los angeles DUI lawyer

November 6, 2015

Was Your Los Angeles DUI Arrest a Freak Occurrence or a Symptom of a Deeper Problem?

Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion famously quipped about the town of Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”

This notion – that we all think that we are special – has pretty profound implications for your Los Angeles DUI defense.

Obviously, no two DUIs are exactly alike, and many factors might particularly distinguish your arrest from the pack. But rather than think that you are a unique defendant, it might help to take the opposite approach – to begin with the assumption that your case is standard.

September 7, 2015

DUI-Related Accidents Take Grisly Toll – Harrowing Statistics and Stories

by Michael Kraut

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Controls, almost 30 people the U.S. die every day due to crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers. That works out to one death every 51 minutes. If you narrow the statistics down to cases of DUI in Los Angeles and other areas of California, 29 percent of the state’s 867 fatal car crashes in 2013 involved a DUI driver.

Online news sources carry reports of deadly DUI accidents every day. They serve as a sad reminder of the real cost of people driving while intoxicated:

• A woman in Queens, New York, lost her entire family in a crash on August 23rd. As Lucie Bouaz-Ostane watched in horror, her husband, eight-year-old son and four-year-old daughter died when fire engulfed their vehicle. Bouaz-Ostane had freed herself but wasn’t able to rescue any of her family members. Oniel Sharpe, a 24-year-old man, had rear-ended their car and then sped away from the scene.

• In San Diego, Antony Schoenele, age 20, had drunk alcohol, smoked marijuana and consumed cocaine before getting behind the wheel. Guadalupe Amado and Lizette Garcia, both in their early 20s, were passengers. Schoenele ended up driving off Friars Road near the Pacific Highway overpass, struck a curb and went airborne. His vehicle hit a pillar and caught fire; then Schoenele climbed over one of his passengers to escape. Prosecutors charged him with gross vehicular manslaughter and held his arraignment hearing at his hospital bed in UC San Diego Medical Center.

• In Western Pennsylvania, firefighter Mathew Poston admitted to drinking four or five beers and at least one tequila shot before driving off with his colleague, 33-year-old Gary Moore. The two never made it to their destination, because Poston stuck a guard rale and a utility pole. Moore, an 18-year veteran of the Yukon Fire Department, died at the accident scene.

To respond effectively to your charges, call a qualified Los Angeles DUI lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.

August 31, 2015

Identifying the Trigger that Sparked the Decision That Landed You with a Los Angeles DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

As you ruminate about your recent Los Angeles DUI arrest, you might be tempted to “beat yourself up” or get angry with the police who stopped you. But in the interest of being constructive – you want to solve your current problems and prevent future ones as opposed to just wringing your hands – consider doing this following exercise.

First of all, identify the moment in time where you made the mistake that landed you in hot water.

Even if you believe that the police stopped you in error and that you “did nothing wrong,” replay the events of the day or evening. Aim to figure out what, if anything, you could have done better. For instance, maybe you made an impulsive decision to drive home instead of taking an Uber. Maybe you had a fourth glass of wine because everyone else was drinking, too. Try to get as specific as possible, and then write that moment down.

Next, try to figure out what triggered that mistake.

Perhaps, for instance, you wanted to drive your car instead of taking an Uber because you didn’t want to face the inconvenience of having to take a cab to work the next day. Perhaps you had the fourth glass of wine because you really wanted to fit in.

Finally, fix the root cause of your behavior, so you won’t get in trouble again.

For instance, if you didn’t call Uber because of the inconvenience; the next time you go out, plan ahead before you party.

To respond effectively to your charges, call a qualified Los Angeles DUI lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.

August 26, 2015

How to Break the News of Your Los Angeles DUI to Your Boss [5 Strategies]

by Michael Kraut

Perhaps even more scary than contemplating going to jail for your recent Los Angeles DUI charge or facing the prospect of walking two miles to and from Trader Joe’s to get your groceries every week for the next year is the specter of having to confess the DUI to your boss.

It’s no secret that the cost of living in Los Angeles is crazy high (although, fortunately, not as wild as the cost of living in cities like New York and San Francisco). Moral is: you need a solid income stream to support your family and larger ambitions.

So you don’t want to lose your job – particularly for a momentary lapse of judgment that you had outside of work. However, if your employer does learn about the DUI – in particular, learns about it in the wrong way – you could face seriou repercussions at work. Here are some tips for how to move forward.

