DUI Crime and Punishment

December 11, 2013

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

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.

November 22, 2013

DUI in Burbank Arrest: A Few Seconds of Bad Judgment, a Lifetime of Regret?

by Michael Kraut

On some level, you recognize that your Burbank DUI arrest could have lingering effects for months or even years.

You can’t help but wonder: “what if?”

• What if you had taken a different route home and avoided the checkpoint on Olive?
• What if you’d had one fewer drink, and you only blew a 0.06% on the breath test… instead of a 0.10% on the breath test, like you did (thus putting you over the legal limit, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b))?
• What if you had stayed in that night instead of partying with your friends?

These kinds of scenarios — known as counterfactuals — can drive anyone a bit crazy. If you had done a few small things differently, you wouldn’t have a huge Burbank DUI defense crisis on your hands.

To protect your sanity — and to ensure that you stay focused on what needs to be done — put the counterfactuals aside. What happened, happened. You got a Burbank DUI. That’s reality.

If this was your first arrest — and you didn’t hurt anybody — prosecutors might only try to tag you with a misdemeanor. If convicted, you can still face punishments like jail time, probation, and California license suspension. If you committed a more serious crime — like hit-and-run or an injury DUI — prosecutors can ask the court for harsher penalties, such as longer jail time and long-term restrictions on your driver’s license and other rights.

Regret is a natural emotion. But it’s only useful if it helps to direct your activities and your thoughts. Rather than focus on what you should have done, focus on what you’d like to happen now.

Imagine if everything “went your way.” What would that future look like? Would it mean that all your charges would be dismissed? Would it mean that you’d get away with a relatively minor punishment? If you caused an injury DUI in Burbank, would it mean that the person you hit fully recovered and forgave you?

Try to get as clear as possible about what you’d love to happen. Then direct your energies to that end. There is a strategic reason for doing this exercise. When you have a crystal picture of what you want to accomplish, you will find it easier to get motivated and to take the actions you need to take to make that inviting vision a reality.

Let the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers help you on this journey by providing a free, private consultation. We can help you understand your charges and construct and deliver a sound Burbank DUI defense.

November 15, 2013

Breaking Beverly Hills DUI News: Are Designated Drivers Unreliable?

by Michael Kraut

To prevent a Beverly Hills DUI arrest, you should rely on designated drivers. Right?

That’s the conventional wisdom.

But a new study out of the University of Florida in Gainesville is putting that conventional wisdom to the test. According to a June 10th article at LiveScience.com, “roughly 40% of designated drivers still imbibe when they go out, many to a level that would impair them behind the wheel.”

Researchers surveyed club goers in a college town. They gave breath tests to over 1,000 people, including 165 people who labeled themselves “designated drivers.” They tested these people twice – once at 10 P.M and once at 2:30 A.M. 40% – that’s 4 out of 10! – of the so-called designated drivers drank. 70% of these people had BACs of between 0.02% and 0.049%. 18% – nearly a fifth of all designated drivers — had BAC levels in excess of 0.05%.

As regular readers of this Beverly Hills DUI blog might remember, that 0.05% figure has been in the news a lot recently. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants to lower the DUI cut-off down to 0.05%. (Currently, the Southern California DUI cut off is still at 0.08% for most adults).

Adam Barry, an Assistant Professor of Health Education, helped run this study. He told reporters that many designated drivers probably think that they’re all right to hop behind the wheel… even when they shouldn’t. Barry issued a sobering statement: “if you’re going to be a designated driver, you should abstain from alcohol use completely.”

That may be easier said and done. But if you’ve already been arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills, what can you do now to contend with your charges and make better decisions about your future?

Rather than relying on intuition or building your Beverly Hills DUI defense based on what you read on the web or hear from friends, connect with the team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

Attorney Michael Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor who has earned a reputation as an extremely experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. He’s helped many clients just like you deal with complex DUI in Beverly Hills charges.

November 8, 2013

Beverly Hills DUI Lawyer Dilemma: What Happens When an Attorney Gets Busted for DUI… 4 Times?

by Michael Kraut

As you’re searching for a Beverly Hills DUI defense attorney, you’re probably under the impression that most lawyers who focus on criminal defense understand the law well enough to avoid trouble themselves.

Truth be told, most attorneys do behave quite well.

But not all.

Consider the bizarre case of Dan Doorakian, a high level attorney who practices in West Palm Beach, Florida… and who recently got busted for his fourth DUI arrest in four years. The 39-year-old Doorakian is desperately trying to avoid prison time. But local legal analysts believe that he may have a difficult time convincing Judge Marni Bryson to keep him out of jail.

Doorakian wants the judge to consider two months of inpatient rehab he served his to count as “jail time” for purposes of his sentencing. But an anonymous source told Gossip Extra, a local celebrity journalism magazine: “ultimately, he is facing time behind bars, but he is trying to find a way to stay out or just spend a few days there.”

Doorakian’s DUI was his second of the year. He got busted back in January 2013. Prior to that, he picked up two DUI arrests in 2009. He was found not guilty the first time but picked up a conviction for his second arrest and put on probation for a year.

The Takeaway for Your Beverly Hills DUI Defense

This case is disturbing for many reasons. The conventional wisdom suggests that, once you understand the consequences of Beverly Hills DUI driving, you’ll likely avoid breaking the law. But Doorakian’s situation shows that that’s not necessarily the case. In other words, you can have deep knowledge and understanding about what a DUI conviction entails… and STILL be unable to control your behavior.

That case also showcases that there are real limits to what any DUI defense attorney in Beverly Hills or elsewhere can do for you. The facts, ultimately, are the facts. You need to play the hand you’re dealt.

