DUI Punishment

August 31, 2011

Burbank DUI Penalties: How Might They Measure up to Paris Hilton’s Ex’s DUI Plea Deal?

If you have been charged with driving under the influence in Burbank, you are probably biting your nails, wondering what the law might have in store for you.

Meanwhile, last week, just one state away, Cy Waits, the ex-boyfriend of celebutante Paris Hilton, took a DUI plea deal stemming from a 2010 Las Vegas strip traffic stop. Waits was fined $585, ordered to attend victim impact classes, and given a suspended jail sentence of 30 days.

Not too bad.

Indeed, it could have been a LOT worse for the 35-year-old Waits. As the AP reports, “Waits was arrested August 27, 2010, after a Los Vegas police officer reported a ‘vapor trail’ of marijuana smoke lofting from a black Cadillac Escalade with Waits at the wheel. Hilton, a passenger in the vehicle, was arrested after the police said a small bag containing 0.8 grams of cocaine fell from her Chanel bag, as she reached for a tube of lip balm.”

Prosecutors originally leveled both felony and misdemeanor drug charges against Waits, but later dropped them.

Judge Kephart did warn Waits: “if you are arrested for another DUI during the pendency of this case, I don’t care if it is alcohol or drugs, you will do six months in the Clark County Jail.”

Without knowing the details of your Burbank DUI arrest, it’s difficult to predict what your outcome will be. If it was a standard misdemeanor DUI with no other complications (i.e. you didn’t injure anyone, you didn’t commit a hit and run, you weren’t considerably over the limit, etc), the penalties might be similar to those Mr. Waits faced. But you should still connect with an experienced Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney to plan your next steps.

On the flip side, if this is your second, third, or fourth arrest within the past 10 years, your Burbank DUI penalties are liable to be much more severe. You could face significant jail time, fines, fees, humiliation, and long-term problems – such as higher insurance rates, problems getting hired, loss of professional reputation, etc.

The moral is: Your decisions from here on out matter greatly.

Attorney Michel Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) will help you work through your complex, scary situation and guide you toward a systematic, smart legal defense. Attorney Kraut has a fantastic track record and a nearly 100% success rate with jury trials. He has built a reputation as an aggressive, knowledgeable, strategic attorney and he has also been a regular pundit and commentator on local and national media as an expert in Burbank DUI Law.

August 25, 2011

Pasadena DUI Penalties for Six-time DUI Offenders – Do they Match Penalties for Greenville, South Carolina, Offenders?

by Michael Kraut

What might happen if you got arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Pasadena six times in a single calendar year?

What might that experience teach you?

Let’s not jump to conclusions. There is always the possibility that you were just unlucky. Or maybe a local police officer has it out for you because you two got into a bar fight once, and he hasn’t let the grudge go. It’s possible. But if you’ve been arrested and charged with DUI six separate times in a single year – like Greenville, South Carolina, resident Warren Brooks – maybe it’s time to have a serious heart-to-heart with a therapist to find out what’s at the core of your bad decision making and risky behavior.

That’s right – this actually happened to somebody.

Accordingly to WSOCTV.com (a South Carolina-based TV station website), Brooks was pulled over and arrested for DUI six times within a calendar year.

Here is a quote: “Brooks’ first driving the under influence charge occurred in August 2010. The second charge came in May. His third and fourth followed within two weeks. The fifth charge in June involved a hit and run, and he had to post higher bond amounts of $25,000 for DUI and $10,000 in the hit and run charge. The sixth DUI charge was in July, according to police reports and court records.” Greenville County Chief Prosecutor Walt Wilkins criticized Brooks’ behavior: “This is one of the most egregious cases that we’ve seen in a long time…obviously, he has an issue with alcohol.”

Brooks’ lawyer publicly stated that his client has never been in legal trouble prior to this spate of charges: “He is a very intelligent man…his life just spiraled out of control.”

Look, sometimes in life we face unlucky streaks: we make bad decisions often. That’s life.

