Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog

January 21, 2011

Burbank DUI News Eclipsed by Bizarre Bicycle Arrests in Baldwin Hills

Often, the most bizarre Los Angeles DUI news items come out of the valley (places like Burbank and Glendale). But last week, Baldwin Hills had the honor of being the site of a super-strange DUI bust in the Southland.

If you or a coworker or family member was arrested recently under suspicion of Los Angeles DUI, DUI in Pasadena, driving under the influence in Glendale, or Burbank DUI, take note at how seriously Southern California police took the dangerous behavior of a gaggle of Baldwin Hills bicyclists:

According to the AP, around 1:30 in the morning, California Highway Patrol got a call saying that a bicyclist had careered into the pavement and hurt himself. Officer Travis Ruiz came to the scene and found 15 bicyclists gathered around their fallen comrade. Many bikers lacked helmets and reflective clothing or gear. The bikers had alcohol on their breath. After taking field sobriety tests, five different bikers – including the one who got hurt – were found to have blood alcohol levels that constituted DUI. These five were arrested – even though they were driving bicycles and not motorcycles, cars or trucks.

As this blog has cataloged in the past – specifically with lawnmower DUIs – Long Beach DUI law is very strict. If a California Highway Patrol officer stops you for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will face stiff charges according to either California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) or 23152 (b). If convicted, you face a plethora of unpleasant penalties, from harsh probation to a full year driver license suspension to forced installation of a device in your car that won’t allow you to drive unless you blow a sober breath into it. And of course serious jail time always lurks as a possibility.

Your best line of defense is to connect immediately with a talented Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. One of the reasons why many Burbank DUI defendants choose the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers — (located at 2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505, Phone 818-563-9810) — is that Attorney Michael Kraut and his team deeply understand the concerns that DUI defendants have. With more than a decade-and-a-half experience in the system – including 14 years as a local prosecutor – Attorney Kraut can help answer those nagging questions that have been keeping you up since the night (or day) of your Burbank DUI arrest.

January 19, 2011

Long Beach DUI Madness: News Roundup Yields DUI Goat, a 12 Time DUI offender, and More Weirdness.

by Michael Kraut

Rarely do Southern California DUI stops play like something out of a bad 1980’s cop movie (or episode of Reno 911!). But last Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol pulled over a goat – yes, a goat – during a routine DUI stop in Riverside County. (Well, actually the goat wasn’t driving – the goat was a passenger in a car. But the story is nevertheless quite comical.)

Most defendants struggling with charges of DUI in Glendale, DUI in Los Angeles, Pasadena DUI, or Burbank DUI are fortunate, in that their cases are relatively straightforward – or at least not embarrassingly absurd enough to merit a “news of the weird” mention in the paper.

In any event, when the CHP officer approached the truck near Mayberry Avenue in the town of Hemet, a (human) passenger fled the vehicle and almost immediately “fell flat on his face.” The female goat was likely stolen, according to a local animal services representative. By Thursday, the goat was “comfortably” at a local animal shelter in Riverside.

Meanwhile, across the country in Miami, 52-year-old David Hodge was arrested last Thursday for his 12th – yes, 12th – DUI. He remains in jail, at least as of this post, on a bail of $100,000. Yikes.

Often, police officers won’t see something as obvious as a goat in your truck to alert their suspicions. They thus look for subtler symptoms of DUI in Long Beach, including:

• Inconsistent stories about where you have been and where you are going;
• Erratic driving (e.g. swerving out all over the road);
• You smell like alcohol or there are open containers of alcohol in your car;
• You don’t respond naturally to officer’s questions;
• Your eyes are bloodshot or watery;
• Your speech is slurred;
• You lack coordination;
• You have difficulty following officer instructions.

Not everyone who exhibits these Long Beach DUI symptoms should be classified as actually DUI – for instance, you might have bloodshot eyes because you haven’t slept in two days (still not a good idea to be driving). Conversely, you can be DUI and NOT exhibit any of these signs.

This simple logical observation suggests that suspect should consult with a proven and results-oriented Los Angeles criminal defense attorney to combat charges. Someone like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers — (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802, Phone 562-531-7454) — can provide superior service for defendants.