1. Before you chat about your case with other people (including your boss as well as friends and family members), get insight from an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney.

Your attorney help you figure out how to break the news and get the ball rolling on an accurate and sound defense strategy.

2. Don’t beat around the bush.

Stick to the facts when you have the conversation – assuming your attorney says it’s wise to do so – and avoid getting into emotions or embellishment. Just say what happened, say what you are doing now, and be business-like about it.

3. Avoid letting your boss find out about the arrest from a co-worker or from the news, if possible.

4. Be empathetic to the boss’s response.

Depending on your relationship and what happened during your DUI, your boss may get extremely angry or sad or some other reaction. Avoid taking her reaction personally. Try to understand what’s going on in her head and heart. For instance, perhaps she is disappointed, because she’s just worried that you may lose your license and thus not be able to get to work on time. Perhaps this news raises trust issues with her. Reflect these concerns without admitting anything on your part. Be a mirror.

5. Learn appropriate lessons, and make a constructive plan going forward.

For instance, let’s say that your license suspension prevents you from going to work easily – or delays you an hour a day. So be it. Work with your employer and colleagues to develop a work around as you manage the license suspension.

Respond strategically to your arrest and charges by calling a former Senior Deputy D.A. and highly successful Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a complimentary consultation.

August 3, 2015

Tennessee’s Anti-DUI Campaign Called Sexist

by Michael Kraut

If trends for arrests for DUI in Los Angeles follow national averages, police pick up more men than women for the offense. (According to DrunkDrivingStats.org, the ratio for the arrests is four to one.) In addition, males between the ages of 21 and 34 are responsible for 32 percent of all DUI episodes.

Statistics gathered by the Tennessee Department of Security and Homeland Security showed similar trends in the Volunteer State, where police officers arrested three times as many men as women for DUI from 2010 to 2014.

So you can understand the reasoning of Tennessee officials who thought that anti-DUI advertisements should aim at catching the attention of young men. However, the way that the Governor’s Highway Safety Office approached the task of spreading the message brought widespread criticism.

The advertising campaign featured TV and radio ads, social media and table tents, coasters and fliers distributed to bars across Nashville. The ads offered messages like “After a few drinks, the girls look hotter and the music sounds better. Just remember: If your judgment is impaired, so is your driving.” Another read: “Buy a drink for a marginally good-lucking girl only to find out she’s chatty, clingy and your boss’s daughter. If this sounds like something you would do, your judgment is impaired.”

Needless to say, the campaign soon drew fire from women and from public officials who denounced it as sexist. The controversy grew even more heated when news sources found—under the Freedom of Information Act—that the state had spent $800,000 for advertising blitz. State officials quickly apologized and stopped the advertising.

Do you need assistance constructing an appropriate response to a DUI charge? Look to the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers’ Michael Kraut for insight and peace of mind. Mr. Kraut is an experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

June 29, 2015

Police Will Remember This Crazy DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

When people are arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, they may harbor the hope that the arresting officer will go easy on them. But it probably won’t help their case if some unpleasant incident—like getting sick all over the back of the police cruiser–occurs during the arrest.

Police in Seminole County, Florida, for example, will probably remember (and not in a good way) 29-year-old Metilia Petties, picked up for DUI in mid-June. Petties had apparently been involved in a fight earlier in the evening, and then she allegedly used nine (nine!) vodka-and Sprite mixed drinks to take the edge off her anger. She eventually left the bar and drove off in her Toyota sedan, but officers spotted her swerving into traffic going the opposite direction on Goldsboro Boulevard.

Petties then hit a sedan that was attempting to make a turn, which sent the driver of that car to the hospital because of neck and body injuries. Petties allegedly fled the scene, but cops eventually caught up and pulled her over. After determining that she was DUI, they put her in the back seat of a patrol car. Petties then threw up everything that she had consumed that evening.
Authorities did not take it easy on Petties, who allegedly had a blood alcohol content of .091. They charged her with DUI, hit-and-run crash with injury, operating a vehicle without a valid license and fleeing/eluding police.

Petties had one additional problem as well. The police found that she was wanted on a grand-theft charge in Seminole County.
Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer, Michael Kraut, of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is standing by to offer critical insight into your case and potential defense options. Call him and his team today to begin regaining control over your case and your life.

