DUI Punishment

October 26, 2011

Long Beach DUI Consequences Can Be Brutal, Politically and Otherwise – Just Ask Republican State Senator Randy Hopper…

Getting pulled over for driving under the influence in Long Beach or anywhere else throughout the Southland (or the U.S.) can be a humiliating experience. The level of humiliation gets ratcheted up substantially, however, if you happen to be a public, elected official.

When lawmakers, police officers and others entrusted with the public good do bad things – such as drive DUI in Long Beach or elsewhere – the media pores it on.

Consider last week’s arrest of ex Wisconsin state senator Randy Hopper, who, per a story in the Green Bay Gazette, got pulled over in a Wisconsin parking lot, after witnesses saw him nearly collide head first with another car. Officers administered field sobriety tests to Hopper. He apparently failed, big time – he could not balance, could not say the alphabet, etcetera.

After his arrest, Hopper pleaded with the arresting officer, Deputy Nicholas Venne: “Will you put down there that you didn’t think I was that I (was) driving; you never saw me driving; you don’t know I was driving. I didn’t do anything illegal.” Hopper refused an evidentiary breath test, but jail staff did get a preliminary breath test which suggested that his BAC was around 0.13% — significantly higher than the cut off for Long Beach DUI of 0.08%, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152.

To put it mildly – Hopper has not had a shining last few years. In a recent election, Hopper lost his senate seat to democrat Jessica King by a margin of 51% to 49% — analysts believe that the razor thin defeat was fueled in part by Hopper’s messy divorce. He apparently left his wife for a lobbyist, Valerie Cass, who witnessed the arrest. According to one report, Cass “reportedly became upset… and yelled at the family who had called the police.”

So what are some lessons this story can teach Long Beach DUI defendants?

1. What you say or do after your DUI arrest can matter – and come back to haunt you.

The fact that Hopper blew a 0.13% BAC preliminary breath test and uttered recorded comments to Deputy Venne may complicate his legal defense.

2. Anyone can get tagged with a DUI.

Just because you are an elected official or a police officer or some other “special person” does not immunize you from the consequences of driving DUI in Long Beach.

3. Your choice of Long Beach DUI defense attorney is pivotal.

The quality of your legal defense can fundamentally influence your potential sentencing – as well as your ability to rebound, long-term, from what happened to you. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) is an experienced former prosecutor with a phenomenal success rate at jury trials and a great reputation within his industry. Judges, former prosecutors, and others in the system all greatly respect him.

October 19, 2011

Could Burbank DUI Breathalyzer Test Be Next on the Chopping Block? Massive Breath Test Dismissals in Florida Spark National Excitement

by Michael Kraut

If you got arrested after failing a Burbank DUI breathalyzer test – blowing significantly over the legal limit of 0.08% BAC, for instance – you may feel sour, sad, and scared that the breathalyzer test failure will doom you to a lengthy prison sentence? Now that you’ve been “tarred and feathered” as a DUI driver, will your insurance rates go to the roof? What will your friends, family and colleagues think about you now? Etc, etc.

Before you go down this rabbit hole of fear and catastrophic thinking, pull out of your nose dive for a minute and consider a very curious story out of Manatee County, Florida, of all places. According to a local Florida paper, the Bradenton Herald, “prosecutors in Manatee County have decided not to use the alcohol breath test results from one or two local intoxilyzer 8000 machines, saying the volume of blown air wasn’t accurately measured.”

In other words, the machines screwed up!

And the “positive” DUI readings the machines collected are no longer valid as evidence!

As a Division Chief in the Florida State Attorney’s Office noted, “it was the right thing for the integrity of the pending cases to not use the breath results.” Not all analysts agreed with the decision to throw out the breath test results. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Heather Smith, countered that “the volume is separate and independent from the subject’s alcohol content results … the amount of breath you blow cannot result in a higher or lower alcohol content reading.”

We will leave it to the reader to find the holes in Ms. Smith’s reasoning here. But let’s not get lost in the minutiae of the case – Florida officials already believe that the problem has been solved and the machines are now “fixed,” back in action, ready to help officers tag DUI drivers.

The greater point here is that Burbank DUI breathalyzer tests may not be as “bullet proof” as the common driver assumes they are. As this blog has documented many times over, breathalyzer tests can be corrupted by a diverse array of factors, including:

• Whether you are a man or woman;
• Whether you are a diabetic, or on a special ketogenic diet;
• How deeply you blow into the machines (Ms. Smith’s protestations to the contrary, notwithstanding);
• Calibration or officer reading errors;
• Sample contamination;
• etc, etc.

