DUI Crime and Punishment

April 10, 2013

Burbank DUI Sports News: Drake Britton, Star Pitcher for Red Sox, Socked with DUI in Fort Myers, Florida

Some disappointing Burbank DUI sports news: 23-year-old Drake Britton, a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, got arrested on March 2 for driving under the influence in Fort Myers, Florida.

According to the arrest report, Britton made multiple mistakes that may make his case legally fraught and complex. A USA Today article said a deputy saw him speeding and tried to pull over the promising young leftie. Britton then smashed his car into a curb and bulldozered over a fence. Eventually, he stopped and admitted to the deputy that he had been drinking.

The Red Sox later released a statement saying that the team took Britton’s arrest “very seriously, and it’s being addressed…Fortunately, in this case, there was no one injured, but the bottom line is that it’s a very serious issue with us.”

Britton paid a $2,250 bond.

Did we mention that he’d been traveling at 111 miles per hour? That’s pretty fast!

Unless you’re racing at NASCAR or tooling your vintage Mercedes around on the Autobahn, 111 mph is way, way too fast.

What’s really tragic – at least for Britton – is that he was just about to start in the Big Leagues, after years of struggling through the Minors. He got drafted way back in 2007 in the 23rd round. Even though he accrued a losing record with Boston’s Double-A Portland team (4-7 with a 3.2 ERA) last season, he had wrangled a chance to play in “The Show.”

So why did he drive under the influence and potentially wreck not only his car but also his career?

This question would obviously be impossible to answer unless you spent time understanding his personal situation and his psychology.

But it speaks to the diverse causes of Burbank DUI behavior and accidents.

According to cutting-edge psychological research, stressful situations – both negative AND positive – can drive us to self-medicate with alcohol or other substances.

Unless and until you address the root stress or frustration, then you may never fully get rehabilitated. You thus may be at an increased likelihood of getting arrested again, in the future, for driving under the influence in Burbank or elsewhere.

If that happens, your problems can mount.

A misdemeanor Burbank DUI is a serious charge, and it can result in the stripping of your California driver’s license for a year, jail time, court costs, fines, insurance spikes, tough probation terms, and worse. When you get arrested a second or third or even fourth time within a 10 year period for DUI in Southern California, prosecutors can pile on more and more charges, and your life can spiral downwards and out of control.

To get a grip on what’s caused your turmoil — what caused you to make less than strategic decisions about your driving or to say dumb things to the officer who pulled you over for DUI -– look to the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Michael Kraut is an experienced, compassionate, and thorough Burbank DUI defense attorney who has helped many people in similar situations protect their rights and get a fair second chance.

April 8, 2013

Involved in a Horrendous Glendale DUI Accident? Life Feels Out of Control?

by Michael Kraut

You got involved in a serious Glendale DUI accident.

You survived the event. Not everyone who drives DUI in Glendale does. But even if your event involved no injuries and/or vehicle damage, you’re frightened about your future, your freedom, your reputation, your license, whether or not you will have to serve jail time, and on and on.

You keep churning over different scenarios in your head, each one more worrisome than the last. All you keep thinking about is “how much worse will this all get?”

In the abstract, no one can really say.

However, you have the ability — right now, while you are reading this article — to begin to reverse your negative fortunes and to start to rebuild. That’s not intended as Pollyannaish, ridiculous type of positive thinking. If your life is deeply troubled on many levels, you cannot “turn it around” overnight or by reading one inspirational passage. In fact, the quest for that kind of quick “cure all” for life’s problems is often at the root of so much destruction.

That said, you CAN immediately start to make incremental changes to your habits, behaviors, and beliefs that, over long swaths of time, will lead you to better places.

Here’s a good analogy. Imagine that your “elevation above sea level” is equivalent to your “emotional state.” So if you stand in Death Valley or the Dead Sea, you are “emotionally low.” If you stand on top of a mountain, you are “emotionally joyful.”

When you’re standing in Death Valley, you can’t get to Mount Everest by making one giant leap. You make incremental progress towards higher land. Instead of trying to jump to the top of a mountain, you just start to walk in the direction of the peak and focus on the individual steps you need to take to get there.

