DUI Consequences

December 30, 2013

The Pasadena DUI Vortex: What’s Your Risk for Recidivism?

The statistics paint a scary picture. If you’re arrested just one time for driving under the influence in Pasadena, your odds of getting arrested again for the same crime spike — a lot.

A week ago, prior to your arrest, you might have had a 1% chance of ever being arrested for DUI. Today, your chance of getting re-arrested might be 4%. (Those numbers are made up to illustrate the point).

Every DUI arrest is different. Perhaps you will “learn your lesson” (if, indeed, you have a lesson to learn). But to understand your Southern California DUI arrest in context, you need to focus attention not just on the past but also on the present and the future.

Even if you didn’t hurt someone while driving DUI in Pasadena, you likely found the whole experience traumatic and a bit weird. If you’ve been replaying the stop/accident in your head, over and over again, don’t worry. You’re not going crazy. This is a natural cognitive response many people have.

To construct an effective defense — and at the same time reduce your risk for getting in similar trouble in the future — you may need to investigate the DUI in great detail. Sometimes, this close analysis can lead to evidence that can exonerate you. For instance, perhaps your breathalyzer test malfunctioned. Or perhaps you drove off the road because of a man-made obstructed or bad signage. A Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorney can help you with this investigation and analysis.

Moving on with Your Life — Safely — After Your DUI

Recognize that the past is past. Perhaps you screwed up. Perhaps you were just unlucky. Focus not on the past but rather on your current and future decisions. What steps can you take to fix your problems with alcohol (if you have any) and prevent future run-ins with the law?

To start the process, get in touch with a seasoned Pasadena DUI criminal defense lawyer. The team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers has the wherewithal, sensitivity and track record to deliver results. Find out more about what we do on our website, or call us to schedule a free consultation now.

December 25, 2013

Will You Lose Your Job After Your Glendale DUI Arrest?

by Michael Kraut

Perhaps police pulled you over on the 134, after noticing a missing taillight, and arrested you for Glendale DUI. Or maybe you got snagged at a checkpoint near the Galleria.

In either case, you face a slate of challenges. You’re worried about the jail time, fees and fines, and the embarrassment.

But most of all, you’re worried about your job.

After all, it’s a tough economy. You need to earn a fair wage to pay for your kid’s education, to save for retirement, to put food on the table and to pay your rent. If you lose your job, you could face quite an unpleasant financial picture.

A job loss is one of the most unpleasant, unexpected side effects of a Glendale DUI arrest/conviction.

Think about this way. Let’s say you committed a misdemeanor DUI in Glendale. Your fines and fees might total $1,000. That’s no small amount of money.

But what if your DUI leads to your getting fired? Let’s say you earn $2,000 a week. You then get fired and spend four months out of work. Without factoring in unemployment, if you’re out of work 16 weeks, and you miss out on that $2,000 a week income for 16 weeks, that’s a loss to your bottom line of about $32,000. That’s 32 times the DUI fines!

So what can you do?

Your options depend in a very sensitive way on the Glendale DUI charges you face, your past criminal history, if you have any, the nature of your job, the relationship you have with your employer, and so on.

To make a strategic plan to battle back against your Glendale DUI charges, get in touch with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today. Attorney Michael Kraut is a former prosecutor, who spent nearly 15 years in the Deputy District Attorney’s office, where he racked up a very impressive 99+% success rate at jury trials.

December 20, 2013

License Suspended Due to a Los Angeles DUI? 3 Tips to Deal with the Annoyances

by Michael Kraut

One of the most stinging, annoying punishments for a DUI in Los Angeles is the license suspension.

Even if this is your first ever DUI – indeed, your first time doing anything illegal – prosecutors can ask the Court to suspend your license for six months or a year or even longer, depending on what happened. Whether you’re a UCLA or USC student, who needs a California driver’s license to attend class; or you’re a single mom of three who needs a license to get to and from work, you want to avoid or at least minimize the suspension.

Here are 3 strategic ideas:

1. Retain a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, sooner than later.

Don’t wait. The clock is ticking, and a suspension may soon automatically go into effect. A seasoned attorney can tell you how you can fight back. Perhaps you can stop the suspension or at least obtain more lenient terms.

