DUI Field Sobriety Tests

January 11, 2019

Starting 2019 with a Los Angeles DUI Arrest: What Happens Now?

It’s not how you envisioned kicking off the New Year. Perhaps you’ve made resolutions; perhaps you’ve set goals. You were looking forward to the prospects of a new year with new possibilities. Certainly, kicking off 2019 with a Los Angeles DUI arrest was not on the agenda. Now you are facing potential charges that could spoil your momentum and derail all your plans for the year. What do you do now, and what steps can you take to get your year back on track?

First, regardless of the specific circumstances of your case, realize that you’re not the only person in this situation. The holiday season of 2018 in general, and New Year’s Eve in particular, has been record-setting for DUI arrests in California. Consider the following:

• Over the Christmas weekend 2018, California law enforcement officers made more than 1100 DUI arrests. That’s nearly 200 more than the 917 arrests made during the same time in 2017.

June 26, 2018

California’s Marijuana Law: What’s Legal, What’s Not

by Michael Kraut

In January of this year, California became the ninth state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. (It has been legal for medicinal use since 1996.) However, the Adult Use Marijuana Act (aka Proposition 64) has actually done little to simplify the rules surrounding when and how pot may be bought, sold and used; if anything, the rules are now more complicated. In fact, as Time magazine points out, Prop 64 is so packed with details that it’s over 60 pages long!

Obviously, those who indulge should be aware of the ins and outs of the new law to avoid inadvertently doing something that could get them ticketed or arrested. The following overview can serve as a guide to help you stay within the bounds of the law so if you do use pot, you can do so legally, safely and without endangering others in the process. Let’s explore what is now legal under California’s marijuana laws, and what is not.

It is LEGAL to use pot, but only if you’re 21 or older.

September 28, 2016

Could A Skin Patch Help Prevent DUIs?

by Michael Kraut

Would the number of DUIs in Los Angeles decrease if drivers and/or police officers had an easier, more reliable way to measure blood alcohol content?

Researchers at the University of San Diego have developed a wearable, flexible sensor that can accurately measure a person’s BAC from sweat. The device, a temporary tattoo, actually induces sweat and then detects the alcohol levels electrochemically. The device communicates the information to a mobile device—laptop, tablet or phone—via Bluetooth.

Nano engineering professor Joseph Wang and electrical engineering professor Patrick Mercier led the team that developed the sensor. “This technology provides an accurate, convenient and quick way to monitor alcohol consumption to help prevent people from driving while intoxicated,” said Wang. He envisions interfacing the device with an ignition interlock device, or people using it to monitor their own alcohol levels so they could refrain from driving if they were legally under the influence.

June 15, 2016

DUI Drivers Injure Workers on Road Construction Sites: An Unnerving Survey

by Michael Kraut

Road construction workers have fairly terrifying jobs. They not only operate and move around heavy equipment weighing 10 tons or more (often much more); they also must work while vehicles just a few feet away hurtle past them at 50 and 60 miles per hour. Add to that mix a driver who’s operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol—enough to qualify him/her for a DUI in Los Angeles—and you’ve made a difficult situation even more dangerous.

According to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, Earl William Maugham, Jr., caused serious injuries to four people at a construction site on US 61 in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. He first sideswiped an unoccupied Ford Truck, which he should have noticed, since it was flashing white and amber strobe lights marking the work zone. Then he slammed into a John Deere backhoe. The backhoe driver wasn’t injured, but Maugham continued on, jumping two raised center median curbs and eventually hitting four workers. Emergency workers took them to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries.
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November 3, 2014

Getting Stopped for Los Angeles DUI with a Single Open Container Is Bad News. What About 42 Open Containers of Vodka?

by Michael Kraut

As someone who recently had the unpleasant experience of getting arrested and handcuffed for charges of driving under the influence in Los Angeles, you vividly recall the feelings of fear, frustration and hopelessness that accompanied your stop/accident and subsequent jailing.