Success in many different endeavors — including Glendale DUI defense — is a lot like that.

When you start to make “good” decisions, find the right mentors, and engage in purposeful and positive action, over time, your odds of success increase. They are obviously not guaranteed. You can do everything right and still wind up, by some kind of fluke, suffering a lot. Conversely, you can, by random chance, get lucky.

That’s why there is no such thing as a “cure all” — because life and nature are irreducibly random at some level. But you can start making a conscious choice to walk towards the proverbial mountain:

• To consult with an experienced Glendale DUI defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers;
• To go in for counseling to find out what’s at the root of why your life is so stressful on so many levels;
• To start to be kinder and more compassionate with yourself;
• To improve your eating and exercise habits and take better care of your body;
• And so on.

Call Attorney Kraut to deal with your Glendale DUI charges now.

April 5, 2013

When Someone You Love Refuses to Get Help After a Long Beach DUI

by Michael Kraut

You are at your wits’ end and also very sad. Someone you love dearly recently got arrested for DUI in Long Beach, and that person — at least to you — seems to be living in denial.

As you are no doubt aware, after you get arrested and charged according to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) or 23152 (b) — or per the injury DUI CVC Sections 23153 (a) or 23153 (b) — you need to act quickly, strategically, and decisively to protect your rights.

You may only have days, for instance, to contest the suspension of your California driver’s license. Evidence that could help exonerate the Long Beach DUI defendant — or at least make the prosecution’s case more challenging — may disappear or be forgotten.

So you need to get “on it” quickly. But the person whom you love — who faces the charges — is acting maddeningly nonchalant. Perhaps he or she has yet even to consult with a Long Beach DUI defense lawyer or even begin researching legal options.

You want to help him, but there is only so much control that you can exert over a full-grown adult. Here are some insights to help you make progress:

#1. Strive to empathize with the Long Beach DUI defendant.

Imagine if you had been arrested. No doubt, you’d feel scared, overwhelmed, angry both outwardly and inwardly, and a lot of other feelings, none of them good. Whenever you’d dwell on the arrest, those feelings would come up. So it makes psychological sense (at least) to just pretend like things aren’t really happening.

#2. The person may have a challenging relationship with you.

For instance, maybe you’re the parent of a UCLA or USC student who got arrested for DUI in Los Angeles. That student might worry that you’ll stop paying tuition or take away the car. The person may not even be willing to listen to your plea because of these fears.

#3. You cannot be sure exactly what’s going on.

Scientists have done plenty of research into what motivates us (and what demotivates us) from taking empowering actions. But each situation is different. One defendant might refuse to get help because he’s in denial. Another may refuse to get help simply because she doesn’t realize the nature of her legal bind.

This puts you in a difficult situation. You want to help, but you are not exactly sure how to approach the person or otherwise assist.

Above all else, strive for compassion. Be compassionate with the person. Be compassionate with yourself. You’re going through a lot as well, even though you won’t face jail time or other punishments. Appreciate that you have the kindness and sense of responsibility to offer help. Reflect on the Serenity Prayer.

And consider connecting with Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, directly, for help with your Long Beach DUI defense. Attorney Kraut can suggest solutions for you and your family.

April 3, 2013

Finding Empowerment After Your Burbank DUI

by Michael Kraut

Your recent Burbank DUI arrest has proven to you, beyond all doubt, one thing: namely, that you are powerless over the effects of alcohol.

Or at least so you believe.

Narcotics, alcohol, and other substances can cause otherwise rational, compassionate, good citizens to engage in all sorts of wild and destructive behavior. The Jeckyl and Hyde nature of addiction has led to the creation of many myths about what alcoholism really is, what addiction is, what causes these problems, and what potentially has the chance to treat them.

According to Dr. Lance Dodes, a Harvard University addiction specialist, some of the ways in which we think about alcoholism (and thus Burbank DUI treatment) may be misguided. For instance, Dr. Dodes argues that the nearly universal advice given to addicts — to admit that you are “powerless” over alcohol — may do more harm than good. Dr. Dodes’s alternative thesis about addiction argues that addictive/compulsive acts are often attempts to reassert autonomy during bouts of helplessness.