2. Once you know how many days (or months) you’ll need to go without a license, make an action plan.

First, determine your ideal outcome. How do you want the next four months (or however long the suspension will last) to work? Make a list of goals. For instance:

• Keep my job;
• Make sure I can get the kids to and from school and doctors appointments, etc.
• Stay out of legal trouble (i.e.. don’t violate the terms of the suspension);
• Arrange alternative transportation, so all bases are covered.

Once you’ve got a solid list of goals, work backwards to try to achieve them resourcefully. Ask yourself questions. For instance:

• Can the kids take the bus for the next three months?
• Can a neighbor or nanny help with errands?
• Can your spouse or partner help with childcare responsibilities?

An experienced Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer can advise you about this plan.

3. Execute your action plan, and stay the course.

Setbacks may happen, no matter how well you plan. For instance, you may not be able to anticipate an illness in the family. Or your boss who originally agreed to let you telecommute may change her mind and demand you come to the office every day. Solve such problems when they occur, and be creative and resourceful.

For help dealing with your Los Angeles DUI charges, connect with Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to schedule a free, no pressure consultation.

December 16, 2013

Glendale DUI Debacle: Did DUI Firefighter Nearly Kill a Motorcyclist?

by Michael Kraut

Picture in your mind someone who’s been charged with driving under the influence in Glendale. Odds are, you’ll conjure up a stereotype, like:

• A recidivist alcoholic;
• A college student at UCLA or USC who got busted after a night of partying;
• A debouched celebrity who’s been in and out of rehab.

Odds are, you did not picture a firefighter on a rescue mission.

But disturbing new reports from the San Francisco Chronicle suggest that DUI driving may actually be common among Bay Area firefighters.

Two fire chiefs and a battalion chief may be on the verge of suspension, after a firefighter drove DUI in a fire truck and slammed into a motorcyclist at the intersection of Howard Street and 5th Street. Michael Quinn, a lower level firefighter, allegedly had been drinking at a bar before he hopped into his truck to respond to what turned out to be a false alarm.

During the rescue mission, the fire truck smashed into motorcyclist, Jack Frazier, and catapulted him into a fire hydrant. Frazier broke many bones and suffered a collapsed lung. Amazingly (and fortunately) he survived the crash, but he’s still struggling and in pain from his injuries.

After the crash, the firefighter’s blood alcohol concentration level was measured; it came back at 0.13 percent. That’s just 0.03% percent shy of double the California (and Glendale DUI) limit of 0.08%. Other firefighters involved in the crash tested negative for DUI and drug consumption.

Frazier’s attorney pointed out that, while the firefighter “made an incredible … egregious mistake,” the problem of firefighter DUI driving appears to be “systematic.”

What can we take away from all this?

1. First of all, if you’ve been arrested for driving DUI in Glendale, appreciate that you’re not the only “ordinarily upstanding citizen” who’s ever been charged with a similar crime.
2. Secondly, use the incident as a wake up call. Strive to understand what’s going in your life that may have motivated you to act carelessly (if you did indeed act carelessly).
3. Third, if you have not already done so, take time to connect with a DUI defense attorney to construct your defense. Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is an experienced, respected Glendale DUI defense lawyer; he and his team can help you put together a sound, results-focused case.

December 13, 2013

Los Angeles DUI Legal Update: National Transportation Safety Board wants BAC Cutoff Dropped from 0.08% to 0.05%

by Michael Kraut

As regular readers know, the Los Angeles DUI limit, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b), is 0.08% BAC, as it is for most of the country.

However, that might all be about to change, thanks to a new initiative spearheaded by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). According to the NTSB Chairman, Deborah Hersman, “most Americans think we have solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic … on average, every hour one person is killed and 20 more are injured.” Investigators want to alter the recommendations to reduce alcohol impaired crashes, citing research that suggest that cognitive and visual impairment begins to decline at a BAC of 0.05%, rather than at 0.08%. The NTSB also says that America is behind the pack: over 100 countries worldwide have their BAC max set at 0.05% or lower.

It’s understandable why the NTSB wants to crack down and enforce more draconian Los Angeles DUI rules. But let there be no doubt – at least compared to the current paradigm, the measures the safety board wants to pass are, indeed, draconian. They include:

• Mandatory installation of interlock ignition devices (IIDs) for all offenders (currently, only one in four DUI offenders, nationwide, gets an IID);
• Stricter compliance with IID rules;
• The Board wants to boost the number of high visibility anti-DUI enforcement efforts, such as saturation patrols and sobriety check points;
• The NTSB wants police in Los Angeles and elsewhere to utilize passive alcohol sensors to look for alcohol in the ambient environment.

The NTSB and other concerned groups cite scary facts. Some statistics suggest that people who are under the influence of alcohol cause 60% of all wrong way accidents. Check out the report for yourself at http://go-usa-gov/Te: “reachingzero:actionstoreducealcoholimpaireddriving.”

The NTSB and the National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration (NHTSA) want to help states like California improve the effectiveness of their anti-DUI programs by finding and communicating best practices.

But not everyone is on board with the proposed changes to Los Angeles DUI limits.

The American Beverage Institute’s Managing Director, Sarah Longwell, lashed out against the NTSB’s recommendations, calling them “ludicrous.” She told reporters “moving from 0.08% to 0.05% would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior … further restriction of moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hardcore drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.”

Per government statistics, if you’re at or above 0.08% BAC, you’re 169% more likely to get into a crash than a sober driver would be. But if you’re at 0.05%, you’re just 38% more likely. That may make the NTSB’s case seem bulletproof. But consider that drivers who do not sleep for 24 hours are at least as impaired as Los Angeles DUI drivers.

By that logic, should we criminalize “insomniac driving” the same way that we criminalize DUI? If not, why not? After all, studies show that driving while exhausted is just as dangerous as driving DUI.

It’s easy to gin up moral outrage at DUI driving. Obviously, it’s a problem that any responsible Los Angeles DUI defense attorney wants to stamp out as well. We all want to drive on safer roads and protect ourselves, our friends, and loved ones. The question is: how do we do this? What laws and rules and societal norms should be adopted and enforced? Furthermore, HOW should those rules and norms be enforced?

If you’ve recently been arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, these questions are far from theoretical for you. Fortunately, the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Los Angeles is standing by to provide sensible, accurate Los Angeles DUI defense help. Connect with us today for a free consultation with an experienced ex-prosecutor.

December 11, 2013

Too Injured And/Or Sick to Deal With Your Glendale DUI Charge?

by Michael Kraut

As a Glendale DUI offender — who caused an accident or suffered an illness or accident after the fact — you face a catch 22. You know that you need to build a sound defense. But you also have almost no energy to get the process started.

That you’re even able to surf the internet for advice about Glendale DUI is a pretty big accomplishment, given what you’ve been through. Unfortunately, as much as you’d love to be able to rest and recuperate, the longer you delay getting started with your DUI defense, the more difficult it may be to preserve your license, avoid jail time, and maximize your case.

• Maybe you hit a pole on Olive Blvd while driving DUI in Glendale, and you sustained a concussion, bruises, broken ribs, and worse.
• Maybe you don’t have any friends or family around to help you take care of matters.
• Perhaps you got a DUI at a checkpoint — police arrested you because you didn’t do well on your Glendale field sobriety test due to a previous injury. If your legs or knees hurt, it’s hard to walk a straight line, stand on one leg, et cetera.

The good news is that it doesn’t take that much effort and energy to lay the groundwork for an effective defense. A brief and confidential consultation with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, for instance, can be all it takes. We can help you with “legal stuff,” so you can focus on healing from your injuries.

Recovering from a Glendale DUI accident or arrest is as much a psychological game as it is a physical one. Attorney Michael Kraut is an experienced, sensitive Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney. He’s worked with many clients who’ve been hurt in crashes; he understands the complex stresses that you’re under.

Just because you’re hurt, scared and under duress does not mean that you have to suffer in silence and accept unfair punishments.