June 22, 2015

California’s DUI Laws: Not As Tough As Many

by Michael Kraut

People picked up for a DUI in Los Angeles may be luckier than they think. If they were arrested in other states, the penalties could be much higher, especially for repeat offenders.

The website WalletHub.com recently released the results of its study on the strictest and most lenient states for DUI punishment. California ranks in the bottom half for the harshness of its penalties, coming in at 31st.

The study looked at 15 key metrics, such as minimum jail time for first and subsequent offenses, minimum fines, the number of DUI offenses it takes before a defendant is charged with a felony and whether or not there are more severe penalties imposed if a defendant’s blood alcohol content is very high.

WalletHub gave Arizona the nod as being the strictest when it comes to DUI enforcement. The Grand Canyon State has a minimum sentence of 10 days in jail and requires a mandatory ignition interlock for a first offense. Second-time offenders must serve 90 days, and third-time offenders are looking at automatic felony charges. In South Dakota, which has the dubious distinction of being the most lax when it comes to DUI penalties, there’s no minimum sentence for any DUI offenses (first or subsequent), and no provision at all for an ignition interlock device.

In California, the minimum sentence for a first-time DUI offender is two days in jail and 10 days minimum for repeat offenders. Felony DUI charges aren’t mandatory until the fourth offense, and there’s no statewide law requiring a mandatory ignition interlock device for a DUI offense.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.

June 8, 2015

Victim Corrals DUI Driver

by Michael Kraut

If you were to see someone driving erratically down a street in your neighborhood, hitting other cars, what would you do? For most people, the instinct would be to get out of the way; they would want to avoid getting in the path of a DUI driver or in the path of anyone who appeared so out of control that they might face arrest for a DUI in Los Angeles.

But Californian Kevin Johnson is made of sterner stuff. When Johnson felt the safety of his neighbors was at risk, he took action to ensure that an alleged DUI driver couldn’t stay on the road.

The unidentified driver of a green SUV was causing damage in Bay Terraces in San Diego around 8:30 p.m. on the night of May 31st. According to TV news reports, the man was swerving all over the road and finally crashed into a fire hydrant and then several parked cars. But that didn’t faze him–he tried to keep going.

Johnson’s black Nissan Altima was one of the cars hit–and Johnson was in it. He decided enough was enough and blocked the road with his damaged vehicle so the suspect couldn’t flee.

Despite Johnson’s efforts to talk the driver out of his car, the man continued to try to leave the neighborhood, hitting Johnson’s Altima several more times on purpose. Eventually the DUI driver gave up. Johnson, who has three kids, said his main concern was for the safety of his neighbors.

When police arrived they found the driver had several liquor bottles, pot and even a machete in his vehicle. They arrested him on suspicion of DUI.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.

June 3, 2015

DUI Driver Causes Demolition Derby

by Michael Kraut

Even when no one is injured, drivers involved in crashes related to DUI in Los Angeles can impact the lives of others in a fairly significant way. When an out-of-control motorist crashes into a home or another car, for example, the owners of those homes and vehicles have to spend time (and sometimes their own money) to repair the damages before they can resume their daily activities.

A man in East Windsor, Connecticut, has made life a little more difficult for no less than seven people—owners of the vehicles that he hit while allegedly driving under the influence on one Tuesday in May.

According to FOX CT, Jordan DeSousa, age 61, hit seven cars in two separate locations before police found him sitting behind the wheel of his pickup truck. DeSousa first smashed two cars in parking lot for Geisler’s Plaza, prompting numerous emergency calls to police. Even as they were responding to that scene, however, officers received reports that a truck had taken out another five vehicles in the parking lot of the next door merchant, Maine Fish. DeSousa, who was identified by witnesses, apparently caused so much damage to four of the vehicles that tow trucks had to haul away them away.

It could have been much worse, however; three people standing close to their vehicles jumped out of the way in time to avoid being struck.

DeSousa, who reportedly was drinking because his wife had just announced she was leaving him, had a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit. He faces charges of DUI, evading responsibility, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
Do you or a family member need insight from a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney? Contact Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to set up your free consultation.

April 27, 2015

Drivers Can Run But They Can’t Get Away

by Michael Kraut

Motorists who cