Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog

June 7, 2012

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana in Long Beach: How NOT Do It

If you or someone you love was recently arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana in Long Beach or elsewhere in the Southland, odds are, you probably feel embarrassed — especially if you made certain decisions that, in retrospect, were careless or even stupid.

Take some comfort in that your arrest was (probably) less ignominious than the arrest of 19-year old Catalina Clauser. She was arrested in Phoenix last week for driving under the influence of marijuana – with her baby on the roof of her car!

Yikes.

Here’s how it went down.

The legal shenanigans began early. Early in the evening, Clauser’s boyfriend was busted for driving under the influence – with the baby in her Ford Focus. Apparently upset about what happened, the 19-year old drove to the home of a friend and smoked a significant amount of marijuana – up to two bowls’ worth.

According to reports, Clauser left the party at around midnight and drove home. At around 1’o clock in the morning, local police got a call: a baby had been found in the middle of the road, and his car seat.

Fortunately, the baby was “perfectly okay” – according to later hospital reports. The police initially suspected that the child had been thrown out of a car in an accident, given the shoddy, damaged state of the car seat. Only after an investigation did police realize what actually happened (probably): in her marijuana induced state, Clauser apparently left the car seat on the roof of the car. Once she took off, unsurprisingly, the unsecured car seat fell off the car and into the middle of the road. Clauser was later arrested for child abuse and aggravated DUI. Her child is now in the care of Child Protective Services.

All told, not exactly the best of nights for that child or for anyone involved, really. It’s actually a miracle the baby was not seriously harmed given everything that happened.

Whether or not your Long Beach DUI or marijuana DUI situation was as operatic as Clauser’s arrest, you likely face huge obstacles and surprises.

You’re probably feeling scared, unsure, confused, and overwhelmed by the potential legal mess you might be in. Even if you didn’t hurt anyone — and even if this was your first time arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana in Los Angeles — you could face massive fines and court costs, points on your license, huge insurance headaches, a driver license suspension, mandatory alcohol ed classes (inconveniently timed, no doubt) and of course prison time.

Talk to a respected and experienced Los Angeles marijuana DUI defense attorney at Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) immediately regarding your legal options. Attorney Kraut is a widely respected lawyer who has served in both prosecutorial and defense capacities – this special vantage gives him a competitive advantage that he can put to work for you.

June 3, 2012

Could His Next “Ultimate Fight” Be A Battle Against Los Angeles DUI? Jon “Bones” Jones Totals Bentley in New York; DUI Suspected

by Michael Kraut

Not every Los Angeles DUI arrest involves a $190,000 Bentley getting wrapped around a telephone pole and a superstar athlete. But last Saturday, Jon “Bones” Jones, 24-year old UFC fighting champ, did just that in Binghamton, New York.

Jones was arrested by the Broome County Sheriff — the same agency for which he created a police training film a few months ago. An ironic twist of events, indeed. In the wake of the incident, the light heavyweight king – who bested Rashad Evans on April 21 in a unanimous decision – got called to the carpet by Dana White, the President of the UFC.

White told the Boston Herald, in blunt terms, how he felt about Jones’ situation: “[Jones] could… go down as the greatest ever – beat everybody, do all the stuff, be the first guy to break through and get a Nike deal… do you want to be that guy or do you want to go the other way?” White then proceeded to describe in graphic, expletive filled detail what precisely the “the other way” would entail.

Not good things.

If you’ve recently been arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles, you are probably facing a similar turning point in your life. How do you want to frame what’s happened to you? How are you going to respond? The question actually goes deeper than just “what will your legal response be?” It cuts to the heart of where you are in your life and how much responsibility you’re willing to take for your life trajectory from here on out.

Whether the arrest was fair or not, you need to make big picture, strategic, and tactical decisions in the days and months ahead. The quality of the decisions that you make – and the quality of your network of support people – could have tremendous implications, not just regarding scary questions like “will I go to jail or not for my Los Angeles DUI?” but for the grander questions like “will I get the help I need to get control of myself and rebuild my life?”

Compassionate, aggressive, experienced attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Los Angeles can help you deal with all aspect of your charges and situation. Attorney Kraut served as a prosecutor for the city for nearly a decade and a half, and he has deep insights into how to get his clients excellent results, even in complicated and scary circumstances.

June 1, 2012

Glendale DUI News Of The Weird: Did Driver Busted in Iowa Really Let Zebra and Parrot Drive His Truck?

by Michael Kraut

Occasionally, stories of DUI in Glendale and elsewhere get pretty weird.

Last week, the zany action took place not here at Southern California but rather in the generally staid Midwest – Dubuque, Iowa, to be more specific. 56-year old Jerald Reiter was arrested in the parking lot of a bar called “Dog House” (appropriate) after police saw him driving around with a parrot and a baby zebra in his truck.

Officers saw the circus-like situation and made Reiter go through the paces of a field sobriety test. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the FST came back positive, and he was arrested and booked. One report said that Reiter had a habit of taking the Macaw Parrot and baby Zebra into the bar – a situation which no doubt caused quite a scene in the Dog House. In any event, Reiter is claiming that he is innocent.

If you’ve been put through the paces of a field sobriety test in Glendale, Iowa, or anywhere else, you know it can be a scary experience, even if you are used to being around wild, loud animals — and even if you have enough courage and bombast to make something of a spectacle of yourself at a public bar.

Field sobriety tests are no fun. It’s not that the actual test themselves are that physically demanding – balancing tests, walk the line tests, stand on one leg tests, finger to nose tests, and other FSTs are pretty basic stuff. But the emotional aspect of doing these tasks is difficult to metabolize. You realize that one small incorrect movement could mean a Glendale DUI arrest, followed by penalties such as jail time, driver’s license suspension, compulsory alcohol school, probation, points on your license, skyrocketing car insurance premiums, and on and on and on.

You might not be consciously aware of all those potential problems when you’re in the midst of an FST, but you are almost certainly subconsciously aware of what’s going on.

It’s difficult to enumerate all the factors that can make a sobriety test “go wrong” – nervousness, general lack of coordination, the whims of an officer, a legitimate stumble, fatigue, medications that are legal to use but which might interfere with your performance, etc.

All that said, the past is past.

If you or someone you care about has been arrested for DUI in Glendale, you almost certainly need the services of a professional, highly competent, and respected Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney. Look to the team here at The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers for guidance. Attorney Michael Kraut has a fantastic track record of helping defendants like you not only get results for their defense but also understand their rights, so they feel a degree of certainty and optimism throughout the whole process.

May 23, 2012

Got A Marijuana DUI in Long Beach? If So, Check Out What’s Happening in Colorado…

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol in Burbank, you are probably wondering how you’ll be charged, whether you’ll go to jail, and what you can do, if anything, to battle back. The law regarding marijuana DUI is rapidly evolving. And it’s evolving not just here in California but also in other states.

Last week, Colorado lawmakers scuttled a bill that would have created a “BAC-like” level for marijuana DUI. Colorado house bill 12S-1005 was defeated by a razor thin margin; had it passed, then Colorado drivers who drove with a THC level of more than 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood could be charged and convicted of a serious crime. The District Attorney for Boulder County told lawmakers that 15% of the impaired driving cases he sees involve marijuana, and that the vast majority of these cases require a lot of work and time to manage.

The D.A. and others argued that there need to be some standards. Law enforcement officials – and drivers and citizens – need to know what’s allowed and what’s not allowed, so they can make safer decisions and more efficient law enforcement decisions.

Opponents of the measure argued that the 5 nanogram THC level is an unfair standard, for a variety of reasons:

• Some marijuana users have a higher tolerance to the drug than others – thus one could have a high THC level in the blood and still be perfectly sober and capable of driving;
• The chemical THC gets stored in the people’s fat cells, so there is a latency effect. You can be stone sober, but the residual marijuana in the fat cells could screw up your reading and lead to unfair convictions;
• There is no clear method by which marijuana users can test themselves to know whether they are sober enough to drive – like there is with (admittedly flawed) devices like Burbank DUI breathalyzer tests.

If you or someone you care about has been arrested and charged with a marijuana DUI in Burbank or elsewhere in the Southland, Southern California criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut of the Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) can advise you and help you build a responsible, effective strategy to win back your freedom, protect your privileges, and move on with your life.

May 21, 2012

A Good Way to Make Beverly Hills DUI News – Drive 100 Miles per Hour to a Kid’s Birthday Party

by Michael Kraut

Whether you or someone you care about has been arrested for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills, or you’re just striving to be a better, safer parent, you can learn a lot from the story of Katherine Russell, a 34-year old Northern Californian mom, who was arrested last week after driving a 100 miles per hour in her SUV…because she was late to a child’s birthday party.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Russell tested at more than twice the Beverly Hills DUI limit of 0.08%. A California Highway Patrol officer saw her Toyota 4Runner zipping by a Sonoma County Road at around 90 miles per hour. When the officer approached her, the SUV allegedly sped up to a rocketing 100 miles per hour. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident – and especially no children were hurt.

Parents here in Beverly Hills do some crazy “stuff” to help give their children a leg up and meet their needs. We live in a stress inducing city — Beverly Hills takes “keeping up with the Joneses” to the next level. All parents can be tempted to do stupid and dangerous things in the name of protecting their kids and giving their kids what we think they want or need. But there is a danger in this mentality. Sometimes, people get arrested for crimes like driving under the influence in Beverly Hills or elsewhere because they are striving to “do the right thing.”

In other words, we might know they we’re not in the best state for driving – that we “should” take more precautions or find designated driver. But our better instincts get overpowered by the urges and needs of the moment. Only after the fact do we realize how our efforts have backfired. And then we’re forced to scramble to figure out what we might be able to do about our trouble — how we can run damage control. This is only speculation, but it is possible that the 34-year old was speeding because of a deep and understandable need to take care of her child – to pick him or her up from that late night party. The moral is that our positive, nurturing urges can have damaging effects – if we are not careful to measure them against the realities of our situations.

Fortunately, a Beverly Hills DUI charge – even a complicated one – does not have to be a life sentence. An experienced, able, and respected Los Angeles criminal defense attorney at Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 660B Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3220 Phone: (310) 550-6935 ) in Beverly Hills can talk to you about what happened and give you some powerful advice to start to construct an effective defense.

May 16, 2012

You Think Your Long Beach DUI Arrest Was Bad: These Guys Strapped Their Kids to the Roof of a Car for an Alleged DUI Joyride!

by Michael Kraut

Getting pulled over for a charge of a driving under the influence in Long Beach can be a shocking, terrifying experience. Even if you did nothing wrong – or the breathalyzer malfunctioned, or the police failed to follow proper procedure, or you can produce exonerating evidence – developing a good Long Beach DUI defense can be an intimidating proposition, to say the least.

Fortunately, odds are that the charges against you are less insane than the charges against two Indianans: Jessica Clark and Aaron Stefanski got hit with charges of DUI in Fort Wayne, after police saw them strap their kids to the hood of an automobile while driving away from a liquor store.

Not so smart.

One of the witnesses to the event, Tom Nowak, told a local paper how the 4-to-7-year olds got lashed to the car: “with one of those straps you crank on a semi to hold down lumber, they were strapped with that thing, wiggling and wobbling down the street.”

Indiana Child Protective Services have since removed three of the children from the father’s custody and sent them to stay with their mother full time. Obviously, this story is like something out of “News of the Weird” – an interesting oddity, but you might be wondering how it could be relevant to your Long Beach DUI case.

Here are some of the lessons:

1: People who get stopped for DUI in Long Beach often do “multiple things wrong” at once.

Yes, there are certain situations in which “only one bad thing happens.” For instance, the driver has way too many drinks at a party before getting behind the wheel, and he or she gets tagged with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10%. But in many cases, drivers do stupid things upon stupid things, compounding their problems. For instance, the father in this case not only allegedly drove DUI, but he also endangered his children. His legal mess will be far more thorny and complicated.

2: Controlling perceptions is important.

What happened, happened. You (or someone you love) now faces a Long Beach DUI charge. You cannot go back in time and change that. But what you can do is to determine how to shape events going forward, so that you learn lessons from what happened, make reparations to anyone you hurt, leverage tools and strategies to minimize your punishments, and generally try to transform this obstacle in your life into an opportunity to become a better person, a better driver, a better citizen, and more self-knowing.

3. Good legal help — early on! — is crucial.

A Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can help you deal with your situation, even if you made compounding errors during and after your arrest. Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor – he knows how prosecutors will think about your case and want to charge you – and he can leverage that information and insight to get you better results.

May 14, 2012

Driving Under the Influence in Burbank (or Oregon): Can “Lost” Star Find His Way Out of This?

by Michael Kraut

It’s more typical for celebrities to get arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank than to get tagged for DUI in some far-flung region like Oregon. But life can be peculiar. In the case of “Lost” actor Matthew Fox, that’s exactly what happened.

