Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog

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

January 11, 2019

Starting 2019 with a Los Angeles DUI Arrest: What Happens Now?

by Michael Kraut

It’s not how you envisioned kicking off the New Year. Perhaps you’ve made resolutions; perhaps you’ve set goals. You were looking forward to the prospects of a new year with new possibilities. Certainly, kicking off 2019 with a Los Angeles DUI arrest was not on the agenda. Now you are facing potential charges that could spoil your momentum and derail all your plans for the year. What do you do now, and what steps can you take to get your year back on track?

First, regardless of the specific circumstances of your case, realize that you’re not the only person in this situation. The holiday season of 2018 in general, and New Year’s Eve in particular, has been record-setting for DUI arrests in California. Consider the following:

• Over the Christmas weekend 2018, California law enforcement officers made more than 1100 DUI arrests. That’s nearly 200 more than the 917 arrests made during the same time in 2017.

December 19, 2018

A Look at DUI in Pop Culture (Part 2)

by Michael Kraut

Continuing our examination of DUI as reflected in popular culture and media, let’s shift our focus from music and television to the film industry.

DUI in Film

While the depiction of DUI on TV drastically changed in the 1980s, and while DUI in popular music has been both consistent and prolific, the film industry perhaps falls somewhere in the middle of these extremes. While the movies certainly don’t shy away from this topic, neither does the industry as a whole appear to carry any particular agenda—which makes an examination of this medium a bit more complex. Perhaps the best approach is to look at a few specific examples of DUI in films—both classic and modern—to see what we can learn.

November 26, 2018

3 Essential DUI News Stories That Provide Needed Perspective

by Michael Kraut

Great journalism has the ability not just to report the facts, but also to raise important questions and provoke discussion. The issues surrounding DUI enforcement and prevention are indeed complex, and many news stories over the past ten years have helped to propel these much-needed conversations forward. Let’s continue our exploration.

1. Reflecting on the Deadliest DUI Accident in History

On May 14, 1988, a DUI driver in a pickup truck slammed head-on into a school bus in Carrollton, KY, killing 27 people and injuring 34 others. Today, that collision still holds the record as the deadliest DUI accident in history. It was a triggering event that resulted in sweeping changes to the laws, including stricter safety measures for buses and a lowering of the legal BAC limit nationwide. But as ABC News reports, thirty years later, some are still questioning whether enough has been done to turn the tide of DUI.

October 15, 2018

Everything You Wanted to Know about Scootering and DUI

by Michael Kraut

Suppose you’re at a bar with some friends and you have a few drinks. You don’t feel exceptionally impaired, but you realize you’re probably not safe to drive home. You notice a scooter rental nearby and decide that might be a cheaper choice than springing for a cab or Uber. In fact, you grab one more drink with the money you saved. You’ve made a good choice, right? You’re being responsible.

Not so fast.

In late September, as USA Today reports, Los Angeles prosecutors secured their first DUI conviction of a man riding an electric scooter while under the influence—no doubt the first of many.

September 15, 2018

DUI in Los Angeles: Myths vs. Reality

by Michael Kraut

As much as we are bombarded with media messages and warnings to avoid drinking and driving—and the consequences if we ignore those warnings—it’s remarkable how much the public doesn’t understand about DUI, especially here in Los Angeles. In particular, people who get pulled over on suspicion of DUI frequently have inaccurate preconceived ideas about what officers can and cannot do, what might cause an arrest, whether or not the charges will stick, and so on.

To be clear, you should never get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking, and nothing we’re about to say should be construed as suggesting otherwise. However, people frequently misjudge their own thresholds, and even people who haven’t been drinking sometimes find themselves under roadside investigation for DUI. Let’s dispel a few commonly held myths about DUI in Los Angeles (and the rest of California, for that matter) and replace them with the facts.

MYTH: Only people who have been drinking are arrested for DUI.

August 18, 2018

What Happens to Parents Who Drive DUI with Their Kids in the Car?

by Michael Kraut

Here in California, a single DUI can disrupt your life significantly. Even if you’ve been arrested for your first DUI, it can cost you fines, jail time and license suspension if you are convicted.

However, if you were arrested for DUI with children in the car, your world is about to get a whole lot more complicated. If you drive under the influence, you are considered a threat to public safety, let alone yourself. But if your kids are in the car when you do it, now you’re looking at possible child endangerment—a whole other issue that can add mandatory jail time and more to your sentence.

The repercussions of driving DUI with kids in the car extend well beyond the arrest itself. Let’s look at the numerous possible consequences of doing so.

July 23, 2018

Celebrity DUI Roundup—Summer 2018 Edition

by Michael Kraut

Getting arrested for DUI can be highly disruptive and embarrassing in itself—but imagine if your shortcomings made national headlines. By definition, famous people rely on publicity to keep them…famous. However, occasionally they get media attention for less than flattering reasons. Even so, we can always learn something from their stories, so let’s take a look at a few high-profile DUI cases from the past few months.

Vince Vaughn

Around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 10, Dodgeball actor Vince Vaughn, 48, was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Manhattan Beach outside Los Angeles, WTOP reports. He allegedly failed an on-site sobriety test but opted to take a blood test rather than submit to a breathalyzer. Vaughn was arrested on the scene on suspicion of DUI, as captured by police body cameras. An unnamed passenger in the vehicle was also arrested for public intoxication, and both were cited for delaying an investigation—which under California law is listed in the same section as resisting or obstructing arrest.

June 26, 2018

California’s Marijuana Law: What’s Legal, What’s Not

by Michael Kraut

In January of this year, California became the ninth state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. (It has been legal for medicinal use since 1996.) However, the Adult Use Marijuana Act (aka Proposition 64) has actually done little to simplify the rules surrounding when and how pot may be bought, sold and used; if anything, the rules are now more complicated. In fact, as Time magazine points out, Prop 64 is so packed with details that it’s over 60 pages long!

Obviously, those who indulge should be aware of the ins and outs of the new law to avoid inadvertently doing something that could get them ticketed or arrested. The following overview can serve as a guide to help you stay within the bounds of the law so if you do use pot, you can do so legally, safely and without endangering others in the process. Let’s explore what is now legal under California’s marijuana laws, and what is not.

It is LEGAL to use pot, but only if you’re 21 or older.

June 12, 2018

Sentencing for DUI Accident that Killed Disney Employee: What We Can All Learn

by Michael Kraut

On September 7, 2017, Stergios Economos was driving in Burbank, CA when he struck Michelle Ann Landes, age 64, who was walking to her job at Walt Disney Studios, striking three other vehicles and injuring at least one other person in the process. Landes was rushed to the hospital but soon died from her injuries. Last month, as KTLA reports, Economos was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of a drug.

While tragic stories like these are far too common, this incident in particular holds several important lessons because of the details surrounding it. Let’s unpack this story and see what we can learn.

Alcohol Is Not the Only Substance that Can Impair You.