For instance, addicts often feel better the moment they make the decision to have a drink or engage in other types of impulsive behavior — as opposed to when a particular substance hits their bloodstream.

The decision itself seems to have the calming effect. This implies that root cause is psychological as opposed to physiological.

Likewise, Dr. Dodes sites the fact that the soldiers in the Vietnam War had extremely high heroin abuse rates. But when these soldiers came back home, the vast majority of them managed to quit heroin easily and simply — an extremely low recidivism rate that could not be duplicated in domestic patient populations.

This suggests that something about the war itself was driving the men to use heroin — again, implicating psychological as opposed to physiological impulses.

A Burbank DUI defendant might do well at least consider this alternative perspective.

What drives you to make bad decisions? What are the thoughts that run through your mind prior to your making the decision, for instance, to take a drink or smoke marijuana or engage in other compulsive behavior? Are they thoughts along the lines of “I hate my job, I’m frustrated with my marriage, I’m angry because some guy cut me off in traffic, etc.”?

If so, perhaps you might find it resourceful to reflect on those potential triggers and find ways to empower yourself differently.

Of course, on the practical side, you also need to deal with your Los Angeles DUI defense. Connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for attentive, thorough, and decisive help with your Burbank DUI defense.

March 22, 2013

Fatal Malibu DUI Disaster: Woman Kills Tow Truck Driver and Leaves the Scene…

by Michael Kraut

A woman faces felony hit and run charges for a fatal Malibu DUI crash that took the life of 40-year old tow truck driver.

According to local reports from KABC, the woman hit the driver, who was rendering aid to a stranded vehicle. She then fled the scene. She made it two miles before she smashed into a parked car by the Malibu pier.

Police took her to the hospital, and they later arrested her for DUI in Malibu as well as felony hit and run. The tow truck driver died at the scene. He had been working for Platinum Tow, a company based in Westlake Village. Police closed the PCH all night to deal with the aftermath of the accident. They reopened it around 5 a.m. the next morning.

If you or someone you love was recently arrested for similar crime — e.g. driving under the influence in Malibu or DUI elsewhere in Los Angeles — hopefully your situation was less tragic.

But even if you “only” face a misdemeanor DUI charge, you can still wind up with a substantial jail sentence as well as strict probation terms, mandatory alcohol education classes, a long-term California driver’s license suspension, fines and fees and court costs, and sundry other punishments. On top of that, you could also face the indirect consequences of these punishments, including jacked up insurance rates, trouble getting to work or school, ostracism and judgment from friends and family, and on and on.

And obviously your legal challenges can be much harder if you left the scene of the accident (committed a hit and run) or hurt someone in the crash. For instance, you might face a felony DUI in Malibu charge, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23153. (Misdemeanor events are generally pursued according to a separate CVC statute, 23152.)

So where does this leave you?

First of all, take a break and give yourself a little compassion.

You’ve been through a tremendous amount of pain and stress. You obviously didn’t want to get in trouble or to hurt anyone. Even if you were involved in a serious wreck, you can begin today to set yourself on a path towards rehabilitation and cleaning up your life.

The team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you make decisive, smart, and strategic plans to build your Malibu DUI defense.

Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor, who spent 14-plus years in the DA’s office and who rose to the position of Senior Deputy District Attorney. He is renowned in the Southern California legal community for his excellent work, aggressive service, and ethical, thorough treatment of cases.

March 20, 2013

Hollywood DUI Disaster for American Idol Winner’s Family — Phillip Phillips’ Mom Busted in Albany, Georgia

by Michael Kraut

If you recently got arrested for drug DUI in Hollywood or elsewhere in the Southland, you have plenty of company.

Often, DUI events represent the tip of the iceberg — the manifestation of longer brewing and ultimately very tragic situations.

