Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog

December 12, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI Penalties: When You Suffer, Everyone Around You Does, Too

You’ve recently been hit with a charge of driving under the influence in Beverly Hills, and you’re still reeling from it. The mind is churning up worst case scenarios:

• What if the person you injured during your Beverly Hills DUI doesn’t recover or is saddled with a lifelong disability?
• What if you have to go to jail for years?
• Who will take care of your business, your home, your family?
• What if you lose your driver’s license and have to pay thousands of dollars in fines, etc?
• What should you be doing now to make your new job as a Beverly Hills DUI defendant easier and more strategic?

We’ve discussed the direct consequences of Beverly Hills DUI conviction (e.g. jail time, fine/fees, mandatory alcohol school, mandatory installation of an IID device in your vehicle, probation, etc) as well as the indirect consequences (e.g. hiked up insurance rates, loss of confidence, loss of self respect and professional reputation, massive, chronic inconveniences that strain your budget, etc).

But a third, arguably even scarier set of penalties awaits you. These pertain to the effect of your DUI event and possible conviction on society as a whole.

To get a little philosophical for a second… cities like Beverly Hills (and Los Angeles in general) maintain their social cohesion through bonds of trust, order, and mutual self interest. Those bonds are not absolute, however. Difficult economic conditions, fraud and crime, war, disease, and other destabilizing forces can fray these bonds and lead to chaos in the community.

Now, obviously, your Beverly Hills DUI is not going to “make or break” the city. At least, hopefully it’s not going to. On the other hand, the incremental effects of Los Angeles DUI arrests, convictions, consequences, etc on society as a whole are non-negligible. In other words, what you do behind the wheel has an effect beyond the immediate radius of your accident.

If you recall the movie Office Space, you’ll likely remember the scam the co-workers pulled – they essentially tried to “shave off” fractions of a cent from millions of bank accounts in a high-tech heist. Individually, no one customer was hurt; collectively, however, the financial institution was damaged.

The obvious retort is: Well, it was just me who got in trouble. How much of a difference could my actions have made? But multiply that attitude times hundreds of thousands of Angelinos, and you have a recipe for chaos, disorder and worse.

The moral here is: You have a choice. Even if you’ve already a committed a Beverly Hills DUI – and even if that DUI was serious and caused injury and/or property damage – you have a choice right now to change your perspective on what happened and not only rebuild your own life but also work towards healing society and making the city and our world a more compassionate, livable, hopeful environment.

Of course, it’s important to ground ideals into solid thinking and strategy. Connect with a Beverly Hills DUI defense attorney from the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935 ) right now to plan your next steps. Attorney Kraut is a hugely respected former prosecutor who can help you understand your rights and best next steps.

December 7, 2011

Staggering, Bank Breaking Costs of a Pasadena DUI

by Michael Kraut

How much will your Pasadena DUI cost you, in terms of energy, freedom, and, perhaps most substantially, money?

If you face Pasadena DUI charges, this question – and all the branches of thought that it generates – no doubt weighs heavily in your mind. A recent Fox Business news article suggested some very sobering numbers: “(if convicted) you should expect your insurance rates to double. That varies from driver to driver, of course.”

A 24-year-old Seattle woman who got DUI with no priors found that “her insurance quotes spiked radically.” Before the accident, she “saw quotes from $742 to $1,814 a year for basic liability and personal injury protection.” After the misdemeanor DUI – no injuries, no complications, no priors – “her insurance quotes ranged from $1,608 to $2,492.” As long as your DUI remains in your record, you likely have to pay these steeper rates.

So let’s do a little math. Say a 24-year old gets a Pasadena DUI, and her insurance hikes up from $800 a year to $1,600 a year. So she’ll be paying $800 extra a year. Multiply that by three years and that’s $2,400. For some people that’s equal to a year’s worth of car payments.

Also, that’s just the insurance costs, and that’s just for standard “garden-variety” Pasadena DUI charges. That $2,400 figure obviously does not include court costs and fines, the money you have to pay to install a mandatory ignition interlock device in your car, and so on.

Moreover, even those costs likely underestimate the total resource drain. After all, Pasadena DUI defendants often have to take time off of work to go to court — money lost there — and they may need to make significant changes to their daily schedule — even more money lost there. And this is to say nothing of the psychological toll that a DUI conviction can have on someone. A person who suffers depression or other emotional problems as a result of a Pasadena DUI conviction will likely work fewer hours. Likewise, in certain cases, a DUI conviction can mean the end of your job. At the very least, it can seriously degrade your professional reputation and even your reputation with close friends and family members.

So what can you do?