Attorney Kraut attended Harvard Law School, one of the top law schools in the country, and spent 14 years as a city prosecutor for L.A., during which time he sought (and got!) stiff penalties against DUI drivers. In short, Attorney Kraut understands how the system works from both sides, and this makes him a potent criminal defense lawyer – not only trusted by clients and feared by prosecutors but also respected by impartial arbitrators, such as media organizations like CNN and the New York Times, who call upon him for expert advice on breaking DUI news stories.

January 17, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI Insanity: Actor Gary Busey’s Bogus DUI Arrest in Malibu Sends Bloggers into a Froth.

by Michael Kraut

Last Thursday, actor Gary Busey got pulled over on the Pacific Coast Highway under suspicion of a Los Angeles DUI, after two “reporters” told police that Busey had been driving his Mercedes erratically on the PCH. When Busey got stopped, the couple, Mark Abel and Patrice Karst, began snapping up photos – perhaps to try to sell to the tabloids for a pretty penny.

As anyone who has been pulled over for Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, or Pasadena DUI can tell you, getting stopped by a police officer is both a harrowing and embarrassing ordeal. Although Mr. Busey himself was found to be “perfectly sober,” according to reports, both Karst and Abel got arrested at the scene for interfering with a DUI investigation. Furthermore, Karst got charged with illegal possession of marijuana.

Obstructing a police officer investigation is a criminal offence. It remains to be seen whether these two wannabe paparazzi will be prosecuted harshly. Gary Busey, meanwhile, must surely be traumatized by the incident. Several years ago, Busey was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident. He has since devoted much time to speaking to motor safety groups.

Let’s take a deeper look at how a typical Beverly Hills DUI investigation actually works.

#1. Officer sees a sign that you might be intoxicated and pulls you over.

Perhaps you drove erratically, swerved out of a lane, or operated a vehicle with a broken taillight.

#2. Field sobriety tests administered.

The officer will administer field sobriety tests – FSTs – to determine whether you are under the influence or not. The FSTs include balancing tests, mental tests, tests of physical co-ordination, and a general “sizing up” of your demeanor, behavior and attitude.

#3. Chemical test given.

Depending on circumstances – for instance, if the officer smells alcohol on your breath or if you fail an FST – you may be asked to take a PAS (“Preliminary Alcohol Screening”) test, which will give a guesstimate as to your BAC level (Blood Alcohol Concentration).

#4. Arrest.

Depending on how you do on your tests, the officer may determine that you are in fact under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants and place you under arrest.

A smart, experienced, and educated Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can provide much needed guidance if/when you or a loved one gets charged with a Beverly Hills DUI. LA criminal law is exceptionally complicated, and the penalties for conviction can include not just jail time but also license suspension, strict probation, steep fines, and many other unfortunate short and long-term consequences.

To protect yourself, connect with Attorney Michael Kraut immediately at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. His local Beverly Hills offices are located at: 9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Phone Number 310-550-6935.

Get solid help from a former Deputy District Attorney (city prosecutor) to forge your best defense today.

January 12, 2011

Long Beach DUI Defendants Pay Attention! Seattle Politico’s Reduced Sentence May Be Instructive

by Michael Kraut

When police arrest a driver for driving under the influence in Southern California, most people just assume that the driver must have failed a breathalyzer test or otherwise demonstrated a total lack of sobriety. But a hefty percentage of DUI cases involve surprisingly murky and grey situations. To wit, consider the case of Democratic representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, a Washington state senator arrested on I-5 in Seattle on July 2010 for DUI. Last week, she pled guilty to negligent driving charges coming off that arrest.

If you or a relative or a close friend faces scary charges of DUI in Glendale, DUI in Los Angeles, DUI in Burbank or Pasadena DUI, the trials and tribulations of representative Santos may be quite instructive to examine.

Let’s first look at the facts. According to both the Seattle Times and the Associated Press, Santos drifted out of her lane on I-5 in Seattle. An officer pulled her over. She admitted to having had three drinks. She did not do well on field sobriety tests. After having trouble with her FSTs, Santos took a breathalyzer test and blew a 0.77% — a little bit under the Southern California DUI limit (and Seattle limit) of 0.08%.

The officer who arrested Santos said that she had not blown hard enough into the machine. Santos’ attorney, William Kirk, retorted that “even though Ms. Santos blew under the legal limit, she was still arrested.”

As part of her plea deal, Santos must serve 20 hours of community service and pay approximately $15,000 in court fees and fines.