Unfortunately for defendants, Pasadena DUI penalties ratchet up every time you are convicted of an offense. For instance, if you are a first time offender, you might face a misdemeanor. The consequence could be dire, but not end-of-the-world dire: 40 hours in jail, $1,000 fine on top of court costs, six weeks to nine months of DUI alcohol school, one year suspended license, mandatory installation of an interlock device in your car in some cases, and tough probation terms.

But if you are arrested for a second time, third time, fourth time, or, unbelievably, sixth time, the penalties become harsher. For instance, a fourth-time Pasadena DUI offender – someone who commits four DUIs within a 10-year span — faces a minimum of 180 days in a jail, just for a misdemeanor! Stack on: a four-year license suspension, 30 months of alcohol school, three year license suspension, and a variety of other punishments, including the possibility of escalating that misdemeanor charge to a felony.

Once you get on this rollercoaster of multiple charges and losing control in general, it’s hard to hit the metaphorical brakes in your life.

That’s why attorney Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) is a strong advocate for strategic defense thinking. You need to think long term. It’s not just about getting yourself exonerated from, or minimizing, your current penalties. Yes, those are important. But your challenge is also about probing deeper, trying to identify the fundamental causes driving your Pasadena DUIs or criminal behavior, addressing those, rebuilding your confidence, and getting your life back on track. You don’t have to figure this out all on your own. A Pasadena criminal defense attorney can help you understand your rights and figure out what to do next.

August 21, 2011

What Scary Beverly Hills DUI Penalties Await That’s So Raven Star Orlando Brown? (Kid Star Busted for DUI with Pregnant Girlfriend in Car? Yikes!)

by Michael Kraut

The Beverly Hills DUI process is no trip to the candy store.

But when young adults, like That’s So Raven star Orlando Brown, drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the penalties and other consequences can be stark and very, very serious. Last Friday night, law enforcement officers pulled over Brown for driving without a license plate while his pregnant girlfriend was in the car. Police investigated and noticed the odor of alcohol on Brown, so he was subject to a field sobriety test. Allegedly, the results were not good.

Police booked Brown at the Hollywood station around 12:30 in the morning and released him early Saturday after he posted $15,000 in bail. The 23-year-old actor/rapper now faces some serious legal difficulties, as well as possible branding troubles. After all, Brown is a product of the Disney TV empire. And Disney is extremely protective of its brand. It wants its stars young, wholesome, and untainted by unsavory allegations – especially trouble like Beverly Hills DUI.

So what does someone like Brown do to fix the situation? And how might his solutions parallel or diverge from the solutions “ordinary people” use, who will also do things like fail Beverly Hills DUI sobriety tests?

The Parallels

The law doesn’t care whether you are a celebrity, teen heartthrob, or ordinary Joe. If you violate California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) or 23152(b), you are in for a rough ride, including jail time, lost/suspended license, many weeks of alcohol school (mandatory), court costs and fines, and generally a lot of other trouble.

The law, however, is very interested in your past record – what happened to your behavior during and after the accident and/or arrest, and your attitude and level of contrition going forward. If you have a criminal record, it will also come into play. Brown, for instance, got pulled over in 2007 for driving with his lights off, and the police discovered marijuana in his vehicle. Whether that’s an issue in this case isn’t clear. But bad criminal behavior – or even bad driving behavior – will impact your chances for a successful defense against DUI charges.

The Differences

The biggest difference between a celebrity Beverly Hills DUI and an “ordinary Joe” DUI is probably attitudinal. In other words, the attitude with which you approach your DUI situation really matters. If you are imbued with self-confidence, hope, compassion, a sense of remorse, and a sense that you are life is going to be okay despite the bad news – that’s the right attitude to have. Because when you think positively and resourcefully, you will be more likely to connect with other resources that can help you, such as an experienced and extremely competent Beverly Hills criminal defense attorney. Attorney Michael Kraut of Beverly Hills’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers [9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935] is standing by to provide a free and confidential consultation regarding your DUI arrest. Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School-educated former prosecutor. He wields his experience from both sides of the law (prosecutor and defense attorney) to tremendous effect for his clients.