Yet you also know that the situation could have been worst. For instance, hopefully you did not seriously injure or kill someone while DUI. And at the very least, you personally survived the incident – not necessarily a given, particularly if you had been seriously impaired.

Even if police found an open container (or two or three) in your vehicle, you have nothing on 26 year old James M. Woodward, a Massachusetts man stopped last Sunday afternoon on Route 24 in Freetown, MA for “moving vehicle violations.”

Massachusetts State Police say they found not just one or two but 42 (!!) nips of open vodka in Woodward’s truck; they arrested him and hit him with multiple charges, including lane violations, negligently driving a motor vehicle, driving DUI, and, of course, having open containers of alcohol in his vehicle.

Driving DUI under any circumstances can be devastating, even if you didn’t violate multiple laws or engage in dubious or reckless behavior after your stop. Even if this is your first time, you can still face a panoply of charges, such as:

•   Driver’s license suspension
•   Forced alcohol school
•   Probation
•   Fines and fees
•   Legal costs
•   Spike in your insurance rates
•   Job loss
•   Mandatory installation of interlock ignition device (IID) in your car
•   Enhanced punishments if you hurt someone

Of course, all is not lost. You may be able to get the charges dismissed entirely or plead them to down to lesser charges, such as wet reckless. Call a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers right now to set up a time to speak with attorney Michael Kraut about what you can do to defend your interests, protect your rights, and minimize the punishments and other negative repercussions in your life.

July 16, 2014

Breaking Through the Inertia of Your Los Angeles DUI Case

by Michael Kraut

You may be at the beginning of the end of the worst part of your Los Angeles DUI arrest.

How so? After all, you feel downright miserable and scared about what’s happened to you, and you haven’t even found a lawyer yet. You have so much to do – and so much is at stake both for you and your family – that things almost by definition have to get worse before they’ll get better.

Right?

Not necessarily.

Consider this. What’s causing you so much agitation and worry is not the punishments or potential punishments, per se, but rather the UNCERTAINTY of your situation.

•   You don’t know whether you will be jailed for several months, several days, or not at all.
•   You don’t know whether you will face massive fines of thousands of dollars or no fines at all or somewhere in the middle.
•   You don’t know whether the prosecution will negotiate a plea bargain that you can live with or whether you will have to fight in court;
•   You don’t know whether the DMV will suspend your license for a few days, or a few months, or indefinitely;
•   You don’t know whether you will find a DUI defense lawyer who has good values and who has an effective track record.

These and other uncertainties piled on top of one another and create a kind of inertia. That inertia can you weigh down and prevent you from getting the guidance you need to start to answer the questions. It’s a kind of a Catch 22.

So how do you break through the inertia?

When you take action to solve problems, it becomes easier to follow through and do what that needs to be done. For instance, if you ever procrastinated on cleaning out your garage or doing a big stack of dishes, you’re familiar with this concept.

The thought of actually getting into the muck of the work is repulsive. But once you start, the job becomes easier. It’s a lot easier to think: “hey, I’ve been washing this big pile of dishes for 15 minutes, and I’m halfway through, so I’ll keep going” than it is to “pull the trigger” and to decide to spend the INITIAL 15 minutes on the troubling task.

The first step involves reaching out for help. If you have yet to retain a lawyer for DUI in Los Angeles, call Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to figure out your next steps. Mr. Kraut is a respected, established lawyer with a track record of success. He can answer your questions and help you feel more calm and controlled about your situation: call now to start building positive momentum to obtain closure.
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July 7, 2014

Do Los Angeles DUI Field Sobriety Tests “Tell the Truth”?

by Michael Kraut

As someone who recently had to endure a field sobriety test for Los Angeles DUI, you can attest to the surprising challenges that you endured:

•   The humiliation of being made to “walk the line” on the side of the road, while other drivers passed and gawked at you;
•   The fear that you were going to fail your breath test and rack up a DUI charge, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152;
•   The anxiety as you contemplated the potential punishments for a conviction, including a mandatory interlock ignition installation, jail time and driver’s license suspension.

