Vehicle Code 23152(a) and 23152(b)

February 16, 2019

Everything You Wanted to Know about Boating Under the Influence (BUI)

From gorgeous harbors and miles of coastline to hundreds of lakes, reservoirs and waterways, there are plenty of places in California to enjoy time out on a boat. But if you think operating a boat exempts you from California DUI laws, think again. Last spring, Dean Allen Payne came face to face with the full force of California law after running his boat over two ladies in innertubes, seriously injuring both of them. After being convicted operating the boat while intoxicated, Payne was sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

While DUI boating laws differ only slightly from those covering automobiles on the road, the consequences of breaking them can be no less severe. If you operate a boat and choose to indulge, here’s what you need to know about boating and DUI.

Boating Under the Influence: An Overview

April 23, 2017

Beyond Alcohol: How Other Drugs Affect Driver Performance

by Michael Kraut

Most people are fairly familiar with the effects that drinking alcohol can have on their driving performance. Alcohol loosens inhibitions, so people are apt to take more risks even as their reaction times are slowed, and they can become more easily distracted and unable to concentrate on driving. Alcohol can also impact a driver’s sense of direction and their ability to judge situations on the road and make good decisions.

Other types of drugs have similar, although not identical effects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s most recent National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers found that the number of drivers with alcohol in their system had declined by nearly one-third since 2007. But there wasn’t much cause for celebration; the survey also found a large increase in the number of drivers using marijuana or other illegal drugs. Nearly one in four drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could affect their safety on the road, according to the NHTSA.

Here’s a look at how several other types of drugs can impact drivers’ performance.

April 7, 2016

Tough Decision for DUI Driver: Alligator Teeth or Handcuffs?

by Michael Kraut

Drivers arrested for DUI in Los Angeles have usually demonstrated that they don’t make good decisions. Once you’ve made a poor choice, it’s surprisingly easy to make a tough situation worse – often, far worse!

Case in point: Richard Lange faced a decision recently in Montgomery County, Florida. Should he continue to flee from police and risk getting bitten by alligators? Or should he remain on safe ground and wait for rescue (and arrest on charges of DUI, among other things)?

According to The Courier of Montgomery County, Lange hit several cars on I-45 and left the scene of those accidents when deputies spotted the front end damage to his vehicle and saw that he was riding on only three wheels.
But Lange wasn’t ready to surrender. When police pulled him over, he ran and jumped into a nearby lake to avoid capture. Trouble was, the lake was full of alligators. Lange realized his mistake and swam to the island in the center of the water, where he stayed for four hours until police got a boat to rescue him. He still tried to appear innocent and reportedly asked the officers if it was a crime to go swimming.

November 11, 2015

Halloween DUI Driver Scares LA Motorists and Pedestrians

by Michael Kraut

A Halloween night DUI in Los Angeles left 10 people injured and a 40-year old man in jail for allegedly driving while impaired.
According to KTLA channel 5 and other local news reports, Michael Maurice Wilson had cocaine in his possession when police finally caught up with him after his out-of-control driving spree. Wilson, who was driving a rented U-Haul truck, allegedly initially sideswiped a parked vehicle on Seventh Street. But he didn’t slow down, and ended up traveling a short distance in the wrong direction on Seventh Street. He finally crashed into a motorcycle carrying two passengers and a vehicle with four occupants. (The driver of that vehicle was making an Uber run.) Wilson then plowed into a sidewalk, hitting several pedestrians before coming to a stop.

Wilson, who told police he had been heading to the store, abandoned his truck but didn’t get far before police arrived.

Ten people received injuries during Wilson’s scary Halloween drive; three ended up in the hospital, but police said none of the injuries was life-threatening. Wilson allegedly admitted that he was under the influence of marijuana, and police booked him on charges of DUI and possessing cocaine.

August 29, 2014

South Dakota As a Test Case: How DUI Laws Are Changing Across the Country

by Michael Kraut

Conscientious drivers often believe they know everything there is to know about avoiding a Los Angeles DUI. However, changing California DUI laws sometimes make understanding and compliance seem like a moving target.

The same is true in South Dakota, where the state’s Supreme Court recently ruled to eliminate the “implied consent” law, allowing police to obtain blood samples from DUI suspects. Previously, officers could use probable cause to administer breathalyzer tests, sobriety exams, and (if the suspect failed the first two) a blood test.