Consider, in that context, the recent stop and arrest of Cheryl Phillips, mother of singer Phillip Phillips, who won Season 11 of American Idol. Phillip Phillips has been very public about his troubled relationship with his family. Last November, his parents needed financial help. But the newly crowned American Idol winner refused to pitch in. So the parents had to sell their pawn shop.

March 15, 2013

Did You Try to Bribe Your Way Out of Your Los Angeles DUI? Hopefully Not! Look What Happened to This 24-Year Old…

by Michael Kraut

When you got pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence in Long Beach, you felt terrible and scared.

You can be forgiven if you allowed yourself to envision doing “something, anything” to escape the charges, the humiliation, and the punishment. But there is a difference between thinking such thoughts (e.g. “if I hightail it out of here, I could reach the Mexico border by sunrise!”) and actually ACTING on them.

Unfortunately, sometimes when we’re extremely intoxicated or nervous, we can act impulsively on not-so-smart thoughts.

Consider, for instance, the following recent New York City DUI debacle. A 24-year old resident slammed his car into a mailbox in Lower Southampton. Witnesses saw the vehicle driving without its lights on in the middle of the night. When police finally pulled the young man over, he was “slumped in the seat and looked upset when he saw the authorities who stopped him.” The police tried to put him through the paces of a field sobriety test, but “he failed them all” and didn’t even “lift his feet off the ground when [the police] asked him to.”

After police arrested the man and took him into custody, he still failed to cooperate.

He later blew a 0.18% on a breath test (well over two times the legal limit for Long Beach DUI) and agreed to do a blood test at St. Mary Medical Center. But then he recanted and decided not to give blood. Finally, he was thrown back into police vehicle and taken to a station in Lower Southampton, where he shouted at a police officer and even bribed him with $1,000 to let him go.

Ultimately, police showered him with a litany of charges, including hit and run, property damage, DUI and refusal. His parents later picked him up at the station.

When you read a story like this, you probably feel some compassion. Unfortunately, many Long Beach DUI defendants do not get nearly enough empathy from society, from prosecutors, from bosses and colleagues, and even from spouses and family members.

You’ve been through a tremendous amount. You’d really like someone to listen to your concerns and help you develop a battle plan to fight back against the Long Beach DUI charges.

Look to the experienced team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to help you get a handle on your Long Beach DUI defense, and to move beyond this difficult and unexpected chapter in your life.

March 13, 2013

Driving Under the Influence in Los Angeles With Kids in the Car? Don’t Do It!

by Michael Kraut

You’ve already been arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, so what’s done is done.

God willing, you didn’t hurt anyone or do serious damage to yourself. But whether you did or didn’t, your life is chaotic and scary right now — and it’s not just because you feel guilty about what happened but also because you’re nervous about jail time, punishments, and all the uncertainty.

Sometimes people under a lot of stress do very dumb things.

Consider, for instance, allegations against a Tennessee woman, Melissa Renee Karcher, who was arrested recently for driving DUI with her two young children in the back of her truck. The 26-year-old took her kids with her to a drive-thru restaurant on Fort Campbell Boulevard and acted very strange to the server. Here’s a quote from a local report “The server said Karcher appeared inebriated, confused and on the verge of falling asleep. She dropped her phone in her drink, then dropped her drink, and repeatedly tried to hand the server dirty paper towels.”

When police arrived, they found Karcher sitting in her truck (engine on) with the kids in the back seat. The reports said that she had “white spit” on one of her cheeks. Karcher said she was not on medication or alcohol — but rather that she had been up all night. As anyone who has ever tried to raise young kids knows, sometimes you have those nights where you really don’t sleep.

It’s also very difficult to pass a Los Angeles field sobriety test (or FST anywhere) if you’ve been running without sleep. Some research out of Australia, in fact, suggests that driving after being up for 24 hours or more is actually more dangerous than driving DUI, as strictly defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) or 23152 (b). Your reaction time when you’re sleepless and exhausted is slower, etc.

Karcher apparently fell asleep at the police station — evidence that seems to be in line with her story. However, her history does not necessarily bode well for her. She had her license suspended in Kentucky for driving under the influence, and she got booked into jail on DUI charges as well as charges of “possession of drugs without a prescription, driving on a suspended license and two counts of child abuse and neglect.”

