Vehicle Code 23152(a) and 23152(b)

January 24, 2012

Burbank Injury DUI News: Police Shoot DUI Suspect During Stop in Santa Clara

The experience of getting pulled over under suspicion of driving under the influence of Burbank (or elsewhere in the Golden State) can be explosive.

Drivers and passengers are often terrified about what might be in store. Even if you consumed no alcohol, narcotics, or prescription medications, you’ve certainly heard stories about innocent people being arrested for Burbank DUI without compelling evidence. Any good Los Angeles DUI attorney can recount dozens of these types of stories.

On the flip side, police officers themselves are often suspicious and scared, particularly if the suspect led them on a high-speed chase or otherwise resisted arrest or disobeyed an officer’s instructions. It’s easy for such suspicions to escalate and create not just hostility, but also fighting, injuries, and occasionally, fatalities. Los Angeles DUI lawyers can recount some truly devastating stories.

Consider the tragic case of a Santa Clara DUI stop gone awry.

The Saturday night before last, a 42-year-old man was pulled over on suspicion of DUI on Karen Drive in Santa Clara. According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the suspect “became uncooperative, and the city police officer called for backup…before additional units could arrive, the suspect reached for a revolver.” The arresting officer then fired at the suspect in self-defense, killing him in his car. The officer has since been put on administrative duties, pending the results of internal Santa Clara Police Department investigation, done in conjunction with the Santa Clara County DA’s office.

Fortunately, most Burbank DUI stops don’t end so tragically. But the lack of trust — combined with the adrenaline-fueled atmosphere of a Burbank DUI stop — can cause officers and suspects to behave inappropriately, uncooperatively, and dangerously.

For instance, a Burbank DUI suspect may compound his or her potential legal problems by trying to flee the scene or by becoming overly aggressive (or defensive or even groveling) with an officer. As a Los Angeles DUI attorney will tell you: when you act inappropriately – with excessive fear, uncertainty, or aggression – you boost your likelihood of getting into more trouble than you deserve.

Likewise, police officers are liable to compound problems at DUI traffic stops by making drivers unnecessarily uncomfortable. Simple judgment errors or problems with breathalyzers can lead to innocent people being arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank and lead to a general waste of limited taxpayer resources and energy.

How Can We Make the Burbank DUI System Function More Effectively?

The big takeaway here is that police officers, defendants, Los Angeles DUI lawyers, and others need to stay present to the needs and concerns of others as well as to their own needs and concerns.

If you have been stopped for a Burbank DUI after a hit and run, for instance, stop the cycle of bad decision-making and limit your damage. Even if you are still recovering from a horrific night, the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810 )will help you figure out what to do next and to be more strategic in how you approach your legal situation. Attorney Kraut is a vastly experienced, Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney who is highly respected by his peers. As a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles and a Harvard Law School graduate, Attorney Kraut will help you make more effective decisions.

January 22, 2012

Was Your Pasadena DUI Arrest a Miracle in Disguise?

by Michael Kraut

You (or perhaps a close friend or a family member) recently got charged with driving under the influence in Pasadena. Perhaps the arrest was a standard misdemeanor, in which case you will likely be hit with charges per California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) or 23152 (b). Or maybe you slightly injured someone or caused property damage, in which case you may face more advanced charges per CVC 23153 (a) or 23153 (b). In any case, you are in hot water and desperate straits, even if you have a great Los Angeles DUI attorney.

How could things be worse?

That’s not just a rhetorical question. It’s an important question to ask. Indeed, if you’re alive to read these words, things could, indeed, have been worse! As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, once observed, it’s important to pay attention to the “dog that didn’t bark.”

In other words, things have gone wrong. You have gotten into trouble. You have been arrested for Pasadena DUI, for instance. You may need a Los Angeles DUI lawyer. But it’s supremely useful to look at the counterfactuals – all the things that could have gone wrong, but didn’t.

Example of Pasadena DUI counterfactual: Seattle woman survives crazy DUI journey (17 miles of wrong-way driving at a 100 miles per hour!)