A Burbank DUI defense attorney, such as a Michael Kraut of San Fernando Valley’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810), can help you understand the charges you face, figure out what to do about them, and resolve any questions, concerns, or fears you have regarding your situation and legal prognosis.

Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor for the city. He is often called upon by major media institutions to provide expert analysis on Burbank DUI matters.

October 17, 2011

Pasadena DUI Homicide? Not Quite. No One Died. But Could Have Been a Lot Worse – KY Representative Arrested for Driving DUI… while Carrying Loaded 38-Caliber Gun!

by Michael Kraut

Fortunately, cases of Pasadena DUI vehicular homicide are relatively rare.

But you might be surprised by the number of “near misses” that occur on Pasadena’s streets and freeways every day. Even drivers who use “best practices” – who never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drive while fatigued, drive while distracted by a cell phone, etc. — can easily get into trouble. After all:

A) Life is uncertain on a fundamental level.

B) Driving in Southern California is anything but a cakewalk, as regular commuters on the 405, 5, 101, etc will tell you.

Driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater (in violation of Pasadena DUI laws) is obviously reckless. But you could do worse. Specifically, you could drive DUI while carrying a loaded 38-caliber gun.

Who might do such a thing? Apparently, a state representative in Kentucky!

According to a Fox News report, representative Curry Todd, a Republican from Collierville, was arrested last Tuesday for “possession of a handgun while under the influence and drunken driving.” To make matters worse, Representative Todd actually sponsored a law that “made it legal to carry a gun into bars in Tennessee.” Police found a loaded 38-caliber gun between the driver’s seat and the center console. And an affidavit stated that the representative was “unsteady on his feet,” “almost falling down at times” and that Todd was clearly “very impaired and not in any condition to be carrying a loaded handgun.”

The Representative made a bail of $3,000 and issued a statement last Wednesday, perfunctorily apologizing for the arrest. One of Todd’s colleagues in the Tennessee House, Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, told the press that he was “praying for [Todd]” but that the arrest nevertheless does not change his views on the whole “should it be legal to carry guns into bars or not” question. McCormick told Fox “it is a bad idea to drink and carry your gun, obviously… I don’t know the details of what happened with Rep. Todd last night, but I think he would agree with me.”

Todd is no stranger to outrageousness. In 2010, Todd drew bitter condemnation from liberal groups and immigration rights groups when he told a Committee Hearing that illegal immigrants are a threat to “go out there like rats and multiply.”

Whether and how the arrest might impact Todd’s political career – or his ability to carry a gun or drive a car for that matter – remains to be seen. But the arrest holds key object lessons for individuals recently charged with the crimes like driving under influence in Pasadena.

1. Pasadena DUI Stories are More “Newsworthy” If Reporters Can “Sniff Hypocrisy.”

Part of what’s made this story of Representative Todd’s arrest so “viral” is the fact that he personally sponsored a law allowing gun owners to bring guns into bars.

2. Everyone Makes Mistakes.

Representative Todd served many years as a police officer before entering government, so he clearly knew the consequences and perils of driving under the influence. Yet he made a mistake. This illustrates that anyone can make bad decisions.

3. The Past is Past: You Can Only Control What You Do from Here on Out.

As any reputable Pasadena DUI criminal defense lawyer attorney will tell you, you can’t change what happened in the past – you can only learn from what happened and make smarter, savvy, strategic decisions to protect your freedom, make reparations to anyone you’ve harmed, and ensure that you get the help you need.

Attorney Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you understand your rights and needs. Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor with a 99% success rate at jury trials and a Harvard Law School education.

October 6, 2011

Pasadena DUI Process Waiting Game: How to Breathe Easier While Waiting for Big Decisions to Come Down

by Michael Kraut

Whether you were recently arrested for a misdemeanor Pasadena DUI or busted after a vivid and scary multi-car accident sent you and several other people to the hospital, chances are you are facing a gnawing feeling of uncertainty about your future. It is often worse “not to know” what will happen to you than it is actually to get punished, because you don’t know when the hammer will fall or how hard.

This post will explore this “uncertainty problem” and suggest a potent remedy to help you feel more in control of your life and your future.