It’s very common for police officers to use breathalyzer tests on Long Beach DUI suspects. The breathalyzer is a simple machine with a better reputation in the general public than it has in the legal and judicial community. In fact, the sheer flimsyness of breathalyzer results may surprise you.

For instance, let’s say you blew a positive for DUI result. Your Los Angeles criminal defense attorney may be able to get the test results thrown out and the charges dropped or at least reduced significantly.

Curiously, neither the Seattle Times nor the AP article asked this key question: “what would have happened had Santos blown too hard into the machine?” Both studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that blowing too hard in a breathalyzer can yield a “false positive.” In other words, if you blow softly, you will get a wrong result one way; if you blow too hard, you will get a wrong result in the other way.

This is but one of the many serious flaws with breath testing. Good testing requires extremely delicate calibration. It demands near perfection from both the administrator and the administratee, which in practical terms almost never occurs.

Also note that breathalyzer tests don’t discriminate between men and women; don’t discriminate between diabetics and non-diabetics (diabetics produce chemicals on their breath that can change their BAC readings); and don’t discriminate between ethanol (the active compound in alcoholic drinks) and many other organic chemical compounds.

The long and short of it is that, if you have been charged with the serious crime of Los Angeles DUI, you need an attorney who understands the law and understands how to negotiate and deal with prosecutors. The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, located at 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 (phone 562-531-7454) can provide crucial and timely assistance with your defense. Attorney Michael Kraut is a former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney (high level prosecutor), and he uses his more than 14 years of experience as a former prosecutor – as well as the connections he formed — to provide his clients with truly top caliber help.

January 10, 2011

Major Beverly Hills DUI News: “My Name is Earl “Actress Arrested and Held on $15,000 Bail

by Michael Kraut

Last Wednesday evening, Jaime Pressly, a 33-year old actress best known for her role on the sitcom My Name Is Earl, got pulled over for a Los Angeles DUI in Santa Monica after police witnessed her committing a traffic violation. According to reports by TMZ.com, Pressly failed a field sobriety test and got taken to jail in Santa Monica. She was ultimately released on a $15,000 bail. Based on her high bail amount, some pundits speculated that — since Pressly had not been driving with minors and had not been involved an accident — she likely had an extremely high BAC level (over 0.15%). Police have not yet confirmed or denied this rumor.

If someone you care about has been similarly pulled over for Beverly Hills DUI (or DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Burbank, DUI in Los Angeles, or anywhere else in the Southland region) — likely, you feel some empathy with the actress, who appears clearly fatigued in her mug shot (see adjacent picture).

This is the first DUI charge Pressly has ever faced – and it marks a distinct downturn in her career from 2007, when she won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress. After the 2009 cancelation of My Name is Earl, Pressly appeared in commercials for Axe as well as Rules of Engagement on CBS (as a guest star).

Let’s learn a bit more about Beverly Hills DUI field sobriety tests — tests similar to the ones that Pressly allegedly failed. Almost inevitably, your first test will be something called the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. This is a pupil reaction examination. An officer will flash a light in your eyes to determine whether your pupils respond normally. DUI drivers will tend to have a lagging reaction.

Next up on your docket, you will face mental and physical coordination tests. These include the “famous” FSTs you’ve likely seen on movies and cop shows. They include balancing on one leg (the one leg stand test), walk the line (where you pace back and forth across a line) and of course the finger to the nose test — where you close your eyes, stick out your hands and attempt to touch your nose with the tips of your fingers. Police may also make you do things like count backwards or say the alphabet backwards.

Police will also be looking for symptoms of Beverly Hills DUI, such as odor of alcohol on your breath or general discombobulation or uncoordination. Police may also ask you to submit to a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test. The breathalyzer is a machine that uses chemical analytics to determine your so-called blood alcohol concentration (BAC). If this number is greater than 0.08%, you can be arrested and charged with DUI in Southern California.

Whether you have been arrested for the first time in your life — like Jaime Pressly was – or you are facing a second, third, or other multiple charge, you need and deserve superior legal representation. Connect immediately with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney to get a free consultation. Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is at your service. Attorney Kraut is an experienced, Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor who has tremendous connections with those in Los Angeles DUI community and who has an excellent track record and compassionate, systematic approach to client defense.

Attorney Kraut’s Beverly Hills offices are located at 9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90212 (phone number 310-550-6935).