According to an Associated Press report, a 60-year-old female was stopped on Interstate 5 in Washington after driving 17 miles north in the southbound lanes. Officers said that her speed ranged from 38 miles per hour to 100 miles per hour, and she managed to evade multiple spike strips.

Amazingly, “while several drivers reported near-misses, there were no collisions and no injuries.”

Pamela Drawsby was eventually stopped when officers closed the freeway ahead of her, and troopers found her to be a “calm” woman who “had no idea where she was.” Her blood alcohol tests showed that she was above the 0.08% limit for Seattle DUI (as well as Pasadena DUI). Their early intuition was that the woman had been on some prescription medications in conjunction with the alcohol. In any event, the situation was miraculous. A local truck driver, Rick Ingraham, discussed his close encounter with the wrong way sedan on King TV “[I didn’t even realize the sedan] was on my side of the road until it almost hit me…I almost had a heart attack.”

The story is certainly terrifying, especially when you contemplate all the near misses. But it illustrates a profound fact about Pasadena DUI stops and even accidents: No matter what trouble you are in now or how bad the stop or accident was, odds are that the situation could have been worse, as your Los Angeles DUI lawyer will tell you.

Of course, if you are facing remorse, fear over your possible sentence, uncertainty, and other negative emotions right now, knowing that “it could have been worse” may not make you feel much better. A Los Angeles DUI attorney here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899 ) in Pasadena is here to help you. Attorney Michael Kraut is a widely respected, Harvard Law School-educated Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorney who will use his skills as a former prosecutor to help you navigate your best path forward.

December 30, 2011

4 Biggest Beverly Hills DUI Stories of 2011

by Michael Kraut

Celebrities often do awful, and awfully crazy, things. In 2011, we saw some crazy and scary Beverly Hills DUI stories. In this post, we will review four of the year’s most scandalous celebrity moments.

1. Lindsay Lohan – Still Reeling from Her 2007 Los Angeles DUI
Unless you were living under a rock, you tuned into the Lindsay Lohan’s seemingly never-ending Los Angeles DUI probation violation saga. Ms. Lohan’s 2011 got off to a bad start on January 22, when she allegedly pilfered a necklace worth $2,500 from a store in Venice. She pleaded not guilty to the resultant felony grand theft charge, but the karmic dye had been cast for Ms. Lohan in 2011, and she proceeded to make headline after headline: she violated her probation, got sentenced, made tearful appeals, etc. Then she made headlines once again by agreeing to pose nude in Playboy for nearly $1 million. Her father, meanwhile, got arrested twice in one week for domestic violence charges.

Altogether, not a great scene for the Lohans in 2011.

2. Christina Aguilera – Watches as Her Boyfriend Gets Tagged for DUI
2011 was not a great year for pop princesses, was it?

On March 1, Christina Aguilera was arrested for public intoxication, while her boyfriend was tagged for DUI. Aguilera had come off of a rough 2010, but she rebounded magnificently in the latter half of 2011, thanks in part to her widely successful TV vehicle, The Voice. It goes to show that Beverly Hills DUI does not commit you to certain and permanent debauchery
3. Estella Warren’s Hit and Run DUI (with a Bit of Cop Kicking Thrown in There As Well)

Estella Warren, an actress in Planet of the Apes, was arrested for DUI back in May. She allegedly resisted arrest and kicked the cop who tried to handcuff her. Warren smashed her Prius into three separate cars and then drove away from the scene. All told, she got hit with charges of assault, felony escape, hit and run, and DUI.

4. Charlie Sheen – Not Busted for Beverly Hills DUI, but Might As Well Have Been
2011 was the year of Charlie Sheen’s epic, magnificent public meltdown. The year started out crazy, when Sheen was arrested after trashing his Las Vegas hotel room and partying with an adult film star. Charlie thus began a headline-grabbing rampage that included getting fired from Two and a Half Men after calling his boss “a contaminated maggot” among other things and then waxing similarly poetic (and vitriolic) about everyone from his ex-wife to Alcoholics Anonymous to Thomas Jefferson.