If you face similar charges — or more serious ones or less serious ones — of DUI in Los Angeles, what can you do? What are the best practices? What mistakes should you avoid?

For thorough, personalized answers to these questions, get in touch with attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today. Mr. Kraut is not just a widely respected Los Angeles DUI criminal defense attorney, but he is also an ex-prosecutor who leverages his nearly two decades of experience in the LA legal system, along with his Harvard Law School education, to get excellent results for his clients.

March 11, 2013

Parallels Between Your Long Beach DUI Arrest and the Meteorite That Blew Up Over Russia’s Ural Mountains

by Michael Kraut

Why on Earth would you want to waste time reading or thinking about a meteorite explosion, when you have a serious Long Beach DUI charge on your hands, and your freedom and future literally hang in the balance?

There’s a good reason why.

Many defendants, who face charges like driving under the influence in Long Beach, never take the time to process what they go through. As a result, they often make impetuous decisions that backfire, or they fail to “get into gear” early enough in the process. The end result is the same: driver’s license suspension, jail time, harsh probation terms, and worse.

Point is, you really need to take time to process what’s happened to you and come up with new ways to think resourcefully about your situation. Your DUI event was very disruptive and totally unexpected. No one starts off a day saying “I think I’m going go out and get into a Long Beach DUI accident tonight.” Accidents and DUI checkpoint arrests happen totally out of the blue.

Likewise, the meteorite that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia in the Ural Mountains on February 15 was totally unexpected. The blast literally shocked the world. (Curiously, the event happened around the same time as a 130,000 ton asteroid zipped by the Earth — nipping our whiskers at just 17,000 miles distance). The fireball nevertheless created a mini-disaster, injuring 1,100 people or so (mostly due to glass blown out from the explosion) and damaging 3,000 area buildings.

Russia — and the rest of the world, actually — got lucky.

Had the meteorite gone slightly off course, it could have exploded over nearby nuclear weapons plants or chemical weapons facilities and thus either set off another Chernobyl-type disaster or caused toxic agents to be released en masse into the atmosphere.

Your Long Beach DUI event was very similar to a meteorite strike — it was unexpected and unwanted, and it’s left you dazed and feeling out of control.

To regain some control and perspective, get in touch with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today. Michael Kraut is a highly reputable, widely respected ex-prosecutor who now works as a Long Beach DUI defense lawyer. He and his associates can help you respond knowledgably to your crisis and build a sound and structured defense.

March 8, 2013

What Beverly Hills DUI Arrest Is This for You? First? Second? This Guy Just Got His 14th!

by Michael Kraut

Whether you got pulled over for your first-ever Beverly Hills DUI on Wilshire & Rodeo after a tony film industry soirée; or you just racked up your second or third DUI within 10 years, consider yourself fortunate that you are not 55-year-old William Grussing.

The Montana man was just sentenced to two decades behind bars for driving under the influence.

Why the harsh sentence?

Because this was his 14th time facing DUI charges!

In order to even become eligible for parole, Grussing must go through a very long and intense alcohol education program. He admitted to the judge that he was just 14, when he had his first alcohol beverage — with his father, no less.

Even though you are a DUI defendant yourself, you’re probably nodding to yourself that the judge probably did the right thing in this case. It’s one thing to make a misjudgment after a party… or even to make multiple bad decisions within a few years. But when you get into the double-digits with your DUI charges, something is just not working, and more drastic measures might be needed.

In your case, you want to figure out not only how to beat your Beverly Hills DUI charges, but also how to manage the core problems causing you to make less than optimal decisions.

Sorting out those root problems is no easy feat, even for someone who is dedicated, open, and persistent.

Fortunately, the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you with your Beverly Hills DUI charges. Attorney Kraut and his team are experienced, compassionate, and aggressive. They can help you understand what you might be able to do, immediately, to get control over your life and over your legal situation. Get in touch with the Harvard Law School educated attorney Kraut now for assistance.