January 7, 2011

Burbank DUI Analysts and Sports Fans Alike Flummoxed by Former Bucs QB’s Tampa Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Outlets that cover stories of sports stars busted for driving under the influence in Burbank (and elsewhere) have been spilling a lot of ink over the Sunday morning arrest of Shaun King, a former quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 33 year-old got pulled over on US 301; after King refused to take a blood alcohol test, he was arrested and held until the morning, when he made a bail of $500.

Those of you who’ve recently been arrested for Burbank DUI, driving under the influence in Pasadena, Glendale DUI, or Los Angeles DUI may have a visceral sense for the emotional challenges that the QB went through as he spent the night at jail. King played for both the Bucs and the Arizona Cardinals over 7 seasons and currently serves as an analyst for Bright House Sports Network and co-hosts a local Tampa Radio sports show. He actually appeared on his radio show the day after his DUI bust and issued thanks to supporters. He didn’t comment explicitly on his case and referred to it only as “a very unfortunate circumstance over the weekend.”

Shaun King’s reticence to discuss his charges publicly may seem “haughty” to fans who like to see celebrities air their dirty laundry as a kind of penance. But the practice of not saying too much during and after a DUI arrest is a savvy one. Providing too much unnecessary disclosure can actually hamper your ability to construct a top level defense.

Analysts should also note that King refused his blood alcohol test. In some senses, this is unsurprising. Burbank DUI breathalyzer tests are notoriously unreliable. The breathalyzer machine ostensibly uses sophisticated chemical methods to determine your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level and thus give police officers information about whether you’re DUI or not. A BAC reading of 0.08% or greater is enough to get you tagged with DUI, although you can still be arrested in certain circumstances even if your BAC is below this cut off.

Why is the breathalyzer a less than an ideal method of “sussing out” BAC levels? Here are seven quick reasons:

1. Breathalyzer tests do not discriminate between men and women.
2. Diabetics can blow “false positives” on breathalyzers because chemicals in their breath interfere with the sensors.
3. Calibration errors can lead to false positives.
4. If you blow extra deep into the machine (like the officer might ask you to), you can actually register a higher BAC than you really have.
5. Improper care of breathalyzer can cause it to malfunction.
6. Poor administration of the machine can also lead to false readings.
7. Other chemicals aside from alcohol can influence the breathalyzer.

To construct an appropriate Burbank DUI defense, connect immediately with an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can provide immediate assistance for Burbank DUI defendants at 818-563-9810. His offices are conveniently located at 2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505. Mr. Kraut is a former prosecutor who boasts a Harvard Law School education and a nearly perfect record at jury trials.

January 5, 2011

Pasadena DUI Madness: Two Stunning New Year’s DUI Stories Shock the Southland

by Michael Kraut

With the ringing in of the New Year, one might expect to hear stories about elevated numbers of Pasadena DUI arrests and extra checkpoints around the Southland. But two breaking news events suggest that 2011 has gotten off to an extra rocky start, as far as Southern California DUI news is concerned.

If you or a co-worker or friend got tripped up with a Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, or Burbank DUI around New Year’s, at least take solace that your relatively pedestrian arrest did not evolve into anything like the following two catastrophic and complicated events:

1. Flight of DUI Fancy
KTLA has reported that a Fontana man who fled a DUI checkpoint barricaded himself into random house on Sierra Avenue. Police at first suspected that the desperate man had taken hostages. A SWAT team was called in to resolve the situation. After a traumatic night, police finally fired tear gas into the home, driving the man outside, where he surrendered. Although the man was injured, no one else got hurt, fortunately.

2. Pedestrian Tragedy
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that a pedestrian got hit and killed by an allegedly DUI driver in La Mesa on Murray Drive, just one hour after New Year’s had rung in on the West Coast. 40-year-old Dana Lohner was arrested and taken into Las Colinas jail after she allegedly hit and killed 53-year-old Kelly McPherson.

Both of these stories deal with the complication of injuries and DUI. What happens if you hurt someone while you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol? How can you build a defense? What strategies should you employ to improve your odds of getting good and fair results?

To answers these questions, we need to delve into what the law says about Pasadena DUI with injury. California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) and 23152(b) deal with so-called “typical” DUI arrests. Basically, these are misdemeanor charges: although punishments can be serious, they are not serious as a felony charges.

