DUI Crime and Punishment

June 3, 2012

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

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

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

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

Not good things.

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

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

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

June 1, 2012

Glendale DUI News Of The Weird: Did Driver Busted in Iowa Really Let Zebra and Parrot Drive His Truck?

by Michael Kraut

Occasionally, stories of DUI in Glendale and elsewhere get pretty weird.

Last week, the zany action took place not here at Southern California but rather in the generally staid Midwest – Dubuque, Iowa, to be more specific. 56-year old Jerald Reiter was arrested in the parking lot of a bar called “Dog House” (appropriate) after police saw him driving around with a parrot and a baby zebra in his truck.

Officers saw the circus-like situation and made Reiter go through the paces of a field sobriety test. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the FST came back positive, and he was arrested and booked. One report said that Reiter had a habit of taking the Macaw Parrot and baby Zebra into the bar – a situation which no doubt caused quite a scene in the Dog House. In any event, Reiter is claiming that he is innocent.

If you’ve been put through the paces of a field sobriety test in Glendale, Iowa, or anywhere else, you know it can be a scary experience, even if you are used to being around wild, loud animals — and even if you have enough courage and bombast to make something of a spectacle of yourself at a public bar.

Field sobriety tests are no fun. It’s not that the actual test themselves are that physically demanding – balancing tests, walk the line tests, stand on one leg tests, finger to nose tests, and other FSTs are pretty basic stuff. But the emotional aspect of doing these tasks is difficult to metabolize. You realize that one small incorrect movement could mean a Glendale DUI arrest, followed by penalties such as jail time, driver’s license suspension, compulsory alcohol school, probation, points on your license, skyrocketing car insurance premiums, and on and on and on.

You might not be consciously aware of all those potential problems when you’re in the midst of an FST, but you are almost certainly subconsciously aware of what’s going on.

It’s difficult to enumerate all the factors that can make a sobriety test “go wrong” – nervousness, general lack of coordination, the whims of an officer, a legitimate stumble, fatigue, medications that are legal to use but which might interfere with your performance, etc.

All that said, the past is past.

If you or someone you care about has been arrested for DUI in Glendale, you almost certainly need the services of a professional, highly competent, and respected Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney. Look to the team here at The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for guidance. Attorney Michael Kraut has a fantastic track record of helping defendants like you not only get results for their defense but also understand their rights, so they feel a degree of certainty and optimism throughout the whole process.

May 21, 2012

A Good Way to Make Beverly Hills DUI News – Drive 100 Miles per Hour to a Kid’s Birthday Party

by Michael Kraut

Whether you or someone you care about has been arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills, or you’re just striving to be a better, safer parent, you can learn a lot from the story of Katherine Russell, a 34-year old Northern Californian mom, who was arrested last week after driving a 100 miles per hour in her SUV…because she was late to a child’s birthday party.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Russell tested at more than twice the Beverly Hills DUI limit of 0.08%. A California Highway Patrol officer saw her Toyota 4Runner zipping by a Sonoma County Road at around 90 miles per hour. When the officer approached her, the SUV allegedly sped up to a rocketing 100 miles per hour. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident – and especially no children were hurt.

Parents here in Beverly Hills do some crazy “stuff” to help give their children a leg up and meet their needs. We live in a stress inducing city — Beverly Hills takes “keeping up with the Joneses” to the next level. All parents can be tempted to do stupid and dangerous things in the name of protecting their kids and giving their kids what we think they want or need. But there is a danger in this mentality. Sometimes, people get arrested for crimes like driving under the influence in Beverly Hills or elsewhere because they are striving to “do the right thing.”

In other words, we might know they we’re not in the best state for driving – that we “should” take more precautions or find designated driver. But our better instincts get overpowered by the urges and needs of the moment. Only after the fact do we realize how our efforts have backfired. And then we’re forced to scramble to figure out what we might be able to do about our trouble — how we can run damage control. This is only speculation, but it is possible that the 34-year old was speeding because of a deep and understandable need to take care of her child – to pick him or her up from that late night party. The moral is that our positive, nurturing urges can have damaging effects – if we are not careful to measure them against the realities of our situations.

