DUI Crime and Punishment

July 18, 2012

A Contraption to Douse Burbank DUIs? Could Wisecracking Urinal Cakes Be the Answer?

Policymakers, police, and lawmakers are in a perpetual desperate scramble to stop Burbank DUIs. This is an admirable quest. Even an A-list Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney, like the Harvard Law School educated Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, would agree that reducing DUI arrests is a wonderful and important goal for our community.

Everyone wants the roads to be safer. The question is: how do we do it?

Once you get into the question of strategies, differences of opinion emerge!

One intriguing strategy got deployed over the 4th of July weekend in Michigan. It was an indirect strategy, intended to influence intoxicated men to call a cab, find a designated driver, or otherwise make smarter decisions.

How do these men access this font of wisdom? When they go to the bathroom.

That’s right — a company called Wizmark, based in Maryland, has been advertising wisecracking urinal cakes, which warn urinal “patrons” about the dangers of DUI in Burbank or Michigan or wherever. The message goes something like this: “Hey there, big guy! Having a few drinks? Then listen up. Think you’ve had one too many? Then it’s time to call a cab or a sober friend for a ride home.”

This message will certainly take restroom patrons for something of a loop. Who knows, maybe it will have some positive impact. The State of Michigan sure believes that the cakes will help – Michigan ordered 400 of the cakes to be deployed in various bars and eateries across the state.

Obviously, it’s important to test various mechanisms to try to thwart Burbank DUI events.

And thinking out of the box like this might even work. But when policy people lean on solutions without measuring results, they’re being unscientific. If policymakers really believe something like this might help, then they need to measure what happens in a controlled and sophisticated way that can be replicable and scalable.

Because if warnings like this do actually have a good effect – if they reduce DUIs by even just a small percentage – then maybe the program should be scaled up to a nationwide endeavor. Odds are, however, that this is an ad hoc experiment that’s not being carefully measured and controlled.

And therein lies a problem! Even sophisticated and seemingly useful tools, like the breathalyzer, are often highly flawed. Defendants often get confused about what test results might mean. That’s why it’s useful to at least talk to a Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney )2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) as soon as possible after your arrest, so that you can get informed about the realities of your situation.

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 12, 2012

Just How Dangerous is it to Drive DUI in Los Angeles on the 4th of July?

by Michael Kraut

Independence Day has come and gone – and whether you or someone you love got arrested for DUI in Los Angeles over the holiday or after all the celebrations died down – you may find it useful to understand your situation in a broader context, so you can put forward the most effective and appropriate defense.

To that end, did you know that 4th of July is single most deadly holiday of the year with respect to driving under the influence? July 4th “beats out” New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, President’s Day, you name it, according to 25 years of statistics parsed by the wonks at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). More than half of fatal July 4th crashes, on average, are related to alcohol.

The latest NHTSA statistics, which date back to 2010, found that during the three-day 4th of July weekend that year, 491 people died in auto accidents – 42% of fatalities were suspected DUI related. Meanwhile, during a four-day New Year’s period that same year, only 423 people died – a similar percentage, 41%, were suspected DUI related.

NHTSA statistics show that nights and weekends are the most dangerous times to drive. Researchers suspect that the reason why more 4th of July fatalities happen is that people know that New Year’s is a dangerous time to drive, so they know to stay off the roads; whereas the 4th of July is kind of a hidden danger – not many people realize that it’s a bad time to be on the roads.

All these statistics aside, you and your family need accurate and strategic guidance designing your Los Angeles DUI defense (Local: (323) 464-6453 Toll Free: (888) 334-6344). Connect immediately with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for a confidential and thorough case evaluation. Attorney Kraut is very well-known and highly respected Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who spends a lot of time on DUI cases, and he can help you make better decisions and maximize your chances for getting good results.

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.

July 2, 2012

General Anxiety and Depression After Pasadena DUI: What’s Going On?

by Michael Kraut

After recently being arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena – or perhaps getting tagged for DUI near USC or UCLA – you’re having difficulty sleeping and stressing about your future. You may even be having feelings of depression that are seemingly unrelated to your recent DUI arrest.

Why? What’s going on?

For instance, maybe you’ve been wistfully recalling a break up with an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend. Or maybe you’ve been just feeling homesick or whatever. Where does this generalized anxiety and depression come from? Is it related to your Pasadena DUI? What can you do to gain control of your legal situation and protect your driving privileges? And how can you feel back in control after the events of the past few days or weeks?

Feeling “out of control” is often a symptom of deeper needs not being met
In this article, you will be introduced to a very cool tool to “help you drill down” to get to the root source of your post Pasadena DUI dissatisfaction. You will also get to meet a premier Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorney – more on that later.

First, crystallize in words one problem related to your “post DUI” malaise. Just take out a piece of paper right now – or a word document – and write down what’s on your mind that’s causing you anxiety. For instance:

1. “If I lose my license, I have no idea how I’ll get to school.”
2. “I’m terrified about going to jail – even for a few days.”
3. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents about my DUI.”

On your own, go through the following exercise with all the statements you come up with. We’re only going to do one “drill down” in this blog post for brevity’s sake.

So pick one statement – we’ll go with the third statement here – and start to drill down by asking yourself questions about it. Specifically, ask yourself WHY the issue concerns you. This is an iterative process. So once you get to a reason, you want to get to the root of that reason and so forth and so on.

#1: I’m terrified to tell my parents about my Pasadena DUI.

Why?

#2: Because my parents won’t understand; they’re going to yell at me and cut off my tuition.

Why are your parents not going to understand and cut off your tuition?

#3: Because my dad already thinks that I’m slacking off at school.

Why does your dad think that?

#4: Because he’s always told me that I’ve been squandering myself out here in Los Angeles, and that I should have taken a job as an engineer back home.

And why is that a problem for you?

#5: Because I want to be able to be left alone and do my own thing and not be constantly judged!

Do you see how this exercise drills down to deeper emotional truths?

In our fictional example, the DUI defendant reaches an epiphany about his relationship with his dad – and even gets to a deeper need about wanting to be independent.

Having this kind of self realization is critical. Once you surface that need and meet it somehow, perhaps you’ll be less likely to become a recidivist Pasadena DUI offender.

If you’re just looking for brass tacks – help to get out of your legal jam – consider connecting immediately with the professionals at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor for Los Angeles – a senior Deputy District Attorney, in fact – and he has helped many people in very similar situation to yours get clarity and get results.

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 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.