December 6, 2013

Why It’s Helpful to Have an Ex-Prosecutor Work on Your Los Angeles DUI Defense Case

by Michael Kraut

Why do so many Los Angeles DUI defendants trust Attorney Michael Kraut of Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers? One reason is that Mr. Kraut spent 14 years “on the other side” as a widely respected, highly accomplished criminal prosecutor.

Here are three reasons why working with an ex-prosecutor makes tons of sense.

1. An ex-Los Angeles DUI prosecutor understands how your prosecutor will think and negotiate.

A baseball coach who actually played pro ball will have insights into the sport other coaches (who never made it to the “The Show”) won’t. Similarly, a nutritionist who heals herself through diet will understand what it’s like to go through diet struggles in ways that her “healthy from the get go” colleagues. Likewise, criminal prosecutors can develop deep insight into the prosecutorial mindset that defense-attorneys-for-life will never have. Sometimes, that intuitive empathy can give an edge.

2. Looking at the law “from both sides” can lead to unique solutions.

Your Los Angeles DUI case is a negotiation, technically speaking. It’s a conversation between your defense team and the prosecution to come up with an effective solution (punitive or otherwise). In any negotiation, stakeholders who invent more options often get better results. A former prosecutor can help invent options that might not be apparent to Los Angeles DUI lawyers who have only practiced defense.

3. Some ex-prosecutors remain very close to their former colleagues, and those relationships can be important.

Attorney Kraut, for instance, currently works as a criminal defense attorney. But he remains well respected by other prosecutors, police officers, et cetera. He uses these relationships (ethically, of course!) to help his clients navigate their complex situations, so that everyone involved wins.

For help with your Los Angeles DUI defense, turn to Harvard Law School educated attorney Kraut.

December 4, 2013

No Two Burbank DUIs Arrests Are Alike

by Michael Kraut

Your Burbank DUI arrest might have been pretty “garden variety.”

Maybe you blew a 0.13% BAC on a breath test, after spending the night drinking and playing pool at Burbank Town Center. A sheriff saw you swerve on Hollywood Way, while you were driving to an after-party at an acquaintance’s house.

Or maybe you crashed into a sign while getting off the 134.

Your case is a huge deal to you. Depending on what happens with the charges, you could have to confront the loss of your California driver’s license, and you may face substantial jail time, fees and fines, hikes in your insurance rates, and other mayhem.

That said, odds are that your case is pretty “run of the mill.” In fact, you might be surprised by how similar your Burbank DUI case is to others. When you study large numbers of Burbank DUI cases, the results are stunning. People tend to misbehave in the same ways.

So is there anything new under the sun?

Definitively: yes! The details of each case ALWAYS matter.

• Tiny details can determine, for instance, whether the court accepts or rejects the results of a blood alcohol test that found that you had twice the legal limit for Burbank DUI, per CVC 23152(b);
• Tiny details can mean the difference between whether the court will let you off with or without jail time;
• Tiny details can mean the difference between whether this will be your one and only Burbank DUI arrest… or whether this event will signal a downward spiral in your life towards more criminal behavior.

Understand these two paradoxical truths about Burbank DUI:

1. Most DUIs are pretty similar to one another;
2. The details always matter in DUI cases.

So what should you do?

The answer is simple: sweat the details. Understand that no one can predict which small choices that you make (or fail to make) will affect your life. So to the extent that you can make good “little choices,” do so!

• Take time to be selective about your Burbank DUI criminal defense lawyer. Don’t just choose the first random name that you find on Google or choose an attorney that your third cousin recommended because he saw an advertisement several years ago.
• Choose a DUI defense law firm that has good values and credentials.
• Take action immediately to begin your defense. Don’t wait several days or weeks.
• Understand your arrest in context. Spend some time mulling over why you got in trouble. Address the root cause of your arrest, not just the superficial cause, so you can avoid trouble next time.

In life, if you get the “little things” moving in the right direction, the big things will often, spontaneously, move in that direction too. Connect with a Burbank DUI defense lawyer at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to build your effective defense.