August 15, 2011

Burbank DUI Penalties Abolished? Perhaps if Michel Moore Gets His Way and the Nation Elects Matt Damon as President….

by Michael Kraut

Burbank DUI penalties are notoriously unpleasant.

As this blog has blogged about umpteen times, if you are arrested and convicted – even for a misdemeanor – you could lose your license for a year, serve jail time, pay colossal fines and fees, and even suffer the indignity of paying to install an interlocking ignition device (IID) in your vehicle.

Not exactly something you want to show off on a first date.

Some people think that our draconian Burbank DUI process is in serious need of reform. But what kind of reform? Who knows. But if the liberal firebrand Michael Moore has his way, the reform could be handed down by none other than President Matt Damon.

You read that right.

Last week, Michel Moore “endorsed” Damon to be President. In a recent statement, the progressive filmmaker said this about the 40-year-old Damon, “I think that he has been very courageous in not caring about who he offends by saying the things that need to be said here… sometimes even when you run an actor, you win. And I guess I only throw his name out there because I’d like us to start thinking that way.”

Obviously, it’s more than a little bit of speculation to suggest that Michel Moore’s endorsement would catapult Damon to launch a progressive challenge against Barack Obama in the 2012 election, win the election, and then make it a priority to reform Burbank DUI laws. There are probably multiple flights of fancy and gaps of logic in that sequence. But it’s worth at least mulling over hypotheticals like this.

So much of our laws are based on arbitrary historical precedents. Someone decided a certain law, restriction, or punishment was a good idea; that idea stuck, and it paved the way for our current thinking. And so, it’s useful, healthy, and even invigorating to play with speculations like, “What if President Matt Damon legalized marijuana?” Or “what if President Damon radically changed America’s view on DUI, distracted driving, and other driving dangers?”

Obviously, the speculation is quite ridiculous. But it’s intentionally so. Because it’s trying to break you out of your old ways of thinking about DUI policy and practice.

Of course, there is a very pragmatic element here – particularly if you or a loved one faces a Burbank DUI charge. You want someone who is an expert in Burbank DUI, someone with credentials, and someone who is respected not only by clients but also by their legal peers (including prosecutors and judges).

Connect with Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810). Attorney Kraut is a highly-esteemed Burbank criminal defense attorney and can help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a defendant and make smarter choices.

August 10, 2011

Long Beach DUI Penalties: A Cautionary Tale, as Former NBA Star Starts 20-Day Jail Sentence

by Michael Kraut

Let’s get this straight: driving under the influence in Long Beach is a crime. A major one.

Depending on how you defend yourself (e.g. whether you consult with an experienced Long Beach criminal defense attorney or not), as well as the circumstances of your Long Beach DUI arrest, you can face truly horrific punishments, such as jail time. It doesn’t matter whether you are a celebrity, political superstar, rock star, or athlete.

Just ask Lindsey Lohan.

The latest proof that Long Beach DUIs can and will be punished — hugely — comes out of Pontiac, Michigan, where Jalen Rose, a former NBA player and ESPN analyst, started a 20-day jail sentence pursuant to his March arrest in West Bloomfield Township for DUI. According to an Associated Press article, “Rose crashed his sports utility vehicle… after drinking 6 large martinis. The 38-year-old pleaded guilty in May.” According to the AP story, the judge who sentenced Rose was known for “tough punishments.” 20 days behind bars is anything but light, especially since the analyst didn’t hurt anybody (expect for his car) in the disaster.

The story illustrates a truism about Long Beach DUI punishments. Namely, you can never identify in advance all the possible “X factors” that can lead to better (or worse) outcomes for your case. Here are some X factors, over which you have little to no control:

• Judge has a reputation of being unusually harsh;
• Police officer who arrested you (for whatever reason) has some sort of grudge;
• You can (or cannot) find compelling exonerating evidence;
• Your can (or cannot) win sympathy from a judge or mercy from prosecutors.

So there are so many factors outside of your control. Focusing on them can be depressing.

But fortunately, you can leverage factors within your control to get (probably) far better results than you likely realize is possible right now. In other words, don’t say: “this is all so unfair. The police, prosecutor, judge, [insert other villain here] is against me. I have no hope.”

