DUI Consequences

July 23, 2012

Long Beach DUI News: Ugh, Yet Another Revered Sports Celebrity Busted for DUI – This Time It’s Jason Kidd of the New York Knicks!

Everybody knows that you’re not supposed to drive under the influence in Long Beach or anywhere else in the country.

Yet it seems like sports celebrities, in particular, have been forgetting this fundamental rule.

In a recent post, we talked about the rash of recent NFL-related DUIs. Today, we’re going to go to a different sports league — the NBA — and take a look at the arrest of Jason Kidd, a celebrated guard for the New York Knicks. According to repots, Kidd piloted his Cadillac Escalade into a telephone pole in South Hampton, New York and then continued to blaze a trial into the woods. The 39-year-old Kidd was taken to a local hospital (South Hampton Hospital) for treatment for his minor injuries and also tagged with a misdemeanor DWI charge. Kidd recently signed a three year contract with New York – worth $9.5 million. He is a 10 time NBA All Star.

Not exactly role model behavior.

Kidd apologized to his fans via his Twitter account: “I regret any disruption my accident last weekend may have caused members of the community and want to thank the local authorities… I’d also like to thank my family and friends for their support.”

Why are so many NFL players, NBA players, and other sports figures getting arrested for crimes like driving under the influence in Long Beach and elsewhere in the Southland?

The answer could be diverse. It could have to do with high adrenaline living that characterizes many sports celebrities. It could have to do with a lack of proper education about the dangers of DUI or how to prevent it. Unfortunately, there is lot of misinformation – and a lot of condescension – with respect to DUI out there.

If you or someone you care about was recently arrested and charged with DUI in Long Beach, you will likely encounter some serious friction – not only from the authorities but also from friends and family members who should support you better.

Defining and building an effective DUI defense means getting the right people “on your team.” Long Beach DUI defense lawyer Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Los Angeles (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) is an esteemed, experienced attorney who can talk to you about your case and help you develop a sound defense to get your life back together.

Connect with Attorney Kraut – a Harvard Law School educated former city prosecutor – today to being your path to a more sober and safe future.

July 16, 2012

An Object Lesson in How to Make Your Glendale DUI Situation Worse – Way Worse – Almost Instantly

by Michael Kraut

No one wants to get arrested for DUI in Glendale or anywhere else. But there is a time and a place for pleading your defense. And that time is not when police are waving you and other cars over to pass through a Glendale DUI checkpoint.

Consider, for instance, what happened the Sunday before last on Pennsylvania’s Route 413.

A 52-year-old man, John Connors (no relation to the hero from the Terminator series) blew through a sobriety checkpoint and nearly hit five police officers, according to the Pennsylvania State Police allegations. In court documents, police said that Connors blasted his red 2005 Dodge Dakota through the checkpoint “at a high rate of speed, causing officers to jump out of the way from being hit by the vehicle.”

Unsurprisingly, the police took off after him and chased him onto Snowden Avenue, where the SUV ran out of room. The driver hopped out of the truck and fled into a wooded region, where police ultimately caught and arrested him. Connors resisted, prompting an officer to taser him twice to stun him into submission for the arrest. After taking him into the car, police noticed an odor of alcohol, slurry speech, glassy eyes – typical symptoms of a Glendale DUI. They also allegedly found marijuana on his person.

Connors was hit with a diverse and scary battery of charges, including third degree felony fleeing and attempting to elude police, first degree misdemeanor DUI, misdemeanor reckless endangerment (second degree), and multiple other charges. And guess what his bail was set at? A humongous $150,000.

Now imagine if we dial back in time, and instead of fleeing the checkpoint, Connors stops at the checkpoint and deals with whatever comes his way. He might indeed get arrested for something like misdemeanor DUI – and he could still face serious punishments, including jail time and fines and other “unfun” stuff. But he wouldn’t be facing all of the extra counts – his legal situation would be monumentally simpler.

The takeaway for you, if you face Burbank DUI charges.

Even if it’s a day after your arrest – or a week after your arrest – your actions from here on out will determine and perhaps define how your arrest will ultimately impact your life, your freedom, and your self-development for years to come.

In other words, your DUI situation is not yet over!

To that end, it’s time to take sober, responsible action. Let the team here at Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) help you build an effective and strategic legal response. Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor who has a long and diverse history of helping clients like you succeed even in difficult circumstances.

July 4, 2012

Glendale DUI News Update: Could Porn Icon Jenna Jameson Face Year Behind Bars?

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve been charged with driving under the influence in Glendale or elsewhere, understand that you are not the only one to go through this experience. Porn icon Jenna Jameson was stopped and arrested in Orange County for DUI on May 25th – she was officially charged last week; if convicted, Jameson could face up to a YEAR behind bars.

According to reports, Jameson hit a light pole with her car. No one was injured in the crash. She subsequently failed a field sobriety test (FST) and got arrested on suspicion of DUI. Later, Jameson tested to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.13%. The legal limit for Glendale DUI, as stipulated by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b), is 0.08%. Police also identified two drugs in her system: suboxone and ambien. She faces one count of driving without a valid California license and two DUI charges.

What might Jameson’s arrest imply for your Glendale DUI defense?

1. First and foremost, the story highlights that how anyone – irrespective of class, status, income, etc – can find themselves instantly in hot water.

In the blink of an eye, you can find yourself facing penalties like jail time, license suspension, mandatory alcohol school, forced installation of an IID device in your car, harsh probation terms, points on your license, spiked insurance rates, and beyond. Whether you are Jenna Jameson or the President of the United States, California law does not discriminate.

2. The second point – and this is more subtle, but it’s also crucial – is that your past history can inform your defensive strategy.

Jameson is a celebrity who won acclaim in the pornography industry – as such, her persona and her past actions will almost certainly influence how her Glendale DUI defense attorney deals with her case.

Likewise, your past history, actions, and behaviors will shape the way that you should structure your defense. If you’ve committed multiple priors – or if you have a history of “causing trouble” – you’ll want to develop a different strategy than you will if you are facing your first defense.

3. There are a dizzyingly diverse numbers of elements that will influence your battle plan.

That’s why it’s almost always a good idea to work with a respectable Glendale DUI defense lawyer, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123).

Attorney Kraut is a great resource; connect with his team for a free and confidential consultation regarding your best next steps.

June 27, 2012

Beverly Hills DUI Lessons: How (Not) to Party!

by Michael Kraut

Partying too hard is a great way to earn yourself a citation for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills. But what if you try to party “the safe way” – i.e. by renting a party to tool around Rodeo Drive or zip up to the Hollywood Hills for a night of safe debauchery and ridiculousness?

Apparently, even then, you can run into problems.

Witness last week’s disaster on Illinois’ Eisenhower Expressway: an SUV driver whammed a “party bus” and flipped it over, injuring 19 people. Fortunately, everyone involved in the accident survived. The most serious injury appears to be “just” a broken leg. But it’s easy to see how the situation could have turned a lot more ugly.

Here are details, accordingly to local news sources.

Per NBC Chicago: 20-year-old Andy Taylor apparently hit the “party bus” from behind, causing it to wipe out on the expressway and rollover near the Ashland Avenue exit. 15 people onboard the bus suffered injuries, and four people in Taylor’s SUV also got hurt. Interestingly, the driver of the party bus, Ammar Wachaa, was not playing by the rules. He had overloaded the bus, and he was driving without valid insurance on a suspended registration.

Sadly, the people on the bus were not just out for a good time – they were celebrating the birthday of a loved one/friend who recently had passed away.

Lessons for Beverly Hills DUI Defendants from the Illinois Party Bus Debacle
1. Even if you take maximum precautions, you can never be sure what’s “out there” on the roads.

The people who rented that party bus obviously thought that they would enjoy a safe and easy ride around town. They almost surely did not know that the bus driver had “overloaded” the vehicle; and they could never have anticipated that the SUV would have hit them. The reality is that, no matter how well we protect ourselves against disaster, the world is chaotic, and random “stuff” can happen to us. What we can do is to understand our risks in a sober and somewhat scientific fashion and do our best to “outthink” our risks.

2. Tiny mistakes or lapses of reason can redound to huge and potentially horrific effect.

In this case, fortunately, no one died. But people obviously could have died – or could have been severely, permanently injured. If you made a mistake behind the wheel – drank too many sips of wine before driving home, for instance – your life could change forever, and you could be forced to serve a long time in jail.

3. Your legal situation is almost certainly “very much in play.”

Jail time and a ruined life/reputation is not a fait accompli. You might be surprised by the versatility, diversity, and power of the defense options available to you, whether you were arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills with a BAC of 0.20% or you hurt someone while DUI in Pasadena. You need to understand what to do next. The steps you take in the days and weeks to follow could be instrumental in helping you build a stiff defense – or in sealing your fate in a less than ideal way. Connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Beverly Hills (8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 660B Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3220 Phone: (310) 550-6935) to explore options for your best defense. Attorney Kraut is a highly regarded and very well known criminal defense attorney who specializes in Beverly Hills DUI defenses.

June 20, 2012

DUI in Los Angeles? No, But Commerce Secretary John Bryson Could Face a Felony Hit and Run Charges

by Michael Kraut

The Saturday before last, US Commerce Secretary John Bryson got involved in two minor traffic accidents which may net him felony hit and run charges — and land him in jail for over a year!

Bryson’s situation technically does not involve DUI in Los Angeles — although alcohol tests are pending, according to the police. The case is fascinating in many ways; if you’ve been hit with a charge of driving under the influence in Los Angeles or Burbank or elsewhere, you can learn a lot from studying its nuances.

The Commerce Secretary, who oversees a $75 billion budget and nearly 50,000 employees, slammed into the rear of a Buick, which had been waiting for a train. Bryson apparently left the scene of that first accident and drove nearly two miles into Rosemead, where he hit a Honda Accord and minorly injured a passenger. The driver of the Buick (the first car that got hit) tailed Bryson and called 911.

Medical Condition? Was a Seizure to Blame?

Police found Bryson alone and unconscious at the scene of the second accident. Initial reports suggested that he suffered a seizure or some other medical problem. This issue possibly provoked both accidents. Reports indicated that he “appeared disoriented” after he hit the Buick. In the wake of the roadside drama, Bryson has taken medical leave. After the dust settled, the Obama administration weighed in with statements of (terse) support.

What Bryson’s situation might mean if you are facing DUI in Los Angeles charges.

First of all, no one’s immune to laws like California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) and 23152 (b). In other words, celebrities, high profile politicians, business tycoons and “everyday folk” are all required by law to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and to avoid driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater.

The second lesson is that Los Angeles DUI cases are often far more complicated than news summaries suggest. Indeed, Bryson’s case already seems fraught with nuances. What was his serious medical condition? If he had known that he had such condition, should he been driving in the first place? Did the condition cause or contribute to the first crash or just the second… or neither or both? And on and on. Likewise, speculation about your particular Los Angeles DUI case may be intense.

Lastly, your choice of Los Angeles DUI defense attorney – and the speed with which you make that choice – can have a significant impact on your capacity to handle legal speed bumps, protect your license, and shield your other rights. Former L.A. Deputy District Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is providing a free and confidential consultation for drivers who are struggling with DUI charges. Attorney Kraut is an ex-prosecutor who has excellent relationships with his former colleagues and other legal peers; he is often quoted as a DUI authority on KTLA news, Fox News, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

June 15, 2012

The Fallout of Justin Blackmon’s DUI: Urgent Lessons, If You’ve Been Booked for Burbank DUI

by Michael Kraut

Getting arrested for DUI in Burbank (or anywhere else in California) can feel terrible.

But the legal and logistical “hangover” from the arrest can often feel worse. The sense of uncertainty — the diverse and severe threats hanging over your head — can make you wish that Marty McFly’s “flux capacitor” existed in real life, so you could go back in time and prevent your DUI from ever happening.

It’s possible that ex-Oklahoma State football player, Justin Blackmon, feels this way, too.

Last weekend, Blackmon — who had just been drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars — got busted for driving under the influence in Stillwater, Oklahoma, after police saw him driving nearly twice the speed limit and swerving into oncoming cars. The officer who pulled Blackmon over reported noticing an odor of alcohol. He said that Blackmon had watery, red eyes, and that he admitted to consuming alcohol prior to driving. If you were recently put through the paces of a Burbank DUI field sobriety test, you probably could relate to the helplessness he likely felt.

After getting arrested, Blackmon blew a staggering 0.24% BAC on a breathalyzer test – that’s thrice the limit for Southern California DUI, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b). What’s worse, Blackmon reportedly argued with the police. Aside from his legal trouble, he now faces potential career trouble. Sports reports suggested that the Jaguars may now present with him with a lowball offer during his contract negotiations. An official with the Jaguars told a sports network that “[Blackmon is] going to have to fess up, take ownership of the situation, and lay out a course for dealing with this thing “head on” or potentially risk serious trouble with the Jags.”

In the wake of his misdemeanor DUI arrest, he was also asked to meet with the GM and head coach of the team.

The potential punishments for your Burbank DUI conviction – even if you did not aggravate the DUI by harassing an officer, hitting someone, hurting someone, or doing something else flagrant and, in retrospect, dumb – can be terrifying and scary. It’s not just that you can face jail time, even if this is your first DUI, and you did nothing else wrong.

It’s that the long-term consequences for your license, your freedom, your insurance rates, your reputation, and your career prospects can dog you for years.

While a Burbank criminal defense DUI attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) obviously cannot promise solutions, Attorney Kraut has a reputation for being able to deliver fantastic, aggressive, and empathetic service. As a former Deputy District Attorney (city prosecutor) and regular contributor to well-known media, like the Los Angeles Times, Fox News, KTLA News – Attorney Kraut has the knowledge and understanding to help you put up the stiffest possible defense.

June 13, 2012

Got Multiple Pasadena DUI Charges? Lessons from NFL Debacles!

by Michael Kraut

If you or someone you love was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Pasadena recently – and it was not your first arrest on such charges! – you are not alone. The National Football League had a “multiple DUI” week last week: the Detroit Lions’ Nick Fairley, the Jaguars’ Justin Blackmon, and the Vikings’ Jerome Felton all got tagged for driving under the influence within 48 hours of one another.

• Felton was stopped on June 1 and arrested under suspicion of DWI in Minnesota, after he refused to submit to a BAC test.
• Blackmon was hit on the morning of June 3rd – his second DUI in two years (we covered his arrest in detail in a separate blog post).
• Fairley, a defensive tackle for the Lions, was also hit for DUI on June 3rd – in Alabama.

According to reports, Fairley was arrested for DUI one month ago, too. His second arrest was fairly dramatic (no pun intended). Apparently, he had been piloting his Cadillac Escalade SUV at over 100 miles per hour while DUI and under the influence of marijuana. When a state trooper tried to pull him over, he refused to capitulate… and thus ultimately earned himself a charge of eluding the police. Finally, he also lacked insurance for his SUV, so he got stuck with “no proof of insurance charges” as a kind of proverbial cherry on top!

You can look at these three arrests and conclude that “something must be wrong” with the NFL. There very well might be. But understand that just looking at single weekend’s worth of arrests (or non arrests) can easily mislead. This is a myopic perspective – a narrow-minded one. We would need to look at the DUIs in context to understand their deeper meaning for the NFL.

Similarly, it would be narrow-minded to say anything definitive about your life or your personality or your potential for recovery just by looking at how you behaved during and immediately after your Pasadena DUI arrest.

That being said, if you don’t handle your DUI effectively and resourcefully, you could face profound punishments. These could go well beyond jail time and license suspension. (Those two punishments are the most prominent in many defendants’ minds.)

Think about what might happen to your insurance rates over the next several years as a result of a DUI conviction, for instance. And have you contemplated what will happen to your professional reputation and credentials if your Pasadena DUI charge sticks?

To resolve the stress, uncertainty, and fear, you need good allies and powerful resources. An experienced, savvy attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) can help you understand exactly what to do next to maximize your chances of a positive result – perhaps even a dismissal of the charges entirely.

June 11, 2012

Another Beauty Queen Charged with DUI in Hollywood: Former Ms. Arizona Teen USA Faces Half Year Behind Bars

by Michael Kraut

18-year old Tori Vance, who was arrested for driving under the influence in Hollywood last month, was officially charged with two crimes last week.

The Miss California hopeful, who moved to LA to pursue a modeling career after winning her state’s beauty contest two years ago, apparently made an illegal U-turn, which caught the attention of the Hollywood PD. She failed her Hollywood field sobriety test (allegedly) and tested at just above 0.08% BAC. As regular readers of this blog know, that’s the cutoff point for DUI, according to California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b). A conviction can result in significant time behind bars (Vance faces up to six months in jail) as well as fees and fines, compulsory interlock ignition device installation, mandatory alcohol school, tough probation terms, and a slew of other inconvenient charges that could really put a damper on her modeling career.

Not ideal, in other words.

You may not have driven DUI with a baby on top of your car, but judging from the responses you’ve been getting from friends and family, you might feel like you did something along those lines.

Being a DUI defendant in Hollywood, Long Beach, Burbank or wherever is by no means is an easy proposition. Forget about the challenges that you potentially face: Suspended license, jail time, mandatory IID installation, compulsory probation, and on and on. You also need to deal with the potentially damaged relationships in your life!

Some people might be supportive of your DUI defense; others won’t be — perhaps sadly and surprisingly so.

The environment that you are in can be chaotic, uncomfortable, and confusing. Not only do you need creditable legal advice, but you also need more general support as you try to figure out what to do about your charges and how to deal with the many and diverse problems that have been either caused or worsened by the arrest or the accident.

An experienced Los Angeles criminal DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (Local: (323) 464-6453 Toll Free: (888) 334-6344) can help you get to the heart of your issues. As a former prosecutor who understands what motivates prosecutors and how to negotiate with them, Mr. Kraut can provide a stellar defense. But he can also go further and give you resources, tools, and a general sense of equilibrium, so that you can regain your balance and get back to life and work.

June 7, 2012

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana in Long Beach: How NOT Do It

by Michael Kraut

If you or someone you love was recently arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana in Long Beach or elsewhere in the Southland, odds are, you probably feel embarrassed — especially if you made certain decisions that, in retrospect, were careless or even stupid.

Take some comfort in that your arrest was (probably) less ignominious than the arrest of 19-year old Catalina Clauser. She was arrested in Phoenix last week for driving under the influence of marijuana – with her baby on the roof of her car!

Yikes.

Here’s how it went down.

The legal shenanigans began early. Early in the evening, Clauser’s boyfriend was busted for driving under the influence – with the baby in her Ford Focus. Apparently upset about what happened, the 19-year old drove to the home of a friend and smoked a significant amount of marijuana – up to two bowls’ worth.

According to reports, Clauser left the party at around midnight and drove home. At around 1’o clock in the morning, local police got a call: a baby had been found in the middle of the road, and his car seat.

Fortunately, the baby was “perfectly okay” – according to later hospital reports. The police initially suspected that the child had been thrown out of a car in an accident, given the shoddy, damaged state of the car seat. Only after an investigation did police realize what actually happened (probably): in her marijuana induced state, Clauser apparently left the car seat on the roof of the car. Once she took off, unsurprisingly, the unsecured car seat fell off the car and into the middle of the road. Clauser was later arrested for child abuse and aggravated DUI. Her child is now in the care of Child Protective Services.

All told, not exactly the best of nights for that child or for anyone involved, really. It’s actually a miracle the baby was not seriously harmed given everything that happened.

Whether or not your Long Beach DUI or marijuana DUI situation was as operatic as Clauser’s arrest, you likely face huge obstacles and surprises.

You’re probably feeling scared, unsure, confused, and overwhelmed by the potential legal mess you might be in. Even if you didn’t hurt anyone — and even if this was your first time arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana in Los Angeles — you could face massive fines and court costs, points on your license, huge insurance headaches, a driver license suspension, mandatory alcohol ed classes (inconveniently timed, no doubt) and of course prison time.

Talk to a respected and experienced Los Angeles marijuana DUI defense attorney at Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) immediately regarding your legal options. Attorney Kraut is a widely respected lawyer who has served in both prosecutorial and defense capacities – this special vantage gives him a competitive advantage that he can put to work for you.

June 3, 2012

Could His Next “Ultimate Fight” Be A Battle Against Los Angeles DUI? Jon “Bones” Jones Totals Bentley in New York; DUI Suspected

by Michael Kraut

Not every Los Angeles DUI arrest involves a $190,000 Bentley getting wrapped around a telephone pole and a superstar athlete. But last Saturday, Jon “Bones” Jones, 24-year old UFC fighting champ, did just that in Binghamton, New York.

Jones was arrested by the Broome County Sheriff — the same agency for which he created a police training film a few months ago. An ironic twist of events, indeed. In the wake of the incident, the light heavyweight king – who bested Rashad Evans on April 21 in a unanimous decision – got called to the carpet by Dana White, the President of the UFC.

White told the Boston Herald, in blunt terms, how he felt about Jones’ situation: “[Jones] could… go down as the greatest ever – beat everybody, do all the stuff, be the first guy to break through and get a Nike deal… do you want to be that guy or do you want to go the other way?” White then proceeded to describe in graphic, expletive filled detail what precisely the “the other way” would entail.

Not good things.

If you’ve recently been arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, you are probably facing a similar turning point in your life. How do you want to frame what’s happened to you? How are you going to respond? The question actually goes deeper than just “what will your legal response be?” It cuts to the heart of where you are in your life and how much responsibility you’re willing to take for your life trajectory from here on out.

Whether the arrest was fair or not, you need to make big picture, strategic, and tactical decisions in the days and months ahead. The quality of the decisions that you make – and the quality of your network of support people – could have tremendous implications, not just regarding scary questions like “will I go to jail or not for my Los Angeles DUI?” but for the grander questions like “will I get the help I need to get control of myself and rebuild my life?”

Compassionate, aggressive, experienced attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Los Angeles can help you deal with all aspect of your charges and situation. Attorney Kraut served as a prosecutor for the city for nearly a decade and a half, and he has deep insights into how to get his clients excellent results, even in complicated and scary circumstances.