DUI Crime and Punishment

August 26, 2015

How to Break the News of Your Los Angeles DUI to Your Boss [5 Strategies]

Perhaps even more scary than contemplating going to jail for your recent Los Angeles DUI charge or facing the prospect of walking two miles to and from Trader Joe’s to get your groceries every week for the next year is the specter of having to confess the DUI to your boss.

It’s no secret that the cost of living in Los Angeles is crazy high (although, fortunately, not as wild as the cost of living in cities like New York and San Francisco). Moral is: you need a solid income stream to support your family and larger ambitions.

So you don’t want to lose your job – particularly for a momentary lapse of judgment that you had outside of work. However, if your employer does learn about the DUI – in particular, learns about it in the wrong way – you could face seriou repercussions at work. Here are some tips for how to move forward.

1. Before you chat about your case with other people (including your boss as well as friends and family members), get insight from an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney.

Your attorney help you figure out how to break the news and get the ball rolling on an accurate and sound defense strategy.

2. Don’t beat around the bush.

Stick to the facts when you have the conversation – assuming your attorney says it’s wise to do so – and avoid getting into emotions or embellishment. Just say what happened, say what you are doing now, and be business-like about it.

3. Avoid letting your boss find out about the arrest from a co-worker or from the news, if possible.

4. Be empathetic to the boss’s response.

Depending on your relationship and what happened during your DUI, your boss may get extremely angry or sad or some other reaction. Avoid taking her reaction personally. Try to understand what’s going on in her head and heart. For instance, perhaps she is disappointed, because she’s just worried that you may lose your license and thus not be able to get to work on time. Perhaps this news raises trust issues with her. Reflect these concerns without admitting anything on your part. Be a mirror.

5. Learn appropriate lessons, and make a constructive plan going forward.

For instance, let’s say that your license suspension prevents you from going to work easily – or delays you an hour a day. So be it. Work with your employer and colleagues to develop a work around as you manage the license suspension.

Respond strategically to your arrest and charges by calling a former Senior Deputy D.A. and highly successful Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a complimentary consultation.

August 24, 2015

3 Reasons Why the Hot Summer Months Compound the Dangers of Driving DUI in Los Angeles

by Michael Kraut

Driving DUI in Los Angeles can result in a veritable smorgasbord of problems — legal, personal, financial and even emotional. These might include license suspension, forced installation of an interlock ignition device in your car, jail time, rising insurance costs, loss of employment (because you no longer have a car to drive to work), feelings of depression and doubt, legal and court fees, and so forth.

The hot and sultry months of summer in Southern California can actually exacerbate both the dangers of driving DUI and the after effects of an arrest. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Commuting without air conditioning in the summer can drain your energy and put you at health risks.

Traveling in an un-air-conditioned vehicle (or going by foot or by bicycle) can expose you to the elements, which can be quite uncomfortable on days when it crests 100 in the Valley and can put vulnerable individuals at risk for dehydration and heat stroke.

2. During the summer, more kids are out of school; thus, more party-going teens are driving on freeways and surface streets.

Obviously, it’s dangerous to drive DUI. But it’s even *more* risky to do so when other drivers on the road are also engaging in wild behaviors or activities. For instance, it’s safer to be the only crazy car on a road full of defensive, sober, attentive drivers than it is to drive DUI on a road filled with kids on summer vacation who are on their phones and drinking and doing who else knows what else.

3. The long days of summer can trick you in thinking that you are not as tired as you actually are.

In Los Angeles, the difference in the length of days between summer and winter is not as severe as it is in more northern latitudes. However, the lengthy days can lead us to feel alert when we are really actually pretty exhausted. If the sun is still beaming at us at 7:30 at night, we might subconsciously think “it’s day time,” even though our bodies are exhausted. Unrecognized fatigue can compound the dangers of DUI driving plus increase risk of things like accidents and bad judgment after a stop.

Do you need help defending against a serious charge? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers immediately.

August 10, 2015

Driver On DUI Probation Causes Fatal Crash

by Michael Kraut

Some people never seem to learn, no matter how many times they suffer the consequences of an arrest for a DUI in Los Angeles. Even as they’re paying the penalty for one DUI offense, they’re committing another.

Christopher Thomas Nash of Hesperia, California, may finally understand the consequences of driving while intoxicated. But that realization comes too late for 27-year-old Andrea Anderson, who died as a result of an accident that Nash allegedly caused.

The 31-year-old man was driving his white GMC truck south on Armagosa Road around 4:30 in the morning of July 30th when he crossed the double line and drove into oncoming traffic. The truck hit the red Kia Forte driven by Anderson, who suffered fatal injuries. Paramedics pronounced Anderson, who was an only child, dead at the scene.

The accident, which demolished the front end of the Kia, trapped Nash in his car. Emergency workers had to extricate him before a helicopter airlifted him to Loma Linda Medical Center. Police had to shut down traffic in the area for several hours while they investigated.

Witnesses who stopped to assist after the crash reported that Nash appeared to be out of it and that he smelled strongly of alcohol. They also said that they spotted a beer bottle among the wreckage.

The court had placed Nash on probation after his conviction on misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from incidents in April and July of 2014. He had actually gone to court in May 2015 to request modification of his probation on those charges. (Apparently the court didn’t grant that request.)

Police have charged Nash with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Since he can’t make bail of $250,000, he’s staying put in the West Valley Detention Center at present. He could face fines of up to $10,000 and/or four to six years in jail if convicted.

Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.

August 5, 2015

Police Don’t Play Around With DUI Arrests

by Michael Kraut

When police officers arrest high-profile sports figures for DUI, it always makes the news, whether the charges involve a DUI in Los Angeles or in some small Midwest town.

A California Highway Patrol officer picked up Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson on July 14th. Lawson, who was driving his white Mercedes north on the 101 freeway, displayed signs of intoxication, according to police reports. The cop booked Lawson into Los Angeles County Jail after charging him with DUI. This is Lawson’s second arrest for DUI in 2015 and the fourth during his professional football career.

Jack Trudeau, who played quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts from 1986 until 1993, faces charges of operating while intoxicated. Police in Zionsville, Indiana, picked him up on Sunday, July 26th, and measured his blood alcohol content a .31—almost four times the legal limit.

Police charged Marco Pappa, a midfielder for the Seattle Sounders soccer team, with suspicion of DUI and speeding after pulling him over in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 20th. Pappa had to take a playing time out; Major League Soccer bans players arrested for DUI from taking part in any matches until the league completes a substance abuse and behavioral health assessment.

National Hockey League star Ryan O’Reilly may win the prize for the most noticeable spots DUI arrest in July. He crashed a 1951 vintage Chevrolet truck into the Tim Horton’s in Lucan, a township in Ontario, Canada. O’Reilly drove off, but police officers located his vehicle through the assistance of witnesses. Police charged him with impaired driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

At least one sports figure managed to avoid a conviction on a DUI charge, however. Tim Jennings, a Chicago Bear player, pleaded guilty to reckless driving and speeding charges in a January 7th incident. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the DUI charges against him.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

August 3, 2015

Tennessee’s Anti-DUI Campaign Called Sexist

by Michael Kraut

If trends for arrests for DUI in Los Angeles follow national averages, police pick up more men than women for the offense. (According to DrunkDrivingStats.org, the ratio for the arrests is four to one.) In addition, males between the ages of 21 and 34 are responsible for 32 percent of all DUI episodes.

Statistics gathered by the Tennessee Department of Security and Homeland Security showed similar trends in the Volunteer State, where police officers arrested three times as many men as women for DUI from 2010 to 2014.

So you can understand the reasoning of Tennessee officials who thought that anti-DUI advertisements should aim at catching the attention of young men. However, the way that the Governor’s Highway Safety Office approached the task of spreading the message brought widespread criticism.

The advertising campaign featured TV and radio ads, social media and table tents, coasters and fliers distributed to bars across Nashville. The ads offered messages like “After a few drinks, the girls look hotter and the music sounds better. Just remember: If your judgment is impaired, so is your driving.” Another read: “Buy a drink for a marginally good-lucking girl only to find out she’s chatty, clingy and your boss’s daughter. If this sounds like something you would do, your judgment is impaired.”

Needless to say, the campaign soon drew fire from women and from public officials who denounced it as sexist. The controversy grew even more heated when news sources found—under the Freedom of Information Act—that the state had spent $800,000 for advertising blitz. State officials quickly apologized and stopped the advertising.

Do you need assistance constructing an appropriate response to a DUI charge? Look to the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut for insight and peace of mind. Mr. Kraut is an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

July 23, 2015

Illinois Bars Happy with New Law [But What Does It Mean for DUI Prevention?]

by Michael Kraut

California state legislators occasionally revisit laws against driving under the influence in an attempt to reduce the number of cases of DUI in Los Angeles and other locales around the state. But Illinois lawmakers appear to be moving in a different direction. They recently passed legislation—signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner—that allows the return of Happy Hour in bars around the state.

Don’t expect a free-for-all at local watering holes between the hours of four and seven, however. The new law comes with fairly restrictive provisions that should make it less likely that people will overindulge before they get behind the wheel.

When Illinois abolished happy hours in the state back in 1989, the law’s proponents hoped that the restrictions would reduce the number of people who drove under the influence. An Associated Press story reported, statistics suggest that the law did not do much to alter the number of DUI arrests. Backers of the new 2015 law, meanwhile, argued that the law’s passage would help increase alcohol sales, which in turn would increase money flowing into the state’s coffers.

According to the AP story, bars in Illinois can now offer drink specials up to four hours a day, as long as the number of happy hours for a bar or restaurant doesn’t exceed 14 a week. Establishments can’t, however, offer specials like two drinks for the price of one or unlimited drinks for a fixed price.

So far—and perhaps somewhat surprisingly—advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists have taken a neutral stance on the law. Along with the Illinois state legislators, they will probably be watching what happens to the number of DUI arrests in the state. In 1989, police in Illinois arrested more than 49,000 motorists for DUI. By 2013, that number had fallen to fewer than 35,000, mirroring a national trend.

Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.

July 15, 2015

No Expert Witness? No DUI Charges!

by Michael Kraut

Prosecutors typically have no qualms about bringing charges against someone who’s operating a motor vehicle after drinking to excess. They rely on breathalyzer results to help them get convictions for DUI in Los Angeles and other California locales. If the BAC measures above .08 percent, prosecutors feel they have a good case.

But what if prosecutors have no good way to quantify just how impaired a driver is? That can occur when police pick up someone for a DUI charge that’s related to something besides alcohol. One California cop found that worked to his advantage in beating a DUI arrest.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that sheriff’s deputies charged Montebello Police Sergeant Christopher Cervantes with DUI after he rammed his car into a tree in May. Cervantes claimed he had lost control of the vehicle when trying to avoid hitting another car. But the deputies said he appeared to be under the influence of a drug, and they arrested him.

A blood test revealed that Cervantes had a drug in his system that included codeine and morphine—a drug his doctor had prescribed. But the fact that he had a prescription would not normally get Cervantes off the DUI charge.

But on his scheduled arraignment day, Cervantes got a welcome surprise. Prosecutors said that field sobriety tests weren’t enough to gain a conviction against him. They admitted that they had no expert witnesses who could testify Cervantes had enough of the prescription drug in his bloodstream to leave him impaired. So the prosecutors declined to bring DUI charges against Cervantes due to insufficient evidence.

Do you need assistance constructing an appropriate response to a DUI charge? Look to the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut for insight and peace of mind. Mr. Kraut is an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

July 13, 2015

Two Strikes and He’s Out

by Michael Kraut

A good rule of thumb: if cops pick you up for a DUI in Los Angeles, don’t hit the road again before the intoxicating substance has left your bloodstream. If a West Virginia man had followed that advice, a teenager in that state might have avoided some unwelcome time at the hospital.

According to TV station WOWK in Charleston, police got a summons on July 6th to the vicinity of the Smiley Motel. A woman there told them that Randy Bailies was driving on Route 60 under the influence of alcohol. (It’s not clear whether she was Bailies wife or his ex-wife.)

The officers tracked Bailies down, pulled him over and found his blood alcohol content was .268, more than three times the legal limit. They booked him for DUI and released him—into the custody of a sober driver—after he posted a $600 bond.

That incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. Around 12 hours later, Bailies was driving along Route 62 near Poca City when he hit a teenager walking along the side of the road. Fortunately, the youth didn’t suffer life-threatening injuries, although he did end up at the hospital for treatment.

Bailies meanwhile fled the scene, but cops caught up with him at a gas station and arrested him. They charged him with DUI causing injury, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving without insurance.

Under West Virginia law, Bailies could spend up to a year in jail, pay fines up to $3,000 and lose his license for a year if convicted of these two offenses.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

July 6, 2015

Police Panicking about Drug DUIs as Prescription Drug Use Spikes Across Nation

by Michael Kraut

When you hear a report about someone arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles, your immediate thought might be that the person had been drinking too much alcohol before getting behind the wheel. But other substances can cause impairment similar to alcohol’s effects.

Television station WAFF in northern Alabama reported in June that state police are seeing more and more cases of motorists driving erratically after taking prescription drugs like Xanax. In one case, a man used Xanax and codeine before driving, eventually running off the road in an accident that killed his seven-year-old daughter.

Police officers have a problem when it comes to determining whether a motorist has been impaired because of prescription meds. They can immediately get a fairly good gauge of blood alcohol levels by administering a breathalyzer test. But the breathalyzer can’t detect the presence of prescription drugs. Police officers need a laboratory to conduct those tests, and long waits for processing samples at state labs gums up the system and leads to lots of delays.

Critics say this “how do we stop prescription drug DUI” problem now challenges law enforcement all over the country. In Fresno, California, on Friday, June 5th, police responded to two separate accidents that involved DUI and prescription drugs. ABC 30 reported that Alyssa Gonzales, age 18, slammed into David Torres when he was stopped at a red light. The accident killed Torres and resulted in charges against Gonzales, who allegedly had been taking a prescription for a spinal condition.

A few hours later, 38-year-old Denise Lago, under the influence of prescription drugs, swerved into oncoming traffic. She caused a four-vehicle accident that killed Ken and Jeannine Balderrama, who were riding a motorcycle. In an ironic twist of fate, the defense attorney representing Lago is a cousin of David Torres, the man killed in the earlier accident.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.

June 29, 2015

Police Will Remember This Crazy DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

When people are arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, they may harbor the hope that the arresting officer will go easy on them. But it probably won’t help their case if some unpleasant incident—like getting sick all over the back of the police cruiser–occurs during the arrest.

Police in Seminole County, Florida, for example, will probably remember (and not in a good way) 29-year-old Metilia Petties, picked up for DUI in mid-June. Petties had apparently been involved in a fight earlier in the evening, and then she allegedly used nine (nine!) vodka-and Sprite mixed drinks to take the edge off her anger. She eventually left the bar and drove off in her Toyota sedan, but officers spotted her swerving into traffic going the opposite direction on Goldsboro Boulevard.

Petties then hit a sedan that was attempting to make a turn, which sent the driver of that car to the hospital because of neck and body injuries. Petties allegedly fled the scene, but cops eventually caught up and pulled her over. After determining that she was DUI, they put her in the back seat of a patrol car. Petties then threw up everything that she had consumed that evening.
Authorities did not take it easy on Petties, who allegedly had a blood alcohol content of .091. They charged her with DUI, hit-and-run crash with injury, operating a vehicle without a valid license and fleeing/eluding police.

Petties had one additional problem as well. The police found that she was wanted on a grand-theft charge in Seminole County.
Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.