Step one is to get the resources and strategy you need to put up the most stiff resistance to the charges. Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) is a highly reputable, experienced law firm. Attorney Michael Kraut served for 14 years as a Deputy District Attorney. Connect with a Pasadena DUI criminal defense attorney today to design and develop your smartest response.

December 5, 2011

Will Beverly Hills DUI Defendants Like or Loath TLC’s New Show “DUI”?

by Michael Kraut

Perhaps you already follow the latest Beverly Hills DUI news in the tabloids or on the blogosphere. Or maybe you stick to more “serious” sources of DUI news, such as news reports or even professional analyses of DUIs.

But even if you scour all these sources, you will come up with a rather superficial understanding of what’s like to be a Beverly Hills DUI defendant, and you may not learn much meaningful information to:

A) Help you avoid getting into DUI trouble in the first place;
B) Help you understand what to do (and more significantly, what not to do) after you’ve been pulled over for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills or elsewhere in the Southland.

Fortunately, you now have a novel way to “pull back the curtain” and see what Beverly Hills DUI defendants really experience.

The TLC Network launched a new show last week called “DUI” in the spirit of reality TV shows like Cops and Jail. Reviews for the show generally have been positive. The Washington Post’s blog called the show “irresistible” and discussed how the show is interested in going deeper – actually following motorists “after they failed sobriety test… days and weeks into court appearances and the punitive phase of their charges.”

The Washington Post review also said that “What’s emphasized here are the disastrous financial and personal losses that come for everyday working folks arrested for DUI. Granted, they should never have been behind the wheel, but “DUI” is surprisingly uninterested in MADD-style scolding and more focused on legal process. It’s also refreshingly empathetic to everyone involved.”

This last point is absolutely crucial, and it is also wonderful.

It’s so easy in today’s world – where we’re berated with twitter-esque headlines 24/7 – to demonize people, judge them, blame them, categorize them, etc. Instead, we can learn a lot more – and protect our roads a lot better – if we focus on empathy. What feelings did you feel when you were pulled over for driving under the influence in Beverly Hills? How could your needs have been met differently that evening? Unless we ask questions like this – probing to the heart of the problem – our punishments are going to be superficial, relatively useless, and certainly damaging to defendants.

If you’ve been struggling with a DUI charge – fretting about what might happen to your license, your job, your pocket book, or even your freedom – you likely need the assistance of a qualified and highly experienced Beverly Hills DUI defense attorney. The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (9107 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Phone: (310) 550-6935) is dedicated to providing empathetic, substantial, and powerfully strategic services for defendants. Connect with the former Deputy DA and Harvard Law School educated Attorney Kraut today to explore the most effective solution for your DUI problems.

December 2, 2011

Multiple Burbank DUI Arrests? Maybe it’s Time to Look at the Root Cause…

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve been arrested, and potentially convicted, more than once for driving under the influence in Burbank, you might find it useful to evaluate the fundamental problem that’s been getting you into trouble.

As Will Rogers once famously intoned, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

All well and good. But how does that translate into action?

More specifically, if you admit that something other than dumb luck contributed to your getting arrested multiple times for driving under the influence in Burbank, how do you objectively think through what’s caused you so much pain and caused you to engage in such reckless behavior?

The standard party line is that Burbank DUI defendants are incompetent, ignorant, reckless, or (insert other negative judgment here). Labeling a person — or even a behavior — as “good” or “bad” is not necessarily that informative. It might make non-Burbank DUI drivers feel superior. It might make people who have been convicted of driving under the influence, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or 23153, feel guilty and ashamed. But it does not get at the root problem. A judgment is just a description, and a tenuous one at best.

So how do you make progress?

One way to make progress is to analyze the feelings and thoughts that you had before, during, and after your DUI arrest or other automobile event. The more discreet, focused, and comprehensive your survey of your thoughts and emotions, the easier it will be to spot patterns – habitual behaviors and ways of thinking. You can then use your new knowledge of said patterns to engineer a remedy.

For instance: say, after journaling about your experience, you discover that every time you’ve driven DUI in Burbank, you just-previously experienced a deep frustration, such as a job loss, family fight, or even rejection at an audition. If so, you can recognize that certain negative events trigger you to take leave of your senses. So the next time you find yourself in a situation where you are frustrated or angry, you can become consciously aware of the trigger and take measures to disrupt your pattern of partying or taking drugs to make the pain go away.

Of course, you may also have urgent logistical or legal concerns. The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Burbank (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) can help. Attorney Michael Kraut is an experienced Burbank criminal defense attorney who specializes in DUI, and he can help you construct a rigorous, solidly structured defense.

