for possession of controlled substances and probable cause DUI. As for his latest arrest… he now faces second and third degree DWI (the Minnesota equivalent of Los Angeles DUI) as well as charges of breath test refusal, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and violation of driver’s license suspension.

He posted a $12,000 bail, and he’ll head to court in early March to face the charges.

Despite Henderson’s impressive season – he nailed two interceptions, started 12 games and racked up 5 sacks – insiders suggest that his days with the Vikings are numbered and that he will be released after the Super Bowl’s transaction moratorium ends.

After his November 19th arrest, Henderson expressed remorse: “it is a strange situation, but I really can’t go into too much detail and depth right now as far as legal matters go… will kind of let the things play out the way they will. I am sure you guys will learn more in the future, but at this point right now I am not at liberty to discuss…”

Many people who face charges like DUI don’t understand what they’re really up against and what they can do to minimize punishment. Fortunately, if you or someone you love faces a Los Angeles DUI charge, you can turn to the experienced team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for a personalized, customized, and strategic defense.

January 13, 2014

Not All Beverly Hills DUI Stories End Like This (Police Officer Saves DUI Man Who Drove Car into a Pond)

by Michael Kraut

As someone who’s recently been arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, you probably have a negative opinion towards the police right now. As you reflect on the night (or day) of your arrest, you may ruminate about the punishments on deck for you, possibly including:

• Suspension of your California driver’s license;
• Forced installation of an Interlocking Ignition Device (IID) in your car or truck;
• Fines, fees, legal fees, and other sundry costs;
• Forced alcohol school;
• Restrictive probation terms;
• Jail time;
• Major spikes in your auto insurance premiums;
• Etc.

Consider, though, a tremendous story out of South Carolina. A Sumter police officer dove into a freezing pond to rescue a DUI driver, who had driven his vehicle into a pond. Officer Quentin Eley saw several cars gathered by the side of Second Millpond Bridge flashing their hazard lights. He approached and discovered that a car had driven into the water, and a person was trapped inside.

Officer Eley then made a daring decision to strip off his protective equipment and dive into the freezing pond, where he rescued 38-year-old Ioan Marcell Cimpean from what would have almost certainly been a drowning death. (Cimpean did not need any treatment at the hospital; authorities subsequently sent him to a local detention center on a DUI complaint. Cimpean secured his release, after paying a $2,267 bond.)

The Chief of the Sumter Police, Russell Roark, sung Officer Eley’s praises “he dove into the water without regard for his own safety… he was able to open the door and find Mr. Cimpean… for someone to take off their weapon and as much of their equipment as they can, and dive into freezing cold water to save somebody, it’s hard to put into words how proud I am actually of him and of the Sumter Police Department.”

This isn’t to say that the Beverly Hills police officer who arrested you for DUI was a hero. Police officers – like everyone else – can make egregious mistakes and even intentionally do things wrong to complicate DUI cases. However, it does illustrate the depth of humanity that many officers have… and the lengths to which good people will go to serve and protect.

If you’ve been struggling with Los Angeles DUI charges, what are your next steps? Will you go jail? What kind of defense can you put up? For help about answering those questions, connect with Harvard Law School educated, ex-Deputy District Attorney, Michael Kraut, today for a free consultation about your legal needs.

January 10, 2014

Will Your Los Angeles DUI Charges Live Forever on the Internet?

by Michael Kraut

Whether you got stopped at a Los Angeles DUI checkpoint on Wilshire, or pulled over in the Valley after partying too hard at a TV animation company’s soirée, your recent arrest was embarrassing.

Many possible problems now confront you:

• Jail time;
• License suspension;
• Mandatory IID installation;
• Higher insurance rates;
• Loss of your job / relationship;
• Etc.

You also fear for your reputation. And rightly so.

Google your name right now. Odds are high that a news article featuring your DUI might come up on the first page of the Google results – or at least near enough to the first page to cause problems. Even if you ultimately clear the charges, what you can do to protect your reputation going forward? Will the specter of your DUI forever haunt you (online), whenever you develop new relationships, take out loans, apply for jobs, meet new friends, etc?

It’s a scary situation — not necessarily an easy one to resolve.

After all, the virtual world creates challenges for all of us.

Pictures taken years before the internet even existed now pop up regularly on Facebook and other social media sites. A friend or colleague from years ago can tag your name in these pictures. A potential client (or date) can now see you in a ridiculous or embarrassing light. Even “normal citizens” are vexed by this effect.

For people who’ve been arrested for a serious crime in Los Angeles, like DUI, the problem can be much worse. Fixing one’s virtual reputation is just no small task, particularly if your arrest involved major news, such as serious injury or death to somebody else.

Here’s the core problem that you face: Google ranks sites and search terms based on relevance as well as on the so-called “authority” of sites that use them. So if ABC News, KTLA News, the Los Angeles Times, and other big publications all run stories about your Los Angeles DUI arrest, Google will look first to these “authority sites” first when returning information about your name, when it’s entered as a search query.

The situation can get even more complicated – and difficult to fix – if your story generated a tremendous amount of interest in the blogosphere or in the social media world. For instance, perhaps you did or said something ironic or ridiculous after the stop. Or perhaps you’re a celebrity or major executive or corporate figure whose arrest was “newsworthy” in and of itself. All the commentary creates more relevance. In other words, when Google looks for your name, it won’t just find articles linking to big authority sites like ABC News, CNN, etc — it will also find threads on big blogs discussing your name and the incident/arrest.

We’ll dive into detail about what you might be able to do to reclaim your online reputation in a future post.

For now, the most important thing is to get exceptional legal input to protect your rights. Connect with widely respected Los Angeles DUI defense attorney, Michael Kraut, today for more insight into your case.

January 8, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Reputation Management, Part-II: Will Your DUI Always Be One of the First Things That Shows Up on Google?

by Michael Kraut

If you Google your name right now, does the search engine return results like the following?

“Jane Doe was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, Thursday night, when her Honda Civic hit a police cruiser at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard.”

If so, you don’t just have a tough legal case – you also have a reputation management problem.