At the end of the day, you didn’t exactly pass your FSTs with flying colors, and you may have also failed a breath and/or blood alcohol test.

FSTs are inaccurate, sometimes very misleading gauges, though:

1. Bloodshot eyes – alternative explanations.

Having bloodshot eyes is a symptom of being DUI. But it’s also a symptom of being fatigued, sick or irritated by allergens. You could have sand in your eyes. Or an accident or a sudden stop might have caused the blood vessels to burst in your eyes.

2. Failure to pass the walk the line test – alternative explanations.

If you lose your balance while trying to walk on the line, that could indicate that you were driving DUI, but it could also indicate that you just generally have a bad balance or that you have an ear ache or ear infection. Or maybe you are just a generally uncoordinated person. Maybe you were confused by the slope of the road or by the shadows, and you stumbled. Perhaps you DID walk the line, but the police incorrectly recorded that you stumbled.

3. Slurred speech and having trouble following directions – alternative explanations.

If you slur your speech and you can’t understand and/or abide by police directions, you might be DUI. Or you might be exhausted, emotionally overwhelmed or sick. Or you might have a speech impediment or difficulty hearing. Perhaps the police pulled you over on a very loud section of the freeway, and you couldn’t hear the instructions over the roar of the traffic.

For help managing the aftermath of your Los Angeles DUI crisis, call attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for intelligent, compassionate, thorough assistance with your charges. Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated attorney who racked up a success rate at jury trials of over 99%, when he worked in the Deputy DA’s office.

June 18, 2014

Beverly Hills or Los Angeles DUI – What If You Got into an Accident Right on the Border of a City?

by Michael Kraut

If you got stopped for DUI on Whitworth in South Beverly Hills, you might have been charged with Beverly Hills DUI or Los Angeles DUI, depending on which side of the street you had been driving.

The pavement tells the story: the north side is Beverly Hills territory, while the south side belongs to the City of Los Angeles. In practice, this slight distinction almost never causes any legal issues. After all, the City of Beverly Hills and the City of Los Angeles have very similar laws with respect to DUI driving and punishment. But the jurisdiction of your case can matter in some pretty important ways. For instance, it can help determine the judge and prosecutorial team in your case. It can influence the logistics of the trial.

Here’s the broader point, however, and you probably didn’t see this coming: if you’ve spent any time really thinking about this issue (or similar issues), you’ve almost certainly been wasting your time!

It’s not that jurisdictional issues don’t matter. Rather: you almost certainly lack the experience, knowledge, and resources to make sound legal decisions about such subtleties of the law. You don’t want to spend your very limited time and energy on the wrong things.

For instance, you may be fretting about the potential jail time (totally natural) but not paying much attention to your license suspension. After all, it’s scarier to think about spending a week behind bars than it is to contemplate the difference between a one and three month driver’s license suspension.

In terms of real costs, though, two extra months without a license can be a tremendous, costly inconvenience. For instance, let’s say that, without a license, you’re going to need to take a cab to work every day until you get your license back. Thus, you might spend literally thousands of dollars in cab fees just to keep your job.

So fighting a license suspension could be hugely important. But because you don’t have the experience to prioritize your DUI defense items, you might wind up missing or mishandling your DMV hearing and thus getting a less than ideal outcome.

Fortunately, an astute Los Angeles DUI attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you make more effective choices. Get in touch with Mr. Kraut and his team for a free consultation today.
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April 14, 2014

So You Lost Your California Driver’s License After a Los Angeles DUI – What Now?

by Michael Kraut

It hasn’t exactly been the best of times, since your Los Angeles DUI stop. But at the very least, you survived the stop and/or accident. Now you’re trying to figure out what you need to do to protect your rights and minimize the collateral damage to your life and freedom.