The principle of implied consent asserted any driver pulled over during a DUI stop was also consenting to a blood test. However, several South Dakota counties have rejected this notion, requiring a search warrant before a suspect had to provide a blood sample.

Under the new enforcement procedures, authorities must use one of three methods to obtain a suspect’s blood test, including:

• Actual consent. The driver freely agrees to take the blood test.

• Search warrant. Once the court provides a search warrant, the suspect must provide his or her blood.

• Exigent circumstances. This represents a muddier legal area, as such scenarios remain up to the officer’s judgment.

South Dakota represents only one of the many states implementing new DUI arrest and conviction procedures. In the state of California, the major issue in 2014 is the inclusion of drug use in DUI charges.

California Vehicle Code Section 23152 now stipulates a driver using any amount of substances – illegal or otherwise – potentially impairing motor, neural, or other functions is subject to arrest and conviction for driving under the influence of drugs, or DUID. Those unaware of the change to the law may find out the hard way when pulled over and tested for intoxication.

The safest way to remain compliant with changing California DUI laws is to avoid driving in a situation where alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medications may impact one’s ability to drive. However, mistakes can occur due to misunderstandings or ambiguities in the law. When this happens, defendants need a Los Angeles DUI attorney to stand up for them in court.

If new California DUI laws have caught you by surprise and you need a lawyer, contact the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today.
Continue reading

May 28, 2014

Sad, Ironic Southern California DUI Fatality: Driver with History of DUI Killed by DUI Driver

by Michael Kraut

Thirty eight-year-old Haitham Gamal died on April 29th in a Southern California DUI accident, according to the Orange County register. Gamal had literally just pled guilty to a 2013 DUI charge at the Orange County Superior Court the previous day. He was “on the road to recovery,” according to his attorney. “He was doing the right, and somebody hit him that had been drinking.”

Authorities say that a 19-year-old man in an Acura hit Gamal and flipped him over. Both the 19-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger went to the hospital with injuries.

Gamal had been sentenced to 45 days behind bars as well as 5 years of probation the day before he was killed. The court allowed him to wait at home for a few months before he served his time. Gamal pled guilty to three DUIs – one in 2005, one in 2009 and one in 2013. He also pled guilty to a 2012 charge of misdemeanor public intoxication.

Sadly, he leaves behind young children and a wife. The tragic irony that a DUI driver took his life has not been lost on the popular press. But what you can learn from this awful news, if you or someone you love was recently arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles?

First off, appreciate that recovering from a DUI charge is no small task; it’s neither simple, nor easy to get effective help with things like addiction to fix core problems in your life caused or perpetuated by the DUI.

However, just because simple/easy solutions do not exist does not mean that you can’t move past what has happened to you, understand your habits and behaviors, and turn over a new leaf.

To make effective progress, find a Los Angeles DUI defense attorney who has the skill, track record, connections and resources to represent you adequately. Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is a regular DUI commentator for Good Morning America, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and KTLA. He is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor who maintains great relationships with his former colleagues. Continue reading

May 12, 2014

What Your Los Angeles DUI Defense Attorney CAN’T Do for You

by Michael Kraut

A competent, motivated Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer can do a lot to help you fight your charges and help you get your life back together. For instance, he or she can:

•   Contest evidence in your case;
•   Challenge the Constitutionality of your stop or arrest;
•   Nitpick (to your benefit) the documentation or procedures that the police used before, during, or after your arrest;
•   Engage in sensitive but effective negotiations with prosecutors to reduce your sentence and potentially get you into an alternative program, so that you can avoid the most nasty types of punishments, such as license suspensions, long jail sentences, mandatory IID installation in your car, and the like;
•   Connect you with resources to manage congruent problems in your life that might have caused you to drive DUI;
•   Act as a coach and mentor and answer your questions throughout your case, so that you feel in control and ready for whatever the prosecution throws your way.

But although a properly equipped Los Angeles DUI defense attorney can do a lot for you, he or she is ultimately limited. For instance, if you have a serious problem with alcohol or drugs — and, for whatever reason, you do not respond well to therapy or treatment — your attorney can’t compel you to make smart decisions and avoid putting yourself in harm’s way.

If you’ve “gotten in with a bad crowd” — If your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you — if your boss fires you — if your school expels you — your attorney can’t do much. And if your auto insurance company takes a look at your DUI conviction and decides to double your rates, unless the insurance company violated the law… again, there is little that your attorney can do.

The point in highlighting these limitations is not to dissuade you from getting in touch with somebody but rather to hammer home that you need to take responsibility for your situation.

That said, you can benefit hugely from connecting with Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut of the Los Angeles’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free consultation about your Los Angeles DUI defense.

February 26, 2014

Finding Self-Compassion After Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Your Los Angeles DUI charges have thrown your life totally out of balance. You’re not just worried about the immediate penalties – although you’d like to avoid jail time and losing your license, if possible. You’re also worried about the longer term ramifications for your life, career, and relationships.

•   If everyone at your office begins to think you of as a “DUI offender,” how will that affect your employment/promotion prospects?
•   Will people close to you forgive you, especially if you hurt someone while DUI?
•   Will you be able to move beyond the unfortunate event to build new relationships and enjoy life again?

The answers obviously depend on many factors, including:

•   The nature of your DUI crime (e.g. did you hurt someone while under the influence, or did you just get stopped at a checkpoint?);
•   Do you have other DUIs on your record?
•   Were you already struggling with career, relationship, money or self-esteem issues before the DUI?
•   How psychologically resilient are you?
•   Do you understand your potential DUI penalties and defense options?
•   Etc.

We live in a world where people like to categorize other people in black and white terms. He is either a “criminal” or an “upstanding citizen.” She is either “a good person” or “a bad person.” We create labels for other people and for ourselves, subconsciously and consciously. We do this despite the obvious reality that human beings fluctuate wildly, depending on variables such as our environment, level of sleep, cultural encoding, peer groups, financial stresses, age and life experience. In other words, we’re dynamic creatures who are trapped by our language to think of ourselves as more static than we really are.

This “cataloguing issue” causes problems in diverse areas of our lives, but it causes particular pain for DUI defendants. After all, when you start to use the language like “I’m a Los Angeles DUI defendant,” you begin to think of yourself as having certain attributes – a lack of ability to control behavior, a tendency to be wild, etc. Associations connected with the term “DUI driver” glom onto you. You start thinking of yourself that way, and people around you start to think of you that way. And that can be very damaging. The label obviously fails to represent, accurately, who you are, what you’re about, and even why you did what you did when you did it.

Finding compassion – and reframing your situation to reflect a more objective reality – is no small task. Fortunately, you do not have to go through this process by yourself. The experienced, ethical, and highly effective Los Angeles DUI criminal defense team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is on your side to advise you about best practices.

January 8, 2014

Los Angeles DUI Reputation Management, Part-II: Will Your DUI Always Be One of the First Things That Shows Up on Google?

by Michael Kraut

If you Google your name right now, does the search engine return results like the following?

“Jane Doe was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, Thursday night, when her Honda Civic hit a police cruiser at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard.”

If so, you don’t just have a tough legal case – you also have a reputation management problem.

December 30, 2013

The Pasadena DUI Vortex: What’s Your Risk for Recidivism?

by Michael Kraut

The statistics paint a scary picture. If you’re arrested just one time for driving under the influence in Pasadena, your odds of getting arrested again for the same crime spike — a lot.

A week ago, prior to your arrest, you might have had a 1% chance of ever being arrested for DUI. Today, your chance of getting re-arrested might be 4%. (Those numbers are made up to illustrate the point).

Every DUI arrest is different. Perhaps you will “learn your lesson” (if, indeed, you have a lesson to learn). But to understand your Southern California DUI arrest in context, you need to focus attention not just on the past but also on the present and the future.

Even if you didn’t hurt someone while driving DUI in Pasadena, you likely found the whole experience traumatic and a bit weird. If you’ve been replaying the stop/accident in your head, over and over again, don’t worry. You’re not going crazy. This is a natural cognitive response many people have.

To construct an effective defense — and at the same time reduce your risk for getting in similar trouble in the future — you may need to investigate the DUI in great detail. Sometimes, this close analysis can lead to evidence that can exonerate you. For instance, perhaps your breathalyzer test malfunctioned. Or perhaps you drove off the road because of a man-made obstructed or bad signage. A Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorney can help you with this investigation and analysis.

Moving on with Your Life — Safely — After Your DUI

Recognize that the past is past. Perhaps you screwed up. Perhaps you were just unlucky. Focus not on the past but rather on your current and future decisions. What steps can you take to fix your problems with alcohol (if you have any) and prevent future run-ins with the law?

To start the process, get in touch with a seasoned Pasadena DUI criminal defense lawyer. The team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers has the wherewithal, sensitivity and track record to deliver results. Find out more about what we do on our website, or call us to schedule a free consultation now.