Fortunately, a Beverly Hills DUI charge – even a complicated one – does not have to be a life sentence. An experienced, able, and respected Los Angeles criminal defense attorney at Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 660B Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3220 Phone: (310) 550-6935 ) in Beverly Hills can talk to you about what happened and give you some powerful advice to start to construct an effective defense.

May 16, 2012

You Think Your Long Beach DUI Arrest Was Bad: These Guys Strapped Their Kids to the Roof of a Car for an Alleged DUI Joyride!

by Michael Kraut

Getting pulled over for a charge of a driving under the influence in Long Beach can be a shocking, terrifying experience. Even if you did nothing wrong – or the breathalyzer malfunctioned, or the police failed to follow proper procedure, or you can produce exonerating evidence – developing a good Long Beach DUI defense can be an intimidating proposition, to say the least.

Fortunately, odds are that the charges against you are less insane than the charges against two Indianans: Jessica Clark and Aaron Stefanski got hit with charges of DUI in Fort Wayne, after police saw them strap their kids to the hood of an automobile while driving away from a liquor store.

Not so smart.

One of the witnesses to the event, Tom Nowak, told a local paper how the 4-to-7-year olds got lashed to the car: “with one of those straps you crank on a semi to hold down lumber, they were strapped with that thing, wiggling and wobbling down the street.”

Indiana Child Protective Services have since removed three of the children from the father’s custody and sent them to stay with their mother full time. Obviously, this story is like something out of “News of the Weird” – an interesting oddity, but you might be wondering how it could be relevant to your Long Beach DUI case.

Here are some of the lessons:

1: People who get stopped for DUI in Long Beach often do “multiple things wrong” at once.

Yes, there are certain situations in which “only one bad thing happens.” For instance, the driver has way too many drinks at a party before getting behind the wheel, and he or she gets tagged with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10%. But in many cases, drivers do stupid things upon stupid things, compounding their problems. For instance, the father in this case not only allegedly drove DUI, but he also endangered his children. His legal mess will be far more thorny and complicated.

2: Controlling perceptions is important.

What happened, happened. You (or someone you love) now faces a Long Beach DUI charge. You cannot go back in time and change that. But what you can do is to determine how to shape events going forward, so that you learn lessons from what happened, make reparations to anyone you hurt, leverage tools and strategies to minimize your punishments, and generally try to transform this obstacle in your life into an opportunity to become a better person, a better driver, a better citizen, and more self-knowing.

3. Good legal help — early on! — is crucial.

A Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can help you deal with your situation, even if you made compounding errors during and after your arrest. Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor – he knows how prosecutors will think about your case and want to charge you – and he can leverage that information and insight to get you better results.

May 14, 2012

Driving Under the Influence in Burbank (or Oregon): Can “Lost” Star Find His Way Out of This?

by Michael Kraut

It’s more typical for celebrities to get arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank than to get tagged for DUI in some far-flung region like Oregon. But life can be peculiar. In the case of “Lost” actor Matthew Fox, that’s exactly what happened.

Last Friday, police pulled Fox over in Bend, OR, after he failed to signal and remain in his lane. The gossip site TMZ.com reports that Fox had been on his way to a fast food joint. Fortunately for Fox’s publicist, the mugshot machine at the local Oregon station was out of order, so there will not be a Nick Nolte or Mel Gibson style Los Angeles DUI celebrity mugshot to follow him around. Fox’s career also seems to be pretty solid: even though Lost is wrapped, he’s still getting work. He will be appearing in WORLD WAR Z, an epic zombie film produced by Brad Pitt.

Not too shabby.

Fox’s celebrity DUI is not his first – but he does have a small history of legal problems. Last August, he got into an altercation with a bus driver in Los Angeles; he allegedly punched her in the face. The bus driver then sued Fox, who countersued, saying that she hit him first. It sounds a bit like grade school – but with higher stakes for the winners and losers.