November 30, 2011

Do Genetics Play a Role in Glendale DUI Arrests? Sad (But Intriguing) Case Out of PA Suggests Maybe So…

by Michael Kraut

When you read in the paper (or on the blogosphere) about people getting arrested for driving under the influence in Glendale, you usually see those stories isolated of context. This is unfortunate, since the only way to extract useable lessons (including lessons about “what not to do”) is to contextualize stories.

What does that mean? It means understanding their subtleties, their back stories, etc. For instance, consider the case of the distracted “duck boat” captain in Philadelphia, who was sentenced last week to over a year in jail for plowing his sightseeing boat into an obstacle, killing two Hungarian tourists aboard.

At first blush, the story suggests that the captain was essentially a reckless idiot. However, when you dig deeper into his backstory, things get more complicated. Turns out, he had been distracted because his son had been involved in an emergency eye surgery gone horribly wrong, and he was communicating with his wife about the latest minute-by-minute in the OR. Obviously, he should not have been derelict in his duty, and he was ultimately culpable for what happened. But when you consider the situation in context, it certainly becomes more nuanced.

Similarly, genetics and other seemingly inconsequential or subtle minutiae may matter. A Glendale DUI arrest, like a DUI arrest anywhere, needs to be taken in context.

For instance, consider last week’s arrest of 22-year-old Sean Owen O’Neill Jr., in West Goshen Pennsylvania. According to police reports, the 22-year-old was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of DUI, after he crashed his car into a home. Upon first looking at the story, you might be tempted to believe that Goshen’s incident was disconnected from anything in his past – maybe he was just a youth out for some reckless, careless fun.

However, one local paper describes his back story: “The arrest is the latest in the family’s string of legal problems. O’Neill served jail as a juvenile for a 2006 shooting at a party at his home. His sister, Roison O’Neill, is in prison for a fatal 2008 drunk driving accident. And their father, pub owner Sam O’Neill Sr., was recently deported to Ireland after serving time on a federal gun charge.”

As we were discussing above: Context, context, context.

What does this all mean, in a practical sense, for you, if you’ve been charged with a Glendale DUI?

It means that the way in which you and your Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney scrutinize what happened to you – before, during, and after your arrest – should have a profound impact on your capacity to fight back against the charges, avoid the worst penalties, and rebuild your life.

Not every Glendale DUI attorney has the track record, experience, and commitment to understand your arrest in the context in which it needs to be understood. Fortunately, you can connect today with Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123 ). As a former prosecutor and Harvard Law School educated lawyer, Mr. Kraut has the wherewithal and the connections to build your case.

November 28, 2011

Celebrity DUI in Long Beach Update: Griffin O’Neal Pleads Guilty to DUI and Drug Charges

by Michael Kraut

When you read about celebrities (or even relatives of celebrities) arrested for driving under the influence in Long Beach or elsewhere in the Southland, you have to feel a certain amount of sympathy and sadness. Celebrities, actors, politicians, well-healed CEOs and others who get into trouble with the Long Beach DUI laws inevitably face not only protracted legal troubles but also embarrassment and shame because, as important figure heads, they “should have known better.” So guilt and shame likely compound the already stressful situation.

Last week, Griffin O’Neal – son of actor Ryan O’Neal and daughter of the late great actress Farah Fawcett – pled guilty to felony charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and driving under the influence, according to a San Diego Union Tribune report. The 47-year-old had a strike on his record for a 1992 vehicular shooting in Los Angeles. He didn’t hit anyone with the bullets, but he did shoot up a car, apparently.

Griffin collided head first with a car in San Pasqual, CA last August. The Union Tribune reports that “toxicology test revealed that O’Neal had amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana and Xanax in his blood at the time of collision…(in addition) raw cocaine and loaded weapons were found in (his) vehicle.”

Interestingly enough, Griffin’s half brother, Redmond, had been stopped and arrested in Santa Monica the day of his crash, after police officers found heroin in Redmond’s car.

Once you’ve been arrested for a drug DUI in Long Beach, multiple alarm bells should probably go off. You don’t have to be Dr. Drew or a licensed psychotherapist to at least postulate that significant demons must be plaguing poor Mr. O’Neal. The question for anyone concerned with Long Beach DUI safety is: what should be done to treat people who are convicted for Long Beach drug DUI? And within the context of “what’s best for the defendant,” what can we do collectively to make our roads safer and more DUI driver proof?

These are obviously two huge questions – bigger than this blog post can tackle effectively. However, it’s at least helpful to raise them. The more we collectively think deeply about the news – not just scan it and gulp it down, but actually take the time to process its meaning and introspect on it – the better strategic thinking we will develop as a result.

On a more, specific, pragmatic note, if you need a Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney, consider talking to Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). Attorney Kraut is a well regarded and well connected attorney who has excellent knowledge of the system and a deep and practical understanding of what it takes to win a DUI defense case.

November 23, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI Consequences – Does No One Care? Even DUI Prosecutors are Getting Arrested…

by Michael Kraut

It’s no secret that driving under the influence in Beverly Hills or elsewhere in the Southland is a one-way ticket for disaster, for your license, your pocket book, your reputation, and potentially, your life and the lives of the people on the road.

If it’s such a “no brainer” to avoid driving DUI, than anyone with even a modicum of common sense should understand that violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) or 23152(b) is less than a stellar idea.

It sure seems like a no-brainer. But why, then, do so many people get into so much trouble behind the wheel? Perhaps more interestingly, why do professionals in the legal system — even people who prosecute DUI cases day in, day out, as part of their livelihood — make the same blunders that “amateurs” do?

We can save the psychological speculation for a later time. It’s probably more interesting to take a look at specific examples, such as last Wednesday’s arrest of Yakima County Prosecutor Jim Hagarty. According to a local Seattle news report at www.kapptv.com: “The State Patrol says Hagarty rear-ended another car on South First Street about 7:15 last night. Troopers said Hagarty showed signs of impairment, so they arrested him and took him to the county jail for a breathalyzer test. The State Patrol hasn’t released the results of that test, but Hagarty was cited for DUI.”

When a prosecuting attorney gets arrested for DUI in Beverly Hills, Yakima County, or anywhere else, it’s a fascinating and certainly sad development. It should ring alarm bells as well as underline the fact that defendants in Beverly Hills DUI cases are diverse. They can run the gamut from serial offenders to paragons of rectitude.

We can analyze Hagarty’s arrest on a number of levels. On the one hand, the cynical reader might think it indicates that our Beverly Hills’ DUI problem is totally out of control: even prosecutors are getting into the act. The cynic might say: “lawmakers need to pass more draconian anti-DUI laws, and we need to “turn the screws” harder on anyone guilty of DUI.”

On the other hand, you can embrace a more expansive view, and appreciate that the challenges and struggles that lead people to drive DUI are profound, subtle, and worthy of compassion.

Perhaps the “assumed choice” – that we have to choose between punishing Beverly Hills DUI drivers or living with dangerous roads – is a false one. Perhaps one way to make roads safer is to understand the complex factors that drive people to commit crimes like Beverly Hills DUI. If we can root out the fundamental causes of bad, dangerous, distracted driving, then we can come up with better remedies. Our problems may be easier to solve than we realize.

For help from a Beverly Hills DUI criminal defense lawyer, connect with the team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Attorney Michael Kraut is an experienced, well-regarded former prosecutor who has the tools, resources, and connections to help you come up with your best defense.

November 23, 2011

Getting Arrested for DUI in Pasadena: Would It Make You Delighted and Giggly Like a Schoolgirl?

by Michael Kraut

If you got arrested for driving under the influence in Pasadena or elsewhere in the Southland, what would your mug shot look like?

Would you be happy and smiling? Would you be giving “two thumbs up” to the photographer who snapped your Pasadena DUI mug shot?

Probably not.

How, then, can we explain the grinning mugshot of 24-year-old Michelle Watson, a driver busted for DUI last week in Prescott, AZ? During the arrest, she “shoved one police officer and kneed a second in the crotch during a profanity laced battle.”

According to reports from TheSmokingGun.com, Watson shouted to a police officer “I don’t have to walk f——- anywhere,” moments before she was tagged for DUI super extreme, after blowing a BAC more than three times the legal limit. She also faces charges of resisting arrest and aggravated assault.

Nevertheless, when the time came for Ms. Watson to take her mug shot at the local county jail, she “flashed a grin and two big thumbs up” for the cops.

Strange, isn’t it?

The first reaction that comes to mind is: she can’t REALLY be happy, can she?

After all, who would want to face Pasadena DUI penalties? These range from the mundane but annoying — loss of driver’s license, mandatory interlock ignition device in your vehicle, etc. — to scary and life-changing — potentially years in prison, if you committed an injury Pasadena DUI.

Of course, it could be that some Pasadena DUI defendants genuinely enjoy pushing the limits of the law and flouting the system. However, even a cursory analysis — and a dose of common sense — suggests that something’s going on underneath the surface here.

Lurking under Ms. Watson’s gleeful mug shot photo is almost certainly deep pain. Without access to her life story and inner monologue, one can only speculate about what that pain might be. However, even if we can’t ascertain her intentions, when you consider that deeper underlying factors might be involved, you can’t help but feel more sympathetic and compassionate.

For help planning your Pasadena DUI defense, connect with the team here at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899 ). Attorney Michael Kraut is an experienced, accomplished Pasadena criminal defense attorney. He is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor, who can help you plan a stiff defense.

November 21, 2011

Long Beach DUI Enforcement Gets a Boost with $300,000 Traffic Safety Grant

by Michael Kraut

Last Tuesday, Long Beach DUI checkpoints, patrols, and enforcement got a financial shot in the arm, when the LBPD received a California Office of Traffic Safety grant of $300,000, courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to a special report in the Long Beach Press Telegram, these funds will be used to sponsor “motorcycle safety patrols, DUI and drivers license checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, red light enforcement and speed enforcement.”

The grant will fuel additional Long Beach DUI checkpoints in a bid to deter DUI drivers from getting behind the wheel and violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) or 23152(b).

According to NHTSA figures, Long Beach DUI checkpoints (and checkpoints throughout the country) “have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.

The Long Beach DUI enforcement grant will pay 10 officers to identify drivers who are DUI or drug DUI in Long Beach. On top of that, the grant will fund four additional motorcycle safety enforcement operations.

On the one hand, these increased patrols and special enforcement operations could help keep Southern California residents safer and, ideally, deter people from even thinking about committing a crime like Long Beach DUI. All that said, the law of unintended consequences can rear its head in the strangest of places and times.

While the saturation patrols could protect the public, they could also sweep innocent drivers into the dragnet and create hassles for those innocents and their families.

Challenges abound for those who want to ensure fairness in Long Beach DUI cases. If you or someone you care about has recently been stopped for driving under the influence in Long Beach, a Long Beach criminal defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you understand your rights, resources, and responsibilities and make judicious and strategic decisions in a going forward.

Depending on the circumstance of what happened, you may be able to escape harsh punishments, such as jail time, license suspension, mandatory alcohol school, strict probation, annoying court costs and fees, and long-term indirect consequences, like trouble getting work and high insurance rates. Connect with Harvard Law School educated, former prosecutor Attorney Kraut now to understand your best Long Beach DUI defense options.

November 17, 2011

Fear of Long Beach DUI Penalties: Is It Enough to Make You Run in Leg Irons?

by Michael Kraut

Anyone who has sat and pondered the penalties for Long Beach DUI understands, on a visceral level, what fear feels like.

It’s not just the potential jail time that scares defendants. It’s all the other logistical, financial, and emotional headaches that come with the conviction. For instance, even if you are convicted for a minor misdemeanor Long Beach DUI — no property damage or injuries — you can face substantial mandatory alcohol school, court fines and fees, mandatory installation of an IID in your vehicle, license suspension, and, yes, possibly substantial jail time.

Those Long Beach DUI penalties are only the direct penalties. You still may have to face the indirect – the secondary, tertiary and quaternary “blow back” from your conviction – such as screwed up insurance rates, loss of support from friends, family members, and employers, self esteem problems, inconveniences both short term and chronic, and loss of self confidence.

Given all these disincentives, it’s not surprising that some people try their darndest to escape the Long Beach DUI process. Smart defendants might research and then retain a top-caliber Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). (Mr. Kraut is an experienced, highly reputed attorney with the connections, strategic insight, jury trial record, and compassion to help practically any Long Beach DUI defendant, no matter how complicated or scary the situation.)

On the other hand, fear can also motivate some, shall we say, less than intelligent behavior.

Consider a baffling story out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, of all places. A 29-year old man suspected in a DUI crash left a medical center in leg irons to escape custody. Here is a report from therepublic.com: “Authorities say (the 29-year-old Blaise) Melofchik was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after police said he crashed into a parked car on Tuesday. Officers took him to the hospital after he appeared to be under the influence of opioids.” The Times Tribune (a local paper) reported that Mr. Melofchik managed to walk away from the Medical Center and escape undetected.

Even after “patrol officers swarmed the area looking for (him),” the search was unsuccessful. Authorities blamed the “breakdown in communication” for Mr. Melofchik’s escape. But the deeper story here is the fear, possibly terror, that the suspect felt which motivated him to undertake the risky escape. If he does eventually get rounded up, one might naturally suspect that additional charges will be thrown at him.

Do not overcomplicate your defense. Begin today by making smarter choices and by connecting with a reputable Long Beach criminal defense attorney.