If you were arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills in 2011, connect with a respected, highly successful Beverly Hills DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935). Attorney Michael Kraut is a former prosecutor with a terrific record at jury trials.

October 3, 2011

An Absolutely Guaranteed Way to Permanently End Beverly Hills DUI

by Michael Kraut

We can all agree: Southern California would be a much safer place if drivers no longer drove under the influence in Beverly Hills or anywhere else throughout the Southland.

If no one ever got behind the wheel with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08% or greater – no one violated CVC 23152 (a) or 23152 (b) – there would be fewer road deaths, fewer injuries, and significantly less property damage to boot.

And here is a foolproof way to ensure a future with a near zero rate of Beverly Hills DUI:

Reinstate Prohibition.

Our nation experimented with Prohibition back in the 1920s. Protests and entrepreneurial bootleggers’ games notwithstanding, alcohol consumption declined after national Prohibition laws passed. It stands to reason that, if there is enough willpower in Southern California to get similar legislation passed, we will likely see a similarly dramatic decline in alcohol consumption in our community. Obviously, we can never get to zero alcohol consumption because there would always be some people breaking the rules. But we can get pretty close.

Most people out there might write off this little thought experiment as silly. And it might be. But let’s think about the possible consequences, as far as Beverly Hills DUIs are concerned. How many lives would be saved every year throughout California if alcohol was legally forbidden (and the law was enforced)? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? How many accidents would be prevented?

Say there was a new pharmaceutical drug that killed dozens of people every year due to its side effects: there would be no end to the clamor and uproar about how the government would need to outlaw the drug ASAP and punish anyone who continued to try to sell it or market it. And there would be a decent moral case for doing so. If you are going to be morally equitable, then you need to admit there is also a decent case for enforcing this kind of draconian Prohibition.

This hypothetical is meant to illustrate a point about Beverly Hills DUI policy: Draconian, “sweep all the pieces off the chess board” gestures might sound good in theory, depending on how you frame the statistics, but they come at a cost that is too great for (most) people to swallow. Like it or not, alcohol consumption is in some ways an intrinsic component of the American social landscape.

The solution to Beverly Hills DUI is not necessarily to throw the baby out with the bath water – to ban all alcohol consumption – but instead to come up with creative, strategic, scientifically grounded, and morally and ethically acceptable solutions to deter DUIs, make road safer, educate drivers, and generally work with every player in the system to protect people’s rights.

A Beverly Hills criminal defense attorney, such as Attorney Michael Kraut of Beverly Hills’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935), can help you make progress. Mr. Kraut is a regular TV and news media analyst who specializes in Los Angeles DUI and criminal defense matters, and he is also a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor. He brings a diverse wealth of experience (and connections) to bear to help his clients make the progress they want.

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 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.

August 31, 2011

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

by Michael Kraut

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 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 3, 2011

Long Beach DUI Homicide Tragedy: Suspect in Fatal DUI Jumps to his Death in Prison Cell

by Michael Kraut

A fatal DUI in Long Beach is always a needless tragedy. We can all agree on that.

But sometimes horrific events can be ratcheted up in terms of their horribleness fivefold, thanks to “after the crash” mistakes, errors of judgment, lack of decisive positive action, and so forth.

Indeed, many cases of DUI in Burbank, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, and DUI elsewhere throughout the Southland take turns for the tragically worse – when defendants react non-resourcefully to their situations.

This is all little abstract. So let’s bring it home with a specific example – a case out of suburban Philadelphia. Last week, a 45-year old man, Mathew McNamara, apparently killed himself in prison. He had been charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, after a July 13 automobile accident killed a woman and hurt a child.

According to a local Indiana paper, the Daily Reporter (out of Greenfield, Indiana), McNamara “died from injuries sustained in a fall from the upper level of the cell block at a central Pennsylvania prison… police say accounts of McNamara intentionally jumping from the cell block’s upper level are consistent with surveillance footage.”