Celebrities and non-celebrities alike must obey the Burbank DUI laws. The most critical laws to know – whether you’ve personally been stopped for DUI, or someone you love or care about has been arrested – are California Vehicle Code 23152(a) and 23152(b). These govern the so-called “standard” Burbank misdemeanor DUIs. For instance, if you got stopped at a checkpoint on Victory Boulevard or pulled over on the 5 after a night partying downtown, the odds are that you will be facing a CVC 23152(a) or 23152(b) charge.

But if you cause injury to someone else, prosecutors have a special trick up their sleeves – they can elevate your charge and try to get you convicted of violating 23153(a) and/or 23153(b). You will have to look twice the difference between these two codes – thery’re just one number different! But the difference for you could be dramatic. Instead of a misdemeanor Burbank DUI, you could face a felony Burbank DUI. That means that, instead of facing just a few days or weeks in jail, you could face over a year behind bars… as well as the loss to the right to vote and massive “post-felony conviction” problems that can trail you for years, decades, or perhaps the rest of your life.

To get a handle on your challenges, and to make the most appropriate, strategic steps towards protecting your rights and eliminating uncertainty, connect with a tested Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810). Mr. Kraut served honorably as a prosecutor of Los Angeles DUI crimes for more than 14-years in the capacity of a Senior Deputy District Attorney. Since he has experience as both the criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor, he understands the criminal justice landscape from different perspectives.

May 9, 2012

Racy Beverly Hills DUI Story – Katrina Darrell, Bikini Girl on American Idol, Busted for DUI and Hit and Run

by Michael Kraut

Last week was a shockingly salacious week for Beverly Hills DUI news. For instance, online gossip site, TMZ.com, broke a story that sent American Idol trivia fans into a tizzy. Apparently the “bikini girl” from the 2009 American Idol competition season – aka Katrina Darrell – was hit with some serious DUI charges. The situation sounds pretty intense for Ms. Darrell. If convicted, she could face two full years in jail!

 Police claim to have seen Darrell flee from the scene of an accident; they then pulled her over. She proceeded to take a breathalyzer test at the police station and blew 0.15% and 0.17% BAC readings. Those are pretty high readings – potentially more than double the standard Beverly Hills DUI limit of 0.08%.

Of course, it’s easy to read celebrity news reports like this and leap to conclusions about the defendant’s rightness or wrongness. Certainly, her history on American Idol suggests that she is not averse to taking risks and behaving a little wildly. But just because the DUI story seems to fit the “wild party girl” narrative that’s developed around her does NOT necessarily mean that it holds the whole truth – or even a shred of truth.

As with every Beverly Hills DUI arrest, there can always be complicating factors — factors that can make a situation significantly more or significantly less legally perilous. Until you really dive into a case, look at the evidence, explore statements, take a look at how the police did their work, examine the Beverly Hills DUI breathalyzer test results and field sobriety tests, etc, etc, you are going to be at a significant disadvantage.

After consulting with an attorney here at the Beverly Hills’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 660B Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3220 Phone: (310) 550-6935), you’ll likely have far more clarity about your situation. Although no attorney can promise results in a case, attorney Kraut has earned a massive recognition from his legal peers. He’s worked as a successful prosecutor and a successful defense attorney. He has the connections, know-how, detailed understanding of the law, and in-firm processes and systems to get you results.

April 30, 2012

Long Beach DUI News: Tragedy Out of Florida — Student Jumps to His Death After DUI

by Michael Kraut

The experience of getting arrested for driving under the influence in Long Beach is an experience that few people can really appreciate on a visceral, emotional level.

If you or someone you care about was stopped at a check point or arrested after an accident for DUI, your world probably feels upside down right now. No one expects to get a DUI. No one plans for it. But then, all of a sudden, you are tagged with one, and your life gets launched in a new, unexpected, and unwanted direction. And it wasn’t as if you had tons of time on your hands prior to your Long Beach DUI arrest or that your life was simple and carefree, either!

This preamble is an attempt to explain – or least put into context – a DUI-related suicide out of the University of Florida. 26-year-old Michael Edmonds, Jr., died the Sunday before last after jumping down the stairwell at the University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Edmonds had been arrested the day before on a DUI charge. The next day, a student heard a loud noise coming from the stadium and rushed in and found Edmond’s body on the sidewalk. She dialed the police while others arrived to assist, but Edmonds could not be revived. Obviously, the investigation is ongoing, and it would be premature and disrespectful to connect Edmond’s suicide with his DUI arrest.

April 25, 2012

Odds Are, Your Burbank DUI Arrest Didn’t Have This Much Drama (or At Least, Let’s Hope Not!)

by Michael Kraut

You recently got stopped for driving under the influence in Burbank – perhaps while thoughtlessly cruising on Olive after partying in Burbank Center.

Your life has been higgledy-piggledy ever since.

You are scared about possibly losing your license, serving jail time, paying fines and fees that you can barely afford, even though you live in the Valley and get a discounted rent (compared with what folks pay down in Westwood and Beverly Hills). You face a ton of drama.

Fortunately, your Burbank DUI drama almost certainly pales in comparison to an insane story out of the Washington D.C. area. Last Sunday morning, three men were arrested after a crazy police chase on the Germanna Highway. According to an NBC Washington News report, the mayhem all began at 2.30 in the morning, when a deputy stopped and approached a 1996 Ford Explorer. Instead of responding in an orderly fashion, the driver lurched the vehicle in reverse, slammed into the deputy’s car, and took off. The officer pulled his gun and demanded that the truck stop… but to no avail.

The Chase Is On
According to reports, the chase led across numerous local roads and highways, including Carrico Mills Road, James Madison Highway and beyond. Eventually, the Ford ran out of room on Auburn Road and drove into a ditch. But that wasn’t the end. David Lee Story, Jr., the 23-year-old driver, fled his vehicle. Police officers pursued him on foot and eventually wrangled him. He faces a monstrous battery of charges, including DUI, hit and run, and most disturbingly, felony assault of an officer. His two passengers in the Ford, Zuyan Zhang and Bradley Settle, were also arrested on charges of being drunk in public. They subsequently have been let go. Story Jr., on the other hand, is almost certain to face some seriously difficult months (perhaps years) ahead.

Story, Jr.’s story (sorry for the wordplay there) illustrates a very important truism about Burbank DUI arrests. Many drivers who get stopped engage in activities that needlessly and dangerously complicate their potential defenses and also put their own lives – and the lives of officers and innocents — at risk. If you have already been arrested for a complex Burbank DUI charge, you obviously cannot go back in time and undo the stupid things you did. You panicked, perhaps, and fled an accident scene or said dumb things to the police. So what now? What do you do?

The key is two-fold:

1. Recognize that the past is past: you cannot go back in time and erase your Burbank DUI.

And if you engaged in other dumb actions – such as a hit and run or an assault on a police officer – you also cannot change that. You can, however, respond to your present situation with compassion and wisdom. And that means working with a Beverly Hills DUI criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935), and connecting with an attorney for insight into your problems as soon as possible.

2. You need to start making smarter decisions. As we’ve talked about in other blog posts, introspection and reflection can help you understand some of the problems that drove you to get in trouble with law in the first place.

It’s not as if there is nothing you can do about your current Burbank DUI. In fact, the actions that you take — whether you were arrested last night, last week, or last month — can help you improve your situation, fight for your rights, and rebuild. The first step is getting over the “activation energy hump” that’s blocking you from getting the help you need. Connect with Attorney Michael Kraut today, and let this seasoned former prosecutor guide your defense.

April 23, 2012

DUI in Los Angeles? “No Thanks” says Bobby Brown, “Not For Me”

by Michael Kraut

Last Monday, hip-hop icon Bobby Brown pled not guilty to charges of driving under the influence in Los Angeles and additional charges stemming from his March 26th arrest. On top of driving DUI, Brown got slapped with driving under a suspended license and driving with an illegal BAC content. As regular readers of this blog know, the limit for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, per California Vehicle Section 23152(B), is 0.08%.

(Interesting and random note! Did you know that sleep researchers in Australia found that people who stay awake for 24 hours or longer may be as impaired behind the wheel as are people who drive with a 0.10% BAC?!)

Getting back to the main story… Bobby Brown has obviously had a hard 2012. His ex-wife, Whitney Houston, died, and he could serve half a year behind bars if he gets convicted. Brown’s pretrial hearing has been scheduled for May 16th. In the meantime, he is forbidden from drinking alcohol. His Los Angeles DUI attorney tried to get that requirement dropped – to no avail.

Brown allegedly blew a 0.12&% BAC on his Los Angeles DUI breathalyzer test – one and a half times the state’s legal limit.

California Highway Patrol got suspicious when they saw Brown yapping on his cell phone while driving (never a good idea). He allegedly exhibited classic symptoms of Los Angeles DUI (such as smelling like alcohol) and he also performed less than stellarly on his field sobriety tests.

Having said all that, be aware that Los Angeles field sobriety tests can be scary and confusing… even for stone cold sober drivers. So just because you can’t “walk the line” or balance correctly does not mean that you are under the influence or you should be punished. Conversely, it’s very possible to be under the influence of alcohol – to have a high BAC, for instance — and to pass your field sobriety tests with flying colors.

In other words, DUI charges are not as cut and dry as the tabloids would make them sound. Yes, there are certain instances where it’s pretty obvious that the driver has done not just one but many stupid things behind the wheel, and he almost certainly will face punishment.

That being said, every case is different. Fortunately, a responsible and highly astute Los Angeles DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you understand your rights and fight for justice – whether you are a high profile celebrity like Brown, a UCLA or USC student stopped at checkpoint on the 5, or someone who got arrested for DUI while visiting the City of Angels. Connect with the Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor Kraut now to get powerful results to protect your rights.

April 9, 2012

Beverly Hills DUI Sports News: Cristhian Martinez, Pitcher for Braves, Snagged for DUI in Atlanta

by Michael Kraut

After blowing a breathalyzer result of 0.13% (0.5% percent higher than the legal limit for Beverly Hills DUI), Cristhian Martinez, a star reliever for the Atlanta Braves, was arrested and hit with a DUI last week.

Martinez’s arrest came on the heels of another Atlanta Braves DUI debacle – former Brave Derek Lowe was busted last April for driving while intoxicated. The Braves seem even more distraught by Martinez’s arrest than they were by Lowe’s bust. Martinez was a star during so-called “Grapefruit League play” that precedes the opening of the real MLB season. He racked up 13 strikeouts and a 1.38 ERA, and generally performed with stellar precision. Upon learning about his arrest, the Braves released a statement saying that they “were very concerned” and that they “will require [Martinez] to be evaluated by an independent professional, as provided for by the new collective bargaining agreement.”

If you’ve been recently arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills or DUI near USC or UCLA, Martinez’s arrest may hold some powerful lessons for you… if you choose to pay attention to them!

1. As any Los Angeles DUI attorney will tell you, no one is above the law.

Martinez is a star professional baseball player. But that didn’t really matter. Police still made him get out of his vehicle, go through the phases of a field sobriety test, blow into a breathalyzer, and hop into the back of a squad car after he allegedly failed his test. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how much political power you possess, or how much you sweet-talk an officer – if you break the law (or even if officers just think you broke the law), you can find yourself in the back of a squad car.

2. There is life after a Beverly Hills DUI.

Maybe you are a college student or graduate student who only recently arrived in Los Angeles. You’re worried that your UCLA DUI charge will doom you to academic disaster or rob you of your vehicle and hence of your ability to get around town, look for jobs, see friends, etc. You might be right, to an extent. A DUI conviction can lead to all sorts of scary penalties, ranging from time behind bars to strict license suspension to long-term probation and beyond. But the nature and scope of your punishments will be determined by the urgency and effectiveness of how you respond to the charges against you. If you lolly gaggle and/or fail to do the research and other stuff necessary to prepare, a worst case scenario could come true. On the other hand, if you find a confident, aggressive Beverly Hills DUI criminal defense attorney, you can probably make surprisingly easy progress towards getting your charges dismissed or reduced. At the very least, a good Los Angeles DUI lawyer could give you some much needed perspective and connect you with other resources to begin rebuilding your life.

Harvard Law School educated lawyer Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935) in Beverly Hills has the talent, experience, connections, and “99 percent success rate at jury trials” track record to provide potent representation for you.