DUI Category Archives — Page 5 of 24 — Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog Published by Los Angeles & Southern California Criminal & DUI Defense Attorney Michael Kraut

September 28, 2015

The Very First Time You Get Behind the Wheel After a Los Angeles DUI Arrest

Before your arrest for Los Angeles DUI, you probably never gave much thought to getting behind the wheel – what it would be like to pull out of your driveway, tool down Olympic Blvd., and park your car in a parking garage after muscling through traffic on the 405.

But whether police stopped you hours ago on Sawtelle at a checkpoint, or you crashed on the 10 and hurt yourself and a passenger, you now have a very new perspective. So what might it be like the next time you get behind the wheel? And what can you do to make that experience better? Here are some things to think about.

1. It might be a long, long time before you get the chance.

An automatic license suspension, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or 23153 (if you injured someone), could prevent you from driving for six months, a year or even longer.

2. You might need to blow into an ignition device to start the car.

Several years ago, Los Angeles and other jurisdictions imposed a mandatory interlock ignition device (IID) element, which compels those convicted for even first time DUIs to install one of these devices. You can’t start your car without blowing a sober breath into the machine (like a breathalyzer device). IIDs can also be expensive to install and maintain.

3. You may have strange feelings, such as anxiety or fear, even if you are driving perfectly normally, and you are totally sober.

Standard DUI stops are known to cause post-traumatic stress syndrome. That said, the moment of your arrest is probably seared into your brain. It’s not uncommon for drivers convicted of DUI (or just arrested for DUI who later get the charges dismissed) to experience awkwardness and strange moments of depression and anxiety behind the wheel.

To understand what to do to fight back against your charges, call Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut of Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. As a former (and highly successful) Deputy District Attorney, Mr. Kraut has fought on behalf of defendants like you for nearly 20 years.

September 23, 2015

Police Learn to Distinguish Other Types of DUI

by Michael Kraut

Although the majority of cases of DUI in Los Angeles involve excessive alcohol consumption, police in California and other states are seeing more and more DUI incidents caused by illegal and/or prescription drugs.

The Los Angeles Police Department has been a pioneer in training officers to distinguish these types of DUI cases. In the 1970s, two LAPD sergeants worked with medical doctors, research psychologists and other medical professionals to develop a simple, standardized procedure for recognizing drug influence and impairment. Their work resulted in a Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP), which jurisdictions throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom now employ for training.

Connecticut held its first DECP training in 2011. More recently, the state’s drug recognition experts (DRE) conducted a training class in Manchester. According to the Hartford Courant, the course included 16-hours of initial training, a 56-hour drug recognition school and a 40-60 hour certification process.

The officers had to study the seven categories of drugs and the signature symptoms that users of each type display. The categories include narcotic analgesics (heroin and painkillers); depressants (alcohol and benzos); stimulants (cocaine and meth); inhalants (aerosols and solvents); hallucinogens (peyote and LSD); cannabis (marijuana and hashish); and dissociative anesthetics (PCP).
Police officers who took the course learned how medical equipment such as a blood pressure meter, oral thermometer, a pupilometer (which measures the pupil’s response to visual stimuli) and a stethoscope can help them identify which drugs a suspected DUI driver might have used.

There’s a real need for such programs. A study from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration showed an increasing number of nighttime weekend drivers will illegal drugs in their systems, rising from 16.3 percent of drivers in 2007 to 20 percent in 2013-2014.

Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.

September 14, 2015

DUI Driver Appeared Threatening Even While Asleep

by Michael Kraut

Pulling over and taking a nap instead of operating a vehicle might appear to be a good way to avoid charges of DUI in Los Angeles. But people who decide to try this approach might want to double check what else is in the car before they close their eyes for some restorative sleep.

A driver from Colorado Springs, Colorado, will likely remember that precaution if he ever again gets the urge to take a nap after imbibing alcohol. The driver actually made several mistakes. He pulled into the parking lot of a youth sports complex early one Saturday morning in September but failed to turn off the motor of his truck. That attracted the attention of a nearby resident, who became concerned after the truck remained parked with the engine running for more than 90 minutes. When she peeped inside the window, she saw the man passed out with a can of beer between his legs and a gun (later identified by police as a nine-millimeter handgun) by his side. She alerted police, who rushed to the scene.

The driver is obviously a heavy sleeper. TV station KOAA 5 reported that police initially tried to wake him using a public address and their sirens. When that didn’t work, they ended up pulling him out of the car, using shields to protect themselves. They charged him with DUI and prohibited use of weapons.

At least Timothy J. Seeden of Lisle Village, Illinois, didn’t have a gun or an open alcohol container when police caught him napping. They found the Lisle village clerk, who is also a Boy Scout official, sound asleep in his car on a roadway. Police officers said he smelled like alcohol and admitted he had been drinking. Seeden, who has two DUI convictions dating back to the mid-1980s, will face new charges of DUI and driving without insurance.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

September 7, 2015

DUI-Related Accidents Take Grisly Toll – Harrowing Statistics and Stories

by Michael Kraut

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Controls, almost 30 people the U.S. die every day due to crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers. That works out to one death every 51 minutes. If you narrow the statistics down to cases of DUI in Los Angeles and other areas of California, 29 percent of the state’s 867 fatal car crashes in 2013 involved a DUI driver.

Online news sources carry reports of deadly DUI accidents every day. They serve as a sad reminder of the real cost of people driving while intoxicated:

• A woman in Queens, New York, lost her entire family in a crash on August 23rd. As Lucie Bouaz-Ostane watched in horror, her husband, eight-year-old son and four-year-old daughter died when fire engulfed their vehicle. Bouaz-Ostane had freed herself but wasn’t able to rescue any of her family members. Oniel Sharpe, a 24-year-old man, had rear-ended their car and then sped away from the scene.

• In San Diego, Antony Schoenele, age 20, had drunk alcohol, smoked marijuana and consumed cocaine before getting behind the wheel. Guadalupe Amado and Lizette Garcia, both in their early 20s, were passengers. Schoenele ended up driving off Friars Road near the Pacific Highway overpass, struck a curb and went airborne. His vehicle hit a pillar and caught fire; then Schoenele climbed over one of his passengers to escape. Prosecutors charged him with gross vehicular manslaughter and held his arraignment hearing at his hospital bed in UC San Diego Medical Center.

• In Western Pennsylvania, firefighter Mathew Poston admitted to drinking four or five beers and at least one tequila shot before driving off with his colleague, 33-year-old Gary Moore. The two never made it to their destination, because Poston stuck a guard rale and a utility pole. Moore, an 18-year veteran of the Yukon Fire Department, died at the accident scene.

To respond effectively to your charges, call a qualified Los Angeles DUI lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.

August 21, 2015

After Your Los Angeles DUI: The Biggest Hangover of Your Life?

by Michael Kraut

Whether police arrested you for a Los Angeles DUI after you veered across three lanes on the 101 on early Saturday morning, after partying hard with WB execs, or you lost your composure (and your balance) at a DUI check point, you’re still reeling from what happened and confused about how to proceed.

In the past, our blog has spilled a lot of virtual ink re: the actual laws involved in DUI arrests (e.g. California Vehicle Code sections 23152 and 23153), discussed common misconceptions about breathalyzer tests and blood tests, and examined the Constitutionality of certain police actions.

However, the tactical nuts and bolts of DUI defense don’t mean as much if you don’t take effective action. In less than a week and a half after your stop, if you do nothing, you could lose your license automatically for an extended period of time. This in turn could make it nearly impossible for you to get to work or school, drive your kids to daycare, and so forth.

Plus, the more time that goes by after your arrest without your taking action, the more challenging it will be to collect evidence that might exonerate you or show that the police engaged in misconduct or inappropriate testing.

So why don’t people automatically “get into gear” after a stop? The answer may have to do with the psychology of regret.

When we engage in activities that we later realize were outside of our values, our minds struggle to process those events and square them with our internal narratives. For instance, if you consider yourself a “law abiding citizen,” but then you get busted for swearing at a police officer and hitting three parked cars on Highland Avenue, your brain must somehow figure out how a “law abiding citizen” ended up in so much trouble.

One response is to pretend that the DUI didn’t happen. This reaction can be psychologically useful, but it can also torpedo your chances for freedom. If you’ve been lulled into inaction after your stop, now is the time to act. Contact a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to set up your free consultation.

August 17, 2015

Loophole Allows House Arrest For Repeat DUI Offender

by Michael Kraut

Christopher Blair Gish, arrested three times for DUI in Pennsylvania, should be glad that he doesn’t live in California. If courts convict someone of a third DUI in Los Angeles, that offender is looking at a minimum of 120 days in jail. But the 39-year old Gish managed to avoid Pennsylvania’s minimum penalty of 90 days in jail thanks to a now-closed loophole in the state’s DUI laws.

Citizensvoice.com reports that police picked Gish up for DUI three separate times in an 11-day period during August and September 2014. If that happened in Pennsylvania today, as a three-time DUI offender, Gish could be looking at up to 10 years in prison. But Gish’s arrests came during a time when police could not charge drivers previously arrested on a DUI—but not yet convicted and sentenced—of a second or third offense. The officers could only charge them as if each incident was a first offense.
In the meantime, however, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a new law eliminating the repeat-offender loophole, and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed it into law on October 2014.

In January 2015, Gish, a resident of Dickson City in northeast Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to all three DUI charges. A judge sentenced him to 18 months of court supervision and six months of house arrest. But after a local newspaper carried a story about the case, the local district attorney asked the judge to reconsider Gish’s sentencing and apply the harsher penalties. Gish then withdrew his guilty plea.

In August 2015, a judge found Gish guilty of the charges but concluded that the original sentencing should apply since Gish had committed the DUI offenses before the new law took effect. Since Gish had already served the six months house arrest, he’s now free. But he will have to wear an alcohol-monitoring anklet, avoid drinking alcohol and attend 90 AA meetings in 90 days.

What should you do if you or someone you love faces a serious DUI count? Will you go to jail? Will you lose your license? Call Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer Michael Kraut immediately to understand your options and craft a strategic response.

July 21, 2015

Don’t Mess with North Dakota on Outstanding DUI Charges

by Michael Kraut

Anyone charged with a Los Angeles DUI can expect a fairly speed resolution to their case, whether that means paying a fine, spending some time in jail or having an ignition interlock system installed on their car.

But it took 20 years for justice to catch up with Jason William Gale. According to the INFORUM website, on March 13, 1995, a police officer in Grand Forks, North Dakota, saw Gale swerving his vehicle into a bicycle path. The cop pulled him over, but Gale didn’t do well on the field sobriety test. The cop arrested him for DUI.

Gale hired a lawyer, Henry Howe, to defend himself against that charge. Gale trusted Howe to guide him through the court process and even signed a power of attorney so that Howe could represent him during preliminary court proceedings. Howe told Gale he had handled everything, but the lawyer actually never showed up in court.

Gale moved soon after the DUI incident and subsequently lived in Colorado, Fargo, North Dakota, Florida and Minnesota. Along the way he held multiple jobs, got involved in a few civil court cases and had at least five background checks. But it took a recent employment background check to uncover the fact that the Grand Forks court had issued a warrant for his arrest back in 1995 after he failed to show up in court.

North Dakota must have some tough prosecutors. Gale tried to set things right, and his new attorney thought the court would dismiss the charges. But the prosecutor tried the case, calling up the arresting officer from 20 years ago to testify. Gale ended up paying a $500 fine, but at least he didn’t get sent to jail and there are no more outstanding arrests warrants against him.

Locating a seasoned and qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer is a critical part of the process of reclaiming your life, your time and your peace of mind. Call ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for a free consultation right now.

June 22, 2015

California’s DUI Laws: Not As Tough As Many

by Michael Kraut

People picked up for a DUI in Los Angeles may be luckier than they think. If they were arrested in other states, the penalties could be much higher, especially for repeat offenders.

The website WalletHub.com recently released the results of its study on the strictest and most lenient states for DUI punishment. California ranks in the bottom half for the harshness of its penalties, coming in at 31st.

The study looked at 15 key metrics, such as minimum jail time for first and subsequent offenses, minimum fines, the number of DUI offenses it takes before a defendant is charged with a felony and whether or not there are more severe penalties imposed if a defendant’s blood alcohol content is very high.

WalletHub gave Arizona the nod as being the strictest when it comes to DUI enforcement. The Grand Canyon State has a minimum sentence of 10 days in jail and requires a mandatory ignition interlock for a first offense. Second-time offenders must serve 90 days, and third-time offenders are looking at automatic felony charges. In South Dakota, which has the dubious distinction of being the most lax when it comes to DUI penalties, there’s no minimum sentence for any DUI offenses (first or subsequent), and no provision at all for an ignition interlock device.

In California, the minimum sentence for a first-time DUI offender is two days in jail and 10 days minimum for repeat offenders. Felony DUI charges aren’t mandatory until the fourth offense, and there’s no statewide law requiring a mandatory ignition interlock device for a DUI offense.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.

June 12, 2015

Good Work Ethic, Poor Judgment

by Michael Kraut

You’ve got to admire people who try to do their jobs in the face of all difficulties. That’s especially true when it comes to bus drivers and trash collectors, who provide services that we all rely on. But there is a point when it may be better to take the day off–when you’re at risk of getting charged with a DUI in Los Angeles, for example. Unfortunately, the two gentlemen featured below didn’t stay home and out of trouble when they had too much to drink but instead reported for work as usual.

50-year-old Joe David Stanley allegedly had been driving a school bus in Fort Worth, Texas, at about 1 a.m. in the morning of June 1st, when he ended up stuck in the mud in a highway median. Fortunately, he was not carrying school children at the time; the company he works for, which provides transportation for Joshua Independent School District, also contracts out for special events. (Reports say that Stanley was supposed to provide transportation for a wedding party.)

Cops called to the scene smelled alcohol on Stanley, and they ended up tagging him for DUI.

Next, consider the parallel situation of 45-year-old Johnny Gentry, who showed up early one morning in June for his job as a trash collector in Scott County, Kentucky. That go-getting behavior would be commendable, except reports say that Gentry had been overindulging in alcohol. About two hours into the workday, he hit a retaining wall with the garbage truck, then overcorrected, turning the truck over into someone’s yard. Cops called to the scene measured Gentry’s blood alcohol content at three times the legal limit, earning him some time off–in jail on a charge of DUI.

How should you respond to your recent and disarming charges? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor) with nearly two decades of relevant legal experience.

June 3, 2015

DUI Driver Causes Demolition Derby

by Michael Kraut

Even when no one is injured, drivers involved in crashes related to DUI in Los Angeles can impact the lives of others in a fairly significant way. When an out-of-control motorist crashes into a home or another car, for example, the owners of those homes and vehicles have to spend time (and sometimes their own money) to repair the damages before they can resume their daily activities.

A man in East Windsor, Connecticut, has made life a little more difficult for no less than seven people—owners of the vehicles that he hit while allegedly driving under the influence on one Tuesday in May.

According to FOX CT, Jordan DeSousa, age 61, hit seven cars in two separate locations before police found him sitting behind the wheel of his pickup truck. DeSousa first smashed two cars in parking lot for Geisler’s Plaza, prompting numerous emergency calls to police. Even as they were responding to that scene, however, officers received reports that a truck had taken out another five vehicles in the parking lot of the next door merchant, Maine Fish. DeSousa, who was identified by witnesses, apparently caused so much damage to four of the vehicles that tow trucks had to haul away them away.

It could have been much worse, however; three people standing close to their vehicles jumped out of the way in time to avoid being struck.

DeSousa, who reportedly was drinking because his wife had just announced she was leaving him, had a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit. He faces charges of DUI, evading responsibility, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
Do you or a family member need insight from a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney? Contact Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to set up your free consultation.