Obviously, if you played any role in a fatal Long Beach DUI event – even if you were not fully culpable – the grief and guilt may be weighing heavy on your heart. Even if you caused only minor damage – such as a Long Beach DUI with injury or just damage to an automobile or property – you may be feel overwhelmed, confused, and, frankly, angry at yourself.

But you can’t turn back the clock. What’s done is done. You made a mistake — or you got unfairly charged. And that’s the reality now. The question is: how do you deal resourcefully with your circumstances?

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you plot out a strategy for your defense, combat charges, and clue you into outside resources to help you deal with your alcohol problem (if you have one).

You face fundamental choices. You may need to make reparations to someone you harmed. But there are resourceful ways of doing this that can not only help release your guilt but also help the victim – or the victim’s family – come to turns with what happened and experience emotional relief.

Doing all this is tricky. And right now, you are probably most concerned with urgent issues: Will you go to jail? For how long? What are your other punishments? What can you do to bring order to this chaos? Etcetera.

Turn to Long Beach attorney Michael Kraut at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West ocean Suite 800  Long Beach, California 90802 (562) 531-7454) for help with your situation. Mr. Kraut is a former Deputy District Attorney (a high profile prosecutor), and he can help you understand what to do next.

August 2, 2011

Burbank DUI: Will It Be Eliminated Entirely Thanks to New Technologies?

by Michael Kraut

What causes people to drive under the influence in Burbank, and what can stop them?

These questions obsess lawmakers, policymakers, police, and analysts who cover news about DUI in Los Angeles, Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, and Glendale DUI.

Most solutions concentrate on driver behavior. Policymakers try to deter drivers from consuming alcohol, narcotics, and prescription medications before getting behind the wheel. And they punish people who violate these rules and laws — not only to send a message but also to “clear the roads” of dangerous drivers.

A new movement has cropped up that’s focusing on looking beyond behavior. This new crop of DUI analysts believes that technology may be able to play a vital role in terms of reducing the number of crashes and the severity of injuries.

A recent story in the Washington Examiner analyzed a proposed Maryland law that would compel anyone convicted of driving DUI with a BAC of 0.15% or greater to install an interlock ignition device (IID). (0.15% BAC is nearly twice the BAC for Burbank DUI, as specified in California Vehicle Code Section 23152).

As this blog has discussed at length, California has started a mandatory IID installation program of its own – and Los Angeles County is one of the test counties.

This technology-centered approach to ending DUIs makes some sense.

But rather than getting mired in the debate about the rightness or wrongness of this conclusion – one could probably also paint an argument that first time offenders are penalized too much – let’s think bigger picture.

Maybe correcting behavior alone is not enough. And maybe technology won’t solve our problems either. Maybe we need a solution that is more humanistic, diverse and social science based. In other words, instead of continuing to trust old broken systems or shooting for the moon and hoping that some random new technology will solve all our problems, let’s take a deeper look at what makes drivers do the things they do.

One hard to ignore factor is social contagion.

Human beings like to fit in. That’s a deep human need. Peer pressure is an enormously powerful factor. And policymakers surely do not leverage this factor well enough.

For instance, we all know that Burbank DUI arrests spike around national holidays, like New Year’s Eve, the 4th of July, and the Super Bowl. This is because there is a social contagion effect going on. More people party. More people drink. More people get behind the wheel.

Thinking in terms of social contagion leads us to cool new solutions. For instance, what if we focused on making DUI behavior look less cool? We need not necessarily increase punishments. Rather, we need only source and address the core, often counterintuitive motivating factors. Perhaps we would make better progress.

In any event, from a practical point of view, if you have a question about a Burbank DUI, you likely want to speak with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor Burbank, California 91505 (818) 563-9810) has ample experience – not just as a defense attorney but also as a former prosecutor. His experienced on both sides of cases gives him a profound and unique vantage, which he can bring to bear to deliver strategic results for you.