Instead, focus on being resourceful. What is true about your situation now? What do you want out of your situation in terms of preventing punishments and protecting privileges and rights?

Once you are very, ultra clear about where you are and where you want to be, you can start collecting resources to achieve that reality faster and more efficiently.

One great potential resource is Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (located in Long Beach at: 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) Mr. Kraut is an experienced former prosecutor who is often called upon as a legal expert by major media throughout the Southland. As a former prosecutor, he understands how other prosecutors think and react, and he can use his insight and knowledge to build a better case for you.

July 27, 2011

Pasadena DUI Arrest Propensity: Does It Run the Family??

by Michael Kraut

If you or someone you know has been recently arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena, inevitably, when you discuss your situation, you and your fellow armchair pundits will bring up the concept of “genetics.”

How might your genes (or your friend or family member’s genes) have played a role in the accident and/or arrest? Might there one day be a gene that scientists can target to eliminate problems like DUI in Pasadena, Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, and Los Angeles DUI?

There is obviously some link between alcoholism and genetics. But how sturdy a link? No one really knows.

A crazy story last week out of Idaho Falls, Idaho suggests that genes may have a lot more relevance than the policy community acknowledges. 51-year Diana Gardner and her daughter, 28-year old Alisha Gardner, got arrested for DUI in Idaho Falls in totally separate incidents within a single hour of one another! Amazing.

A blog post at gather.com can fill us in on the details. Allegedly, a sheriff’s officer had seen the younger daughter “swerving and crossing the central line, posing an extreme threat to other drivers in the area. Her blood alcohol level was measured to be twice the legal limit. Within that same hour of time, [Alisha’s mom] drove out to her daughter’s car in order to retrieve the dog. When she arrived, the same officer smelled alcohol on her and had her go through a test as well. Diana Gardner’s blood alcohol level came back at twice the legal limit as well, netting her a jail cell right along with her daughter.”

At first blush, you might immediately leap to judgment: something is clearly wrong with both the mother and the daughter! Maybe they both have a genetic propensity to alcoholism, you might muse. Or maybe they both have genetic propensity to make poor driving decisions. Who knows.

But a deeper and more subtle (and interesting) reading of the story could be as follows. We all know that biochemistry can impact your Pasadena DUI breath test. Some people, for instance, process alcohol differently than others. It’s been proven that men process alcohol differently than women do. And that diabetics underperform on breath tests.

So maybe — just maybe — both Gardners have a genetic propensity to perform poorly on breath tests. In other words, maybe these women are genetically predisposed to process alcohol in a way that makes “false positives” for DUI more likely. Now, since these women were both allegedly twice the legal limit for Idaho Falls DUI, this hypothetical is probably moot.

But say they both tested right at the cutoff line for DUI – 0.08% BAC for a Pasadena DUI. Then more subtle factors, like a genetic predisposition to “test badly” on breathalyzers, might come into more play.

The general point here is that, when it comes to DUI charges, there is often more than meets the eye. But to probe your case and tease out “out of the box” defenses, you want to be sure to work with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who has plenty of experience, a great reputation, and a deep understanding of the applicable law. Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) can guide you and help you build a strong case.

July 25, 2011

Glendale DUI and 2012 Presidential Election: Could Crenshaw County Arrest Derail “Dark Horse” Presidential Candidacy?

by Michael Kraut

A Glendale DUI arrest might have radically altered your life and, potentially, your family’s future. But an even more profound (at least from the perspective of national politics) arrest took place last Sunday in Crenshaw County, Alabama, when Caleb Moore, the 20-year old son of possible presidential contender Roy Moore, got pulled over on suspicion of speeding. Police arrested Moore on charges of possessing drug paraphernalia and controlled substances and driving under the influence. Now how, you might ask, does Mr. Moore’s arrest tie back to both the 2012 presidential campaign and to issues germane to those who’ve recently been stopped and charged with Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Burbank DUI, Los Angeles DUI, etcetera?

Let’s go slowly, and we’ll tie it all together.