Fortunately, you’re not helpless either. An experienced Beverly Hills DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers would be happy to help you make sense of what’s gone wrong and develop a sound, effective response to your charges. Please call Attorney Kraut today to get insight into your legal situation. Mr. Kraut is a highly respected Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor who has helped many clients in complex cases get good results.

November 4, 2013

Glendale DUI Quiz: Which of These Three DUI Stories are True, Which are False?

by Michael Kraut

Now for another Glendale DUI “true or false” quiz. Here’s how it works. You read the synopsis of six stories that may or may not have happened. Try to guess which three stories are made up and which actually occurred in real life.

Here we go:

1. Only in China: 10 employees shove their boss’s vehicle home, after he gets too inebriated to drive.

If you think punishments for Glendale DUI are harsh, they’re nothing compared to what the country of China metes out. Not only do convicted offenders get steep fines, but they also can spend six months or longer in jail for first misdemeanor DUI offenses. In any event… 10 Chinese workers and their boss partied too hard at a restaurant. Soon, no one was sober enough to drive. So the boss convinced his workers to push his car all the way home. The journey took 45 minutes!

2. Woman who did not like the results of her breathalyzer bites off cop’s thumb.

A woman in Louisiana was displeased with the results on her breathalyzer, which found her to be over 2.5 times the legal limit for Glendale DUI (0.08% BAC). She exhibited her displeasure by mangling the thumb of the arresting officer with her teeth. She later told authorities that she was “confused” and thought he had actually instructed her to bite him. Two years after her arrest, she was sadly institutionalized.

3. A woman arrested for DUI had 23 cats in the car with her!

A Meriden, Connecticut woman was pulled over on I-95, when an officer saw her veer suddenly across three lanes of traffic. During her subsequent field sobriety test, officers heard strange noises coming from the car. Upon inspection, they found 23 different cats in her car. Only 5 of them were in cages. The rest were freely moving through the vehicle. Obviously, the woman was arrested on animal cruelty charges. But the big kicker is that she blew a 0.23 on her breath test – the same as the number of cats in her vehicle!

4. Vladimir Putin often purposefully drove drunk to “sharpen his driving skills.”

Former Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, is famous for his rigorous self-discipline and eccentric forms of self-improvement. The ex-KGB op taught himself to drive under the influence “just in case” he ever needed that skill. The former Russian President even had advisers videotape his performances so he could improve his response times.

5. Man shows up for driving test while insanely under the influence.

A man in Romania had his license suspended for two years for driving under the influence. When he returned to the Romanian version of the DMV to retest, the organizers saw him stumbling around. Officers gave him an alcohol test, which he promptly failed.

6. Mother and her boyfriend force 13-year-old to drive, because both adults were DUI.

A 32-year-old woman and her boyfriend downed tons of wine at a local pizzeria. Since both the mom and her boyfriend had multiple DUIs on their record, they forced the woman’s 13-year-old son to drive them home. The young man became confused and disoriented and started driving in the wrong way. But his mom and her boyfriend were too busy making out in the back seat to pay any heed.

If you need help with your Glendale DUI case, connect with the team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for an insightful, useful free consultation.

ANSWER KEY:

1 (true); 2 (false); 3 (false); 4 (false); 5 (true); 6 (true)

October 28, 2013

Horrendous Hollywood DUI News: Barbara Walters’ Daughter Busted with 0.218% BAC

by Michael Kraut

Some breaking Hollywood DUI news.

Jacqueline Walters Danforth, the 44-year-old daughter of recently retired news anchor Barbara Walters, was recently arrested for DUI in Naples, Florida. According to reports from the New York Daily News and TMZ, Jacqueline and her boyfriend had been driving a Honda Pilot on the highway, when police stopped them for driving without their lights on.

Police described a volatile encounter with Jackie and her male passenger, who appeared to be extremely under the influence. As the police arrested the boyfriend, Jackie apparently “began shouting,” prompting the arresting officer to take action. In his report, he wrote “I was afraid the suspect might run into traffic on the highway, so she was taken to the ground due to her unpredictable behavior, and then secured in handcuffs.”

When the now 44-year-old was a teenager, she got into lots of trouble. She even appeared with her mom on several TV specials to discuss her issues, in the hopes that other parents and troubled kids could learn lessons.

Per the police report, Jackie’s breathalyzer test result was 0.218%. For those of you keeping score, that’s more than 2.5 times (!!) the limit for DUI in Hollywood or anywhere else in California. Shortly after her arrest, she paid her bond of $1000.

Jackie is Barbara Walters’ child with her second husband, Lee Guber. Walter, who discussed Jackie’s difficult childhood and substance abuse issues in her biography, just retired from TV journalism as the host of The View, after a 50-year broadcast career.

Lessons for Other Hollywood DUI Defendants
Being a child of privilege or celebrity does not inoculate you from stress, pain, and bad decision making. In fact, anecdotal evidence (at least) supports the idea that children brought up in the spotlight – i.e., kids who have extremely famous parents – face extra challenges and pressures that can lead to bad decisions and dangerous behavior.

Examples abound. Think about the high profile Los Angeles DUI arrests of people like Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson. Or consider the Los Angeles lewd conduct charges against famous grown up child stars, like Macaulay Culkin and Nick Stahl.

The point is that many people arrested for driving under the influence in Hollywood (or elsewhere) deserve kindness and help. Everyone experiences rough spots. And everyone deserves a chance to make amends.

The big question is: how do you do that, safely, ethically, and legally?

In other words, what should you do about your Hollywood DUI charges?

Every case is different. Fortunately, an experienced lawyer at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you. Mr. Kraut is an ex-prosecutor (14 plus years as a Deputy District Attorney) who maintains close relationships with his ex-prosecutorial colleagues and judges. Connect with attorney Kraut today for insight and a free case evaluation.