drug dui los angeles

June 12, 2018

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

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.

April 13, 2015

Driving High Could Get You a DUI

by Michael Kraut

California’s police officers don’t yet have to worry about issuing a DUI in Los Angeles for someone who is driving erratically after legally smoking marijuana in the state. (They’ve undoubtedly arrested many for that offense who have been smoking it illegally.)

But Colorado, which became in 2012 one of the first two states to legalize pot for recreational purposes (the other was Washington State), is apparently dealing with that problem. The Colorado Department of Transportation launched a public information campaign last year that reminds motorists that being impaired by any drugs–not just alcohol–could land you in jail on a charge of DUI. CDOT calls it drugged driving.

Although much of the campaign’s material focuses on marijuana impairment, CDOT officials also want to reinforce the message that driving with any kind of drugs that cause impairment–including prescription medicines–could lead to a DUI arrest. CDOT is using posters and radio and television public service announcements to get its message out to drivers.

In 2013, 627 drivers in Colorado were involved in 481 traffic accidents that resulted in a fatality. More than 21 percent of those drivers–103–were what CDOT calls drugged drivers. Thirty six of them tested positive for cannabis alone; another 10 tested positive for pot and some other drug.

Of course, California cops and the California Department of Transportation may want to be taking notes. If pro-legalization forces have their way, voters in the state will have another chance to vote on legalizing cannabis in 2016. The California electorate rejected legalization of pot in 2010, but many observers give it a much better chance of passage this time due to the more widespread acceptance of marijuana usage in the U.S. today.

How should you respond to your recent and disarming charges? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor) with nearly two decades of relevant legal experience.

June 2, 2014

Confused Woman Says “I’m So Sorry” After Getting Arrested Three Times for DUI… in One Week

by Michael Kraut

Forty-year-old Kimberly Micheloni had a very bad week earlier this month.

On May 13th, police pulled her over for driving under the influence with her 14-year-old daughter in the vehicle. In addition to being slapped with a DUI charge, Micheloni also faces a child abuse charge in connection with that stop.

Court records show that police arrested her again for DUI the very next day. And on May 20th, police caught her yet again for driving under the influence and proceed to hold her on a $225,000 bond. According to reports, Micheloni recently had to leave her job as an office manager for the Internal Revenue Service because of an illness.

She confided about her DUI arrests to a local TV news station, saying “I’m so sorry” for causing pain and potentially putting people’s lives in danger. She told reporters that her doctor had prescribed her a medication, which apparently made her unable to drive safely.

Normally, prescription medications like Vicodin come with warning labels urging patients to avoid driving. In Los Angeles, you can get arrested and charged per California Vehicle Code Section 23152 for a drug DUI. There are no breath tests for drug DUI; instead, police typically ask for a urine sample to test your blood for chemical residue of drugs. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to challenge the results of this urine test.

For instance, you can argue that:

•   The police didn’t follow proper procedure;
•   The test was poorly done or badly calibrated;
•   The test failed to show that you hit the DUI threshold;
•   Perhaps there was an error in your prescription. Maybe the pharmacist accidently gave you double the amount of medication that you should have been taking;
•   Maybe there was some weird interaction between your medication another med.

For help getting to the bottom of your Los Angeles DUI drug defense, call experienced former prosecutor Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. In addition to being a Harvard Law School educated attorney, Mr. Kraut retains excellent relationships with many people in the Los Angeles defense community, including judges, prosecutors, police officers, etc.
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