Last Friday, police pulled Fox over in Bend, OR, after he failed to signal and remain in his lane. The gossip site TMZ.com reports that Fox had been on his way to a fast food joint. Fortunately for Fox’s publicist, the mugshot machine at the local Oregon station was out of order, so there will not be a Nick Nolte or Mel Gibson style Los Angeles DUI celebrity mugshot to follow him around. Fox’s career also seems to be pretty solid: even though Lost is wrapped, he’s still getting work. He will be appearing in WORLD WAR Z, an epic zombie film produced by Brad Pitt.

Not too shabby.

Fox’s celebrity DUI is not his first – but he does have a small history of legal problems. Last August, he got into an altercation with a bus driver in Los Angeles; he allegedly punched her in the face. The bus driver then sued Fox, who countersued, saying that she hit him first. It sounds a bit like grade school – but with higher stakes for the winners and losers.

Celebrities and non-celebrities alike must obey the Burbank DUI laws. The most critical laws to know – whether you’ve personally been stopped for DUI, or someone you love or care about has been arrested – are California Vehicle Code 23152(a) and 23152(b). These govern the so-called “standard” Burbank misdemeanor DUIs. For instance, if you got stopped at a checkpoint on Victory Boulevard or pulled over on the 5 after a night partying downtown, the odds are that you will be facing a CVC 23152(a) or 23152(b) charge.

But if you cause injury to someone else, prosecutors have a special trick up their sleeves – they can elevate your charge and try to get you convicted of violating 23153(a) and/or 23153(b). You will have to look twice the difference between these two codes – thery’re just one number different! But the difference for you could be dramatic. Instead of a misdemeanor Burbank DUI, you could face a felony Burbank DUI. That means that, instead of facing just a few days or weeks in jail, you could face over a year behind bars… as well as the loss to the right to vote and massive “post-felony conviction” problems that can trail you for years, decades, or perhaps the rest of your life.

To get a handle on your challenges, and to make the most appropriate, strategic steps towards protecting your rights and eliminating uncertainty, connect with a tested Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810). Mr. Kraut served honorably as a prosecutor of Los Angeles DUI crimes for more than 14-years in the capacity of a Senior Deputy District Attorney. Since he has experience as both the criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor, he understands the criminal justice landscape from different perspectives.

May 9, 2012

Racy Beverly Hills DUI Story – Katrina Darrell, Bikini Girl on American Idol, Busted for DUI and Hit and Run

by Michael Kraut

Last week was a shockingly salacious week for Beverly Hills DUI news. For instance, online gossip site, TMZ.com, broke a story that sent American Idol trivia fans into a tizzy. Apparently the “bikini girl” from the 2009 American Idol competition season – aka Katrina Darrell – was hit with some serious DUI charges. The situation sounds pretty intense for Ms. Darrell. If convicted, she could face two full years in jail!

 Police claim to have seen Darrell flee from the scene of an accident; they then pulled her over. She proceeded to take a breathalyzer test at the police station and blew 0.15% and 0.17% BAC readings. Those are pretty high readings – potentially more than double the standard Beverly Hills DUI limit of 0.08%.

Of course, it’s easy to read celebrity news reports like this and leap to conclusions about the defendant’s rightness or wrongness. Certainly, her history on American Idol suggests that she is not averse to taking risks and behaving a little wildly. But just because the DUI story seems to fit the “wild party girl” narrative that’s developed around her does NOT necessarily mean that it holds the whole truth – or even a shred of truth.

As with every Beverly Hills DUI arrest, there can always be complicating factors — factors that can make a situation significantly more or significantly less legally perilous. Until you really dive into a case, look at the evidence, explore statements, take a look at how the police did their work, examine the Beverly Hills DUI breathalyzer test results and field sobriety tests, etc, etc, you are going to be at a significant disadvantage.

After consulting with an attorney here at the Beverly Hills’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (8484 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 660B Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3220 Phone: (310) 550-6935), you’ll likely have far more clarity about your situation. Although no attorney can promise results in a case, attorney Kraut has earned a massive recognition from his legal peers. He’s worked as a successful prosecutor and a successful defense attorney. He has the connections, know-how, detailed understanding of the law, and in-firm processes and systems to get you results.