When you hurt someone while driving DUI in Pasadena (or elsewhere in Los Angeles County), you can be charged under two different California Vehicle Code Sections – 23153(a) and/or 23153(b). If you are convicted, what ordinarily might be a misdemeanor will get elevated to a felony charge. You could thus face more jail time, stricter terms of probation, a lifetime loss of your right to vote in elections, problems getting credit and employment down the road, and many other hassles too numerous to summarize in this blog post.

Whether you’ve been slapped with a minor misdemeanor charge or a serious felony charge for hurting someone while driving under the influence, you need and deserve good legal representation. The Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers — located at 790, East Colorado Boulevard, 9th Floor, Pasadena, California 91101 (Phone 626-345-1899) — can provide critical services to aid in your defense. Attorney Michael Kraut attended Harvard Law School and served as a city prosecutor for over a dozen years before turning his attention and talents to criminal defense. A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney like Michael Kraut can provide you with the strategic assistance, and tactical know-how to respond most effectively to your legal trouble.

January 3, 2011

Beverly Hills DUI Breaking News: Nicole Richie’s Probation Cut Short by a Month

by Michael Kraut

Many stories involving Beverly Hills DUI deal with tragedy and heavy circumstances. But a recent tabloidesque story out of The Hills has riveted the nation’s attention for its sheer frivolity. Reality TV star Nicole Richie has received a reprieve: her probation for 2006 arrest has been cut short by a month, after her attorney demonstrated that she had attended her alcohol ed classes and met all the conditions of her sentence.

If, like Ms. Richie, you’ve recently been tagged with a charge of Glendale DUI, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Burbank or DUI in Los Angeles, you may find it interesting that 29-year-old managed to speed up her sentence, even though she got in trouble in June 2010 for missing her court ordered classes. Like her fellow trouble-making celebutantes, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Richie garnered much public opprobrium for her misbehavior. Her 2006 DUI arrest was particularly scary. She drove the wrong way down a freeway in LA while under the influence – a terrifically dangerous act that easily could have killed someone. Now that she has two kids, Richie appears to be deeply contrite about her past actions. She said: “there is absolutely no way I will do anything like that again… I am in a completely different place now I have… I have to really be someone I want my child to look up to.”

So what are some typical penalties for Beverly Hills DUI?

It’s hard to say specifically what prosecutors will throw at you unless more details are known.

• If you are a multiple offender – that is, if you get convicted for DUI more than once within 10 years, your penalties will go up quite significantly.
• If you hurt someone while DUI in Beverly Hills, what ordinarily might be a simple misdemeanor offense will be charged as a felony.
• The court will look at things like the severity of your DUI, whether you cooperated with police or not, whether you demonstrate contrition or not, and whether extenuating circumstances existed.
• Even for a first time DUI misdemeanor, you can get a minimum of 48 hours in jail, a one-year license suspension, a mandatory installation of an IID device in your vehicle and other punishments.
• At the more elevated end of the punishment spectrum, if you get convicted of DUI murder in Southern California, you could face 15 years to life behind bars.

To navigate your defense, turn to an expert and experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Local Beverly Hills lawyer Michael Kraut (9107 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Phone: 310-550-6935) can provide timely, superior service. As a former Deputy DA for the City of Los Angeles, Mr. Kraut understands Southern California DUI law from both a theoretical and experiential point of view. He has demonstrated tremendous success at trial and uses his many key relationships to deliver best result for his clients.

December 29, 2010

Long Beach DUI Roundup: Several Minor Celebrities Busted for DUI Right before Christmas

by Michael Kraut

Driving under the influence in Long Beach (or anywhere else in California, for that matter) can result in fatal injuries as well as manifold penalties to drivers caught and convicted. Unfortunately, despite massive multi-million dollar educational campaigns, DUI continues to be a serious problem throughout the southland and beyond.

Those of you out there who have recently been charged with driving under the influence in Pasadena, DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, or DUI in Los Angeles – or who have a relative who faces charges – likely want to understand celebrity DUI stories not just at a surface level but also at a deeper level. Namely, you want to know how the law gets applied to unclear or tricky DUI situations, and you want reliable resources to deal with your legal challenges.

Let’s look at three newsworthy celebrity DUI arrests that happened in the days leading up to Christmas Eve 2010:

#1. Aaron Douglas, University of Alabama football hero.

According to Maryville, Tennessee’s The Daily News, University of Alabama football protégé, Aaron Douglas, got stopped for driving erratically and blowing through a stop sign. After refusing a blood alcohol test and doing “extremely poorly” on field sobriety tests (FSTs), he got arrested and charged with DUI. Douglas’s hearing will be held on 12/29 in Blount County.