November 27, 2013

Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog Analyses Ambitious New NTSB Guidelines

by Michael Kraut

In a recent blog post, this Los Angeles DUI defense blog summarized some of the dramatic anti-DUI recommendations proposed on May 14th by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The Board, together with groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), wants states like California to institute a rash of enforcement and policy measures, including:

• Mandatory interlock ignition installation for anyone convicted of DUI;
• More research on administrative license revocation (which lets police seize your license during an arrest);
• Most dramatically, lowering the DUI legal limit from 0.08% to 0.05%.

According to uncontested statistics, 30% of all fatalities on U.S. roads are tied to DUI driving. Three decades ago, 21,000 people annually lost their lives to DUI. That number has plummeted to around 10,000 deaths a year. That’s still 10,000 too many, but we’re certainly headed in the right direction.

President Obama has gotten behind strong anti-DUI laws. Since he committed to making U.S. roads safer, we’ve seen a substantial national decline in DUI accidents. But when taken in international context — over 100 other countries on the planet have DUI limits of 0.05% BAC or lower — our current laws and Los Angeles DUI limit of 0.08% seem downright lax by comparison.

Bill Maher sarcastically tweeted: “Nanny-staters, enough! Now they want to lower the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05? I’m just glad George Jones isn’t alive to see it.”

But is there another side to this story?

Unsurprisingly, the American Beverage Institutes does not like the NTSB recommendations.

The group worries that lowering the BAC way down to 0.05% would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior. Depending on your height, genetics, metabolism, sex, and dozens of other factors, you could reach 0.05% after just one drink!

On the surface, the NTSB recommendations sound smart. They could very well save lots of lives, if they were implemented effectively. But would the recommendations create more criminals? Would they criminalize normal and safe behavior?

Furthermore, are we focusing too much on Los Angeles DUI behavior? Why not crack down on people who chat and text on their cellphones while driving — or who drive while extremely fatigued? After all, many studies (such as a famous one done at Virginia Tech several years ago) suggest that texting while driving is actually MORE dangerous than driving DUI in Los Angeles.

Should texters be given the same punishments as DUI drivers? Should they be forced to spend years behind bars, pay thousands of dollars in fines, go through “texting behind the wheel rehabilitation” programs, and so forth?

This blog obviously cannot resolve or even articulate all the challenging questions raised by the NTSB recommendations. That said, you’re probably less interested in this general discussion and more keen on getting practical help with your DUI arrest and defense.

Look at the team here at Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for sensible, sensitive insight into your case. Call attorney Kraut and his team to help structure a DUI defense today.

November 24, 2013

When Should You Accept a Plea Deal for Your Pasadena DUI Charge?

by Michael Kraut

At what point should you plead guilty to your Pasadena DUI charges?

How do you know whether to fight all the way to trial or whether to cut your losses and accept a reduced set of punishments?

Believe it or not, the answers to these questions are not clear cut. Plea bargaining a Pasadena DUI case is an art and a science… although you neglect the “science part” at your own risk.

Here are two factors to weigh heavily:

1. The opinion of an experienced successful Pasadena DUI defense attorney.

Your attorney should have lots of practical experience dealing with cases like yours. So if he or she suggests that you plead guilty to a lesser offense, consider that advice strongly. Of course, not all attorneys will always agree on the best tactics and strategies to be used. If you want a second opinion about your case, please connect with attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today. Not only is Mr. Kraut a well regarded Pasadena DUI attorney, but he’s also a former prosecutor, so he’s spent time negotiating DUI cases on both sides.

2. What you’ll risk if you lose vs. what you’ll get if you win.

If you fight the charges tooth and nail and lose, what would the worst case outcome be? How would that be different from what would happen if you accepted a plea arrangement? Will you have to spend several more weeks in jail? Will you lose your license for a full year instead of a month or two? Weigh the pros and cons of the extreme outcomes against one another. Consider them in the context of the probabilities.

For instance, speaking frankly, your attorney might think that you’ll only have a 15% chance of prevailing at a trial. Is that risk worth it to you? Is the expense of going all the way to trial worth it? There is no one right answer for everyone.

To deal with your Pasadena DUI charges, turn to the thorough attorneys at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut is a widely respected Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor. He amassed a track record of over 99% success at jury trials when he was with the DA’s office.