First, understand that Moore’s arrest creates a certain degree of trouble for his father’s presidential aspirations. Roy Moore, if you might recall, is an extremely conservative former Alabama Supreme Court Justice who famously was removed from office for refusing to remove a monument of the 10 Commandments from the court’s lobby. This defiant act made him a hero to many social conservatives. Given that Moore tried to cultivate a persona as a morally upstanding figure, his son’s arrest might damage his image.

According to the Washington Post, Roy Moore is refusing to talk about the details of the arrest “because his son has applied to be treated as a youthful offender.”

But rather than get side-tracked on a tired discussion about political morality and hipocracy, let’s think about this situation from a more compassionate point of view. Many people – including friends, family members and co-workers – are quick to “judge” anyone arrested for driving under the influence in Glendale. Even if you clear your name by, for instance, showing that you passed all of your Glendale field sobriety tests or that the police made a mistake, you may find yourself subjected to a lot of subtle moral judgments.

How do you deal with all of that?

The answer is trickier than you might think. If you really do have a problem with alcohol — or even with impulsive decision-making in general — you want people to tell you the truth. You want to address the root causes of that behavior. On the other hand, you want to be able to separate yourself from your DUI arrest – to avoid having the arrest become a kind of albatross hanging around your neck, dragging down your self esteem, your work prospects, and infecting your relationships with colleagues, friends, and family members.

Cultivating the most appropriate response begins with getting good help. Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) can provide a free consultation to help you sort out your strategic options. Mr. Michael Kraut, an experienced and highly regarded Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, will work with you to help you come up with a plan that meets your needs, goals, and principles.

July 19, 2011

Pasadena DUI Sports News: DUI Charge Dropped against University of Montana’s QB, Montana

by Michael Kraut

What if you could just click your heels three times and make your Pasadena DUI charge disappear, like something out of the Wizard of Oz? That’s obviously impossible, even for the most adept Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. But you may have more resources to battle charges of Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, and Los Angeles DUI than you realize.

Situations that at first seem dire can often be resolved successfully through negotiation, strategic planning, and well-directed effort. Consider, for instance, the case of Nate Montana, a quarterback for the University of Montana and the oldest son of Hall of Famer Joe Montana (try saying “Montana” three times fast). On June 3rd, the younger Montana got pulled over and arrested under suspicion of DUI. He refused a breathalyzer test but performed relatively well on field sobriety tests. Ultimately, the Missoula County Attorney’s Office decided that Montana’s performance on the FSTs did not merit a DUI charge. Montana worked out a plea deal. He agreed to pay $435 in court costs and fines, participate in a chemical dependency program, and accept a six month license suspension (because he refused the breath test). In exchange, the court suspended a 90-day jail sentence for the Grizzlies’ QB.

This was not Montana’s first brush with the law – or with charges of intoxication. Last year, while playing for Notre Dame, he and 10 other Fighting Irish athletes were busted for underage drinking and charged with misdemeanors.

If you’ve been recently hit with a charge of driving under the influence in Pasadena, you might be wondering how this “football royalty’s” experience relates to yours in a constructive way. It does, obliquely. Nate Montana’s experience illustrates that DUI defendants – even ones who perform inadequately on Pasadena field sobriety tests (e.g. figure to the nose, Rhomberg, walk the line, counting backwards by threes, etcetera) can rebound surprisingly quickly from their charges and from the humiliation, frustration, and agitation.

The first step is getting the best help you can and identifying a clear path toward success. Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) can help you outline, sketch out, and move forward with an appropriate strategy based on your needs, concerns, and principles. Mr. Kraut is a renowned former prosecutor who often appears on television (and in major newspapers) as an expert guest commentator on DUI news issues.

July 17, 2011

Los Angeles DUI Shocker: Rodney King Busted in Riverside County on Suspicion of DUI

by Michael Kraut

Last Tuesday, a Los Angeles DUI story managed to (briefly) distract Angelinos from the imminent closure of the 405 (a.k.a. “Carmageddon”). Rodney King — the famous LAPD beating victim whose video beating, as you might remember, ignite race rights in the city and ultimately branded L.A. as a cauldron of intolerance for over a decade — got stopped by police who witnessed him committing multiple traffic violations.