Defining the Problem: Which is Worse – “Uncertain Outcomes” or “Bad Outcomes”?

The conventional wisdom will have you believe that ambiguity is not so bad, and what we really want to avoid are bad decisions and failure. In other words, human beings are rational operators. We strive for positive results, tolerate ambiguity, and kick ourselves when things don’t go our way. Indeed, much of our experience superficially supports this hypothesis.

But as anyone who has been through Pasadena DUI field sobriety tests will tell you, the worst part of the DUI experience is waiting to see whether you will be punished – and, if so, how badly. Once you hear the news – whether it’s good news, bad news, or something in between – your mind begins to process your new reality and helps you make sense of your situation. When you are left in limbo, on the other hand, your mind has nothing to cling to, and it engages in all sorts of wild scenario-making, considering both catastrophic scenarios and “too good to be true” scenarios.

Without some grounding in reality, your brain will explore the highs, the lows, and everything in between, creating fruitless exhaustion, stress, anger, and depression. This isn’t to say that you are bound to feel “good” if the judge hands down a harsh sentence and, for instance, mandates that you install an interlock ignition device. You might still feel crummy. But at least you can see the outline of your punishment and begin to think about life after it.

As a 2008 study published in the journal Psychological Science found, highly neurotic people, in particular, have difficulty dealing with uncertainty. Jacob Hirsch, a researcher at the University of Toronto, summarizes the findings of this study: “Objectively speaking, uncertainty is better than clearly negative information, but this is not true for people who are highly neurotic…those people do not deal with uncertainty very well.”

And one may make the case that certain events – e.g. getting arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena – might make almost anyone temporarily neurotic.

Beyond the Uncertainty – Light at the End of the Tunnel

A Pasadena DUI defense attorney, such as the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899), cannot banish all of the uncertainty from your future in one fell swoop.

But Attorney Kraut has helped many people in similarly complicated, emotionally difficult, and technically challenging legal situations, and you can draw on his powerful knowledge and experience as a former city prosecutor (14-plus years as a Los Angeles Senior Deputy District Attorney). He will help you unravel your challenges, make sense of your opportunities, and eliminate that nagging, pestering uncertainty that’s keeping you up at night, making you anxious, and impeding your ability to create a vision for your future. A Pasadena DUI should not mark the end of your life – it’s merely a challenge, and even an opportunity, to grow and become a better, more productive, more compassionate citizen.

September 28, 2011

Resisting Burbank DUI Arrest? Not a Good Idea. Just ask Ohio DUI Suspect…

by Michael Kraut

The Burbank DUI arrest process is scary, frustrating, and overwhelming – even if you cooperate with officers, avoid making stupid mistakes, and generally keep your cool.

Unfortunately – as we have detailed many times in this blog – DUI suspects often act in ways that radically alter the legal landscape and complicate their chances for developing sound defenses.

Take the case of Ohio DUI suspect Delvin Dewayne Williams, who was recently arrested by Dalton, Ohio police for “allegedly dragging and injuring a police officer while resisting a DUI arrest.”

Now, instead of facing simple but ultimately resolvable charge such as misdemeanor DUI (similar to a standard Burbank misdemeanor DUI charge under CVC Sections 23152(a) or 23152(b)), Williams faces a veritable rainbow of charges including: “Aggravated battery, simple battery against Law Enforcement personnel, first degree forgery, DUI, willful obstruction by threat or violence (two counts), giving false information, reckless driving, and failure to yield when entering or crossing a roadway.”

Yikes.

Here is a more blow-by-blow description of what Williams allegedly did after being pulled over at a service station near Highway 41 and Shugart Road. An officer walked Williams through multiple field sobriety tests and gave him a breath test. Williams allegedly clocked in at 0.23 BAC – nearly three times the limit for a Burbank DUI, according to CVC 23152(b).

The real action began when a police officer named Collins tried to take the suspect into custody. As reported on www.chattanoogan.com: “[Williams] resisted, breaking free and getting into his car. Officer Collins chased Williams and went halfway into the driver’s side door to try to pull Williams back out of the car. Williams managed to start the car and began to accelerate sharply, dragging the officer from the door, and throwing him from the car as he headed towards the highway.”

It took police officers a day or so to track Williams down (he fled after his escape). But now that he is in custody, he faces a barrel of legal trouble. He is actually lucky, in some sense, because he could have severely hurt or even killed the police officer during the getaway. If that had happened, he could have faced monumental charges, including life in prison.