One of the biggest inconveniences you face is the loss of your California driver’s license. Whether you lose it for a few days, a few months, or a few years, inconveniences abound:

•   How are you going to drive to and from work or school?
•   How are you going to shop at places like IKEA, Vons, etcetera?
•   How will you drive to social events, like dates and parties?
•   How will you get to LAX?

If you lived in D.C. or New York, your situation would be substantially easier. You could take buses, taxis and trains to go basically anywhere you wanted to go. But in LA, going from “car” to “no car” is not a simple, nor intuitive transition.

Is there a solution? Are there workarounds you can use to get results?

Los Angeles does boast a few train stations and a thriving bus system, so you can “get around.” But you might find yourself stranded, isolated, and generally far more dependent on friends and family members. If you are a student, maybe this means that you’ll need to drop out for a semester until you get your license back. Or maybe you’ll need to move closer to school, so you can walk to classes. If you are a single parent, who is already stretched, you may need to take your kids out of day care or hire yet more help to drive your kids to and from their schools.

The duration of the suspension can also be hugely impactful. If you’re only going to be without a drivers license for a few weeks, that might be manageable. For instance, you could ask your boss to let you take your vacation early this year.

The moral is that the outcome of your upcoming California Department of Motor Vehicles hearing could prove pivotal — not just for your short term interests but also for your long term future. If you must move to another part of the city – or quit a job or break off a relationship – due to the Los Angeles DUI inspired license suspension – the ramifications could literally change your life… and not in ways that you’d be particularly excited about!

There is a very short window of time that you have to act to fight your Los Angeles DUI arrest and protect your California drivers’ license. Get in touch with experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers right now to set up your free consultation about how to proceed, strategically.
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March 9, 2014

Beyond Mr. Checkpoint: How Else Can You Avert a Los Angeles DUI Charge?

by Michael Kraut

Recently, we discussed a controversial tool that’s divided the Los Angeles DUI community: a popular cell phone app called “Mr. Checkpoint.”

Mr. Checkpoint alerts drivers in real time to the presence of checkpoints throughout the Southland. The app has bloomed into a social media sensation. Sennett Devermont — the man who created the app — recently told the LA Weekly about his very peculiar experiences with DUI law. Devermont claims that one arrest led to his car’s impoundment, and police then took his two dogs to the pound. (Blood tests later totally cleared Devermont of wrongdoing.)

Rightly or wrongly, many Southlanders may be tempted to use Mr. Checkpoint to avoid police traps. But what other tools/strategies can drivers use to protect themselves from DUI arrests?

Here are four:

1. Plan ahead.

Every partygoer knows the rule: when you drink, arrange alternative transportation, such as a designated driver or a taxi cab. That’s sound, good advice. But this advice of “plan ahead” should be construed in a broader sense, too: become a student of your habits and proclivities.

When do you make bad decisions? What people influence you badly? When and why do you behave impulsively or recklessly? Understand your own idiosyncrasies. Pay attention to them.

2. Err on the side of caution.

If you have to ask yourself whether you’re at risk of driving DUI, just assume that you are. Be conservative. It just makes sense.

Think about it. Let’s say you’re technically at 0.04% BAC — half the legal limit, as defined by California Vehicle Code 23152. You decide to “ruin your night” and avoid following your friends to the next club. The next morning, you spend $50 to take a cab back to your car. Are those things inconvenient? Sure. But they pale in comparison to what could happen if you actually HAD BEEN over the limit — punishments could include jail time, fines, license suspension, the potential that you could seriously hurt or kill yourself or someone else, the list goes on. You don’t have to be a genius actuary to see the risk imbalance there.

3. Come up with simple rules to follow about drinking and partying.

Simple rules are easy to follow and easy to remember. Don’t overcomplicate or overthink this.

4. Deal with your current DUI.

If you’ve been arrested recently for a crime like DUI in Los Angeles, get in touch with an attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for sensible, sensitive insight into your case.
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