King was apparently pulled over and booked without incident. (not unlike most arrests for Los Angeles DUI, Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, or Pasadena DUI). The 46-year old minor celebrity (he appeared on a recent season of Dr. Drew’s “Celebrity Rehab”) is no stranger to charges of driving under the influence in Los Angeles. In 2003, he collected a DUI. And just this March, police pulled him over one day short of the 20th anniversary of his famous taped beating for driving with an expired license.

It’s unclear yet whether King was indeed violating California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) or 23152(b). Either way, given King’s history with city law enforcement – and their history with him – even if the charges turn to be relatively mundane and King cooperates (i.e. there is no drama), you can be sure that you will be reading a lot about the aftermath of this arrest in the blogosphere. Perez Hilton, for one, published a snappy and snarky blog post about King’s arrest just hours after the news broke.

Can a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney help you identify a practical and strategic way to respond to charges like DUI? Or will you be doomed to lose your license and suffer penalties like extended jail time, harsh probation terms, and massive fines and court costs, no matter what actions you take?

Truth be told, your choice of legal representation can matter tremendously. Attorney Michael Kraut (of Los Angeles’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers – 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1520, Los Angeles, California 90028) provides free consultations for defendants charged with DUI in L.A. Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor for the city – for well over a decade, he worked every day to put criminal defendants behind bars – so he understands how the prosecutors working against you think and act, and he can use his knowledge and relationships to build you a more effective defense.

July 11, 2011

Long Beach DUI Object Lesson: When to Hold Your Tongue

by Michael Kraut

Ask anyone who specializes in helping people who have recently been charged for driving under the influence in Long Beach about their experiences, and you will hear a common refrain: Drivers often needlessly dig themselves deeper after getting stopped, and these stupid post-hoc actions often cause far more legal trouble than defendants realize.

Let’s say you get pulled over for driving under the influence in Pasadena, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, Burbank DUI, or what have you: Likely, you will feel terrified, angry, frustrated, ashamed, and many other emotions. In that highly volatile, spiked emotional state, you might say or do things that can make your legal woes infinitely worse. For instance, you might swear at or hit a police officer, leave the scene of an accident that you just caused, or even try to flee an accident by swimming across a local reservoir (as a Boulder Colorado woman recently tried to do – this blog covered that last week).

Perhaps the most common mistakes come from failing to hold one’s tongue.

By saying things to the police like “I only had 6 drinks,” talking back to police, prematurely confessing to guilt in an accident, and so on, you might, within a span of seconds, accidently add months or even years to your sentence.

Last week, a DUI suspect in Santa Rosa illustrated this lesson literally. According to California Highway Patrol reports, Olan Yahal Mitchell got pulled over early Saturday morning on the 101. The suspect refused to take field sobriety tests (common Long Beach field sobriety tests include walk the line test, finger to the nose test, Rhomberg test, other balancing tests, reciting the alphabet backwards, counting backwards, etc).

According to officer Jonathan Sloat: “While seated [in the police cruiser], Mitchell began to lick the keyboard of the officer’s computer…the officer ordered Mitchell not to interfere with any equipment. Mitchell repeated his behavior, and the officer reached in to move the computer out of his reach… That’s when Mitchell kicked the officer, promoting both officers to restrain him and put him in the back of a “caged” patrol cruiser.”

At the end of the day, Mitchell was charged not only with DUI, driving without a license, and possessing marijuana but also with resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer.

As a qualified Los Angeles criminal defense attorney will tell you, those extra two charges – the battery charge and resisting arrest charge – will almost certainly compound the defense.

Part of the problem is that, if you’ve already committed a crime (or likely crime), you may be in an irrational state of mind. Thus, you might not realize the consequences of your continued criminal conduct. Education is critical – not only to help you deal with your current situation but also to help you avoid future mistakes and punishment.

Connect with Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) for a free consultation to go over your options and figure out a smart and strategically sound plan to go forward. Attorney Kraut understands how prosecutors think and react, since he actually was one for nearly a decade-and-a-half (Los Angeles Senior Deputy District Attorney).