May 7, 2012

Glendale DUI Ridiculousness – East Haven CT Women Crashes into Liquor Store for Possibly DUI

by Michael Kraut

The typical Glendale DUI stop is pretty tame by objective measures. An outside observer might, for instance, see you get stopped at a check point and pass through an array of field sobriety tests and then get cuffed and taken away. Not that much excitement.

But some examples of DUI are shocking, unusual, and packed with coincidences.

Last week, for instance, a 63-year old woman, Sharon Brooks, careened into a local liquor store (which she frequented!) and smashed the shop up in a major way. The accident occurred at 2:30 p.m. in East Haven at the Yankee Discount Liquor on Foxon Road. According to local reports, the car drove “halfway into the store” and caused not only property damage but also injury to a store worker that was significant enough to require his hospitalization.

As regular readers of this blog know, if you injure someone while driving DUI in Glendale, you can be subjected to charges under California Vehicle Code 23153(a) or 23153(b) – charges which carry significantly more “heft” than do standard misdemeanor Glendale DUI charges per CVC 23152 (a) or 23152(b).

In any event, Ms. Brooks said that she had “a cold” and had taken Nyquil prior to the accident. She also said that she just gotten her car detailed and that her foot slipped off the brake due to the slippery Armor All treatment. Brooks told the reporters “I never had the whole inside of my car cleaned before and this time I did so it would look really nice, and my foot slipped off the brake.”

Will Brooks’ various defenses hold water? That remains to be seen. But before you judge either way, understand that most charges of driving under the influence in Glendale (or wherever) often hold subtle secrets – evidence that can help/hurt both sides.

The point is that, if you have been charged with the crime like this, you really put yourself at a huge disadvantage if you fail to connect with a Glendale DUI defense attorney, such as the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123). A great attorney can explain your charges in context, help you construct an appropriate response, and deal with the nagging questions and concerns you have along the way. You can feel more focused, put up a stiff defense to the charges, and feel less anxiety about what’s going to happen to your car, your driver license, and your future.

May 2, 2012

West Hollywood DUI Not the Only Driving Disaster for Actress Amanda Bynes

by Michael Kraut

On April 6th, actress Amanda Bynes was arrested for driving under the influence in West Hollywood, after she banged into cop car while driving erratically. In retrospect, the warning signs were there. Back in March, Bynes got in trouble for fleeing a police officer, who had stopped her for chatting on her cell phone while behind the wheel. After that incident, she had to make an embarrassing trip to the police station to get her California driver’s license back.

Late last Sunday night, the 26-year-old attempted a three-point turn outside of SUR Restaurant in West Hollywood. She wasn’t arrested… but she certainly seemed “out of it,” according to a witness who spoke with the celebrity gossip magazine, People. Said the witness, “[Bynes was] holding up traffic and doing an incredibly slow three-point turn in the middle of Robertson… she looked wobbly – I guess, it could have been the heels since she was wearing sky-high nude pumps, but she did seem out of it.”

Of course, it’s easy for celebrity gossip columnists to jump to the worst conclusions about celebrity behavior. That’s basically their job. But driving under the influence in West Hollywood is a serious and sobering matter. If someone you love (or you yourself) recently got stopped for DUI in West Hollywood (or DUI near USC or UCLA or wherever), you are likely really concerned about your rights, your future, and your potential penalties.

As well you should be.

Penalties for even mild violations of California Vehicle Code Section 23152(A) or 23152(B) can run the gamut and can include strict probation terms, forced alcohol school, mandatory installation of an interlock ignition device (IID), fees, fines, and court costs, and, of course, jail time.

So what can you do?

Sound legal advice from an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney can go a long way – not only towards helping you deal with the nuts and bolts of your legal defense but also in terms of giving you back some of your peace of mind. If you aren’t sure about whether you can drive your car or not; whether your insurance will skyrocket or not; whether you will have to serve jail time or not, and so forth, it will be very difficult for you to plan your life and return to emotional equilibrium. In fact, your being out of sorts can predispose you to make other lapses of judgment, which can potentially get you into hotter legal water.

A vicious cycle, indeed.

A West Hollywood DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) can help you plan for the future, understand your mistakes, and be maximally strategic in terms of your DUI defense. Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor (14-plus years experience). The Harvard Law School educated attorney Kraut deeply and diversely understands the problems that face defendants like you. He can help you regain a sense of equilibrium and stability.