This case illustrates a point that any reputable Burbank DUI criminal attorney will emphasize to you: What you do after your DUI arrest or stop matters profoundly.

It’s important to keep your head. Even if you have made mistakes (driven away from the scene of an accident, for instance) the more mistakes you add to those, the more trouble you’ll likely be in. Obviously, when your adrenaline is rushing – especially if you are simultaneously under the influence of drugs or alcohol – you stand a good chance of making irrational and dangerous decisions. But take some time to compare the differences in the Burbank DUI penalties for first-time, nonviolent misdemeanor arrests against penalties for Burbank DUI with hit-and-run, injuries, or other charges. There’s a world of difference.

Whatever happened to you, it’s never too late to start making sensible decisions. Connect with Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) today to get a complete analysis of your options. For nearly 15 years, attorney Kraut worked as a prosecutor, rising to the level of Senior Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles. He uses all of his experience, talents, and relationships with members of the Burbank DUI legal community to help his clients meet their needs.

September 21, 2011

Choosing the “Best” Beverly Hills DUI Lawyer Can Drive You Insane

by Michael Kraut

You or someone close to you recently got in trouble for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills. You know you need an attorney to manage your burgeoning legal crisis. But who should you choose, and how might you know when you’ve found the “best” person or legal team for the job?

This seems like a relatively simple question to answer. But it’s a question that can provoke a tremendous amount of anxiety. In fact, when you search for Beverly Hills DUI lawyers online, you will encounter dozens if not hundreds of options. Sifting through the websites of prospective attorneys can leave your head spinning. On the surface, this should be a good thing: the more choices you have, the better, right?

Perhaps. But maybe not, depending on the circumstances.

Social scientist Barry Schwartz described a powerful concept about choosing that might have serious relevance to your frustration. In his book The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz destroys one of the most common myths in our consumer-oriented society. Most of us believe that “the more choices, the merrier.” In other words, when we have more options, we will be more likely to find the “best fit” for our needs, whether we are shopping for shoes, a new house, or a Beverly Hills DUI lawyer. Instead of choosing from six choices, we would rather choose from 60. This kind of optimization thinking has been drilled into our subconscious since childhood.

But Schwartz points out that superabundance of choice leads to analysis paralysis and dissatisfaction with the final results. In other words, when you have to make a decision between 60 different options, even if you choose one that’s “better” than any option you might have gotten had you restricted your choices to six, you will feel worse about the outcome and ultimately less satisfied with your decision over the longer term.

This is the Paradox of Choice: the more choices you have, the less happy you will be with your final choice!

One reason is that when you are exposed to a lot of choices, you will constantly think about how your final choice compares to all the options you didn’t choose. On some level, we all intuitively recognize this problem. Think back to last time you went to Jerry’s Deli or another diner in Long Beach and got overwhelmed by the sheer size of the menu. No matter what you picked – the giant omelet, burger and fries, soup du jour, etc. – you “missed out” on hundreds of other meals you might have also wanted to try.

The solution, according to Schwartz, is to aim for “good enough” solutions to your problems. In other words, you don’t want to be careless and just eliminate choices for the sake of eliminating them. But you want to be choosy about how you choose. A “satisfactory” choice may ultimately leave you feeling better about your decisions than a “best” choice, ironically enough.

Fortunately for you, there is no reason to lower your standards. Attorney Michael Kraut of Beverly Hills’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935) is an experienced Beverly Hills DUI defense lawyer with the resources, wherewithal, unique experience (served as a prosecutor for LA for 14 years), educational background (Harvard Law School), and jury skills to get you excellent results.

September 14, 2011

Bizarro Burbank DUI Arrests the Blogosphere Would Go Nuts Over

by Michael Kraut

Rabblerousers in the blogosphere (e.g. Perez Hilton) like to shake things up and make Burbank DUI news stories sound more bizarre then they often are.

Sure, occasionally some crazy news will cross the police blotter. A B-list celebrity might be arrested for driving 80 miles per hour on Olive at 2a.m. with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.24. Or a demented homeowner might jump on a riding lawnmower and putter off towards downtown Burbank while under the influence of homemade absinthe.

But most of the time, Burbank DUI news stories are fairly mundane examples of misdemeanor DUI stops, checkpoint arrests, and the occasional tragedy.

Obviously, in an ideal world, there would be no more Burbank DUI arrests, since people would no longer ever even think about driving under the influence. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

But sometimes it seems like the media would like more outrageous and hysterical stories, such as the following:

Fictitious Burbank DUI Blog Item #1: “Unicyclist Bikes DUI and Knocks Over a Clown Juggling Bowling Pins on Victory Boulevard”

“Police have detained 34-year-old unicyclist Booggoms McGooggoms after he recklessly rode his unicycle into a clown on stilts who was juggling pins while practicing for a circus performance. The police stopped McGooggoms on Victory Boulevard near Trader Joe’s and administered field sobriety tests. They reported that his breath smelled like alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked “spaced out.” The unnamed clown was reportedly uninjured, but he lost several pins and will now have to make use of Evian water bottles for his act.”

Fictitious Burbank DUI Blog Item #2: “Burbank Man Arrested For 345th DUI in Three Weeks”

“Dumbo McStupidpants, 52, of Burbank, was recently arrested for the 345th time for driving under the influence within just a span of three weeks. His latest stop occurred Saturday night near downtown, when police noticed his 1996 Chevy Impala tipped over on its side and saw that the driver was yelling obscenities at passersby. It was unclear at the time even how McStupidpants found the time to get arrested 345 times within a 21 day span, let alone how the legal system failed the community on this one.”

All joking aside, a Burbank DUI can carry extremely serious, life-changing penalties. If you injure someone, destroy property, or commit multiple driving infractions and other crimes while DUI, your legal battle could be that much harder and more emotionally challenging.

The team at Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) can help you understand what tactics are available for you and help you think more strategically about what you need to do (and what you should stop doing right now) to maximize your defense. Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated Burbank criminal defense lawyer with a rich and diverse track record and a demonstrated capacity to help even the most challenged defendants.

September 12, 2011

Long Beach DUI Hit and Run Nets Fire Captain 90 Days Behind Bars

by Michael Kraut

Last week, 30-year-old fire department captain John David Hines was convicted of an April Fool’s Day Long Beach DUI hit and run. According to an L.A. Times report, the captain had a blood alcohol concentration of nearly three times the legal limit for Long Beach DUI (according to California Vehicle Code Section 23152: 0.08% BAC) when he slammed into 47-year-old bicyclist Jeffery Gordon and sent the man flying more than 70 feet.

Hines will serve 90 days in a California prison and may face a jail sentence of up to six years, depending on how things go during his sentencing hearing on December 2.

According to the Times, “Hines pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury [in Long Beach], driving with a blood alcohol over the state limit and hit and run with injury. Because his blood alcohol level was so high, he was also convicted of several sentencing enhancements.”

This last bit of information – about how his sentence was increased because of his excessive BAC level – should be of interest to anyone recently arrested for a similar crime.

The public may believe that a Long Beach DUI is a Long Beach DUI is a Long Beach DUI. But that’s far from the truth. Innumerable factors can influence sentencing, including whether you hurt anyone, whether you fled the scene of the accident (hit and run), how far under the influence you were according to breathalyzer and blood tests, and so on.

In a “best case” scenario, your Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney might be able to clip your sentence down or even get the charges dismissed altogether. But if you killed someone while DUI, depending on the circumstances, you could be face a DUI murder charge and wind up with life behind bars.

This is a huge range of possible punishments.

And while there is obviously no “one-size-fits-all” solution to Long Beach DUI charges, your choice of attorney can make an enormous impact on your ultimate outcome. Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) can clarify your options and develop a strong case for you. Attorney Michael Kraut served as a prosecutor for nearly a decade and a half – this fact gives the Harvard Law School educated attorney a huge advantage when building DUI defenses. He also can leverage his excellent jury trial record, status as a Long Beach DUI media observer, and relationships with the legal community to get you the results you crave.

September 9, 2011

Pasadena DUI Process and the News Media: When Is it Appropriate and Fair to Cover Someone’s DUI Arrest?

by Michael Kraut

If you have been recently tagged for driving under the influence in Pasadena, you might have had the quite unwelcome surprise of finding your face and the intimate details of your arrest plastered all around the internet on blogs and perhaps even on local news reports. Whether your arrest was highly publicized or not, the media and blogosphere needs to start a general conversation about what exactly constitutes a “newsworthy” Pasadena DUI arrest.

Factors that typically seem to be considered include:

• The defendant’s status e.g. – celebrity, politician, athlete, rich person, CEO of a major company;
• The severity of the charges – e.g. Pasadena DUI murder or manslaughter story is generally more newsworthy than a standard arrest for simple violation of CVC 23152(a);
• Whether anything about the story was bizarre, eclectic, or otherwise newsworthy – e.g. maybe the defendant was arrested for driving under the influence on a lawnmower; or maybe he or she was arrested for the seventh time in 10 years; or maybe he or she caused a 20-car pileup on a lonely mountain road.
• Story serves as a lesson to prove a political point, open a discussion about broader ramifications of Pasadena DUI policy, etc.

A small story out of the Kalamazoo Gazette, of all places, examined the criteria that the media and the blogosphere use to report on DUI stories. Last Tuesday, the Gazette took a closer look at the reporting done about the DUI arrest of a public school curriculum director, Denise Bresson. The arrest was her second DUI in four years.

Was Bresson’s arrest newsworthy or not?

Regular readers of the Gazette weighed in on both sides. Some argued that, of course, her arrest should have been newsworthy, since she is part of the public school system, and her behavior could impact the community’s educational system. Readers debated the pros and cons of exhibiting this official’s dirty laundry – what’s the ultimate purpose of this reporting? Should she be held to higher standards since she works in education? Is the Gazette “just picking on educators” or not?

While this blog obviously is not going to weigh in on the case, it is heartening to see vigorous “meta discussion” about the nature of Pasadena DUI coverage.

The news media filters the public’s understanding of DUI law, process, practice, and penalties. And everyone – especially Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorneys – wants to educate the public about the risks and dangers of driving under the influence. So the more that we can open up the discussion about how best to report DUI news, the better.

On a less heady level, if someone you care about has been arrested for DUI, attorney Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) is here to serve you. Attorney Kraut is a widely respected Harvard Law School-educated former prosecutor who has the talent, skills, and tactical know-how to deliver optimized results for your case.

September 4, 2011

Burbank DUI Symptoms – Even the President’s Uncle Has ’Em. Will Obama be Deported?

by Michael Kraut

Last week, President Obama’s uncle, 67-year-old Onyango Obama, was arrested after he nearly hit an unmarked police car. According to a police officer, Obama exhibited “red and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and strong odor of alcohol and appeared unsteady on his feet” – identical symptoms of Burbank DUI that you, or perhaps a close relative, allegedly exhibited when you were stopped and arrested.

But unlike your Burbank DUI arrest, which likely did not get much news coverage beyond the local police blotter, the president’s uncle’s DUI has received international media coverage. This makes sense, since the defendant’s nephew in this case is the most powerful man on the planet.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Obama faces more than just Burbank DUI related problems. Authorities say Obama’s immigration status is far from clear. The Boston Herald reported that Obama does have a social security card and a drivers’ license, but he was initially denied bail per an immigration and customs enforcement’s detainer.

Who did Obama call after he got arrested? The White House.

(Or at least, that’s what the grapevine says. The actual White House has been mum on the subject.)

Officer Val Krishtal, who made the stop, said Obama was argumentative: “(he) would not allow me to speak and continued to interrupt me…I explained to him that I narrowly avoided striking his vehicle, and he told me he did not hear my tires screeching, so I was not being accurate.” Obama denied that he had consumed alcohol before driving. Then he changed his story and admitted to having two beers. His BAC test came back at 0.14% — as regular readers of this blog immediately understand, that’s well over the established limit for driving under the influence in Burbank (or in any U.S. city or state) of 0.08% BAC. In fact, it’s nearly twice that limit.

Obama’s arrest and possible immigration trouble raise dozens of questions, including:

• How will this impact the President, politically, if at all?
• If Obama puts up a sound defense and get exonerated – or even partially exonerated – will critics call “foul” and claim that his nephew offered subtle assistance?
• Did Obama actually call the White House after the DUI arrest?
• How might this influence President Obama’s ability to change immigration policy, if at all?

All these hypotheticals notwithstanding, you and your family want concrete answers and strategic guidance from a reputable Burbank DUI defense attorney. Michael Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) will help you understand what to do and what not to do. Attorney Kraut spent nearly a decade and a half on the other side of DUI cases – fighting to put offenders behind bars and prosecute criminals. He was a very successful prosecutor, too, and racked up a terrific record at jury trials. Attorney Kraut will leverage his practical experience as well as his relationships and deep understanding of Burbank DUI law to help you resolve your situation and move forward with your life.