#2. Ignacio De La Fuente, Oakland City Councilman.

In Oakland, City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente got pulled over on the 880, an Oakland area freeway. De La Fuente had been pulled over just for speeding, but the CHP officer suspected him of DUI and subjected him to field sobriety tests, which he failed.

#3. Sergio Kindle, Baltimore Ravens player.

23-year-old Sergio Kindle, a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens, got slapped with a DUI charge after an officer saw him weaving around on Route 1. The former University of Texas phenom had to make a $10,000 bond, and his football future has been cast into further doubt by the incident. (The Ravens did recover from Kindle’s arrest; hours later, they beat the Cleveland Browns 20-10 to clinch a berth in the 2010 playoffs.)

In all of these three minor celebrity arrests, suspects faced “field sobriety tests” (also referred to as FSTs). In Long Beach, if you are pulled over under suspicion of driving under the influence, a police officer will administer a series of physical and mental examinations. These will include (but may not be limited to):

• Finger to the nose test
• Rhomberg test
• One leg stand test
• Walk the line test
• Horizontal gaze nystagmus test
• Count backwards or recite the alphabet backwards
• Other tests of your physical and mental acumen

Officers will also look for so-called “symptoms” of a Long Beach DUI – such as bloodshot eyes, odor of alcohol on your person, or your admission to having consumed intoxicants – to assemble enough probable cause to make an arrest.

Once you have been charged, your actions – including your choice of attorney – can have a profound influence on your future and financial well-being. A Long Beach criminal defense attorney, such as Mr. Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, can be instrumental in designing and executing a sound and sturdy rebuttal to the prosecutor’s charges.

As a Harvard Law School educated former LA prosecutor, Mr. Kraut has the wherewithal, resources, knowledge, and intuition for the system to deliver precisely the kind of defense you need.

December 27, 2010

Burbank DUI Breaking News: Driver who Killed Angels Pitchers Gets 51 Years to Life in Prison

by Michael Kraut

The most vivid examples of driving under the influence in Burbank often, unfortunately, fall under the media radar. But the April 9, 2009 Los Angeles DUI accident that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart has demonstrated media staying power, due to its deep emotional impact. Last week, Andrew Gallo, the 24-year-old who T-boned Adenhart and killed him and two passengers (Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart), got sentenced to 51 years in jail to life.

If you’ve been arrested for the crime of Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, or Glendale DUI, you’ve likely spend some time researching your options and mentally exploring “worst case scenarios” for your defense.

Andrew Gallo’s punishment – 51 years to life in prison – represents, in essence, a worst case scenario.

As this blog reported several months ago, when Gallo hit the Angels’ rookie pitcher, he:

• Had been on parole for a felony DUI conviction
• Had been speeding at 65 mph
• Had driven through a red light
• Had a BAC level that tested at almost three times the Southern California legal limit of 0.08%
Due in large part to his previous felony DUI, prosecutors managed to tag Gallo with DUI murder – also known as a Watson murder – the harshest possible DUI offense. Each of the three murder counts carried a punishment of 15 years to life, and Gallo got another six years of jail on top for his other drive crimes.

The California Supreme Court only recently allowed prosecutors to charge egregious Burbank DUI death cases as Watson murders. To win, prosecutors need to show that the defendant acted with “implied malice” – that is, he or she killed another person while DUI AND knew the risks but chose to ignore them.

Depending on the skill of your attorney, the evidence prosecutors have against you, and any exculpatory evidence or arguments you can muster, you may be able to fight back against a serious charge like vehicular homicide or DUI manslaughter.

One very critical distinction is the distinction between an injury DUI, which can be a felony, and a non-injury DUI, a misdemeanor. California Vehicle Code Sections 23153 (a) and 23153 (b) define injury DUI; whereas California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (a) and 23152 (b) define non-injury DUI with alcohol.

To develop a well-articulated, strategically focused response to your charges, connect with a qualified Burbank criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers.

Why choose Attorney Kraut? First of all, he is a former prosecutor, so he understands how the people who will be charging you think. Second, he is Harvard Law School educated. Third, he has a terrific record at jury trials. Fourth, he provides compassionate, systematic service to help reduce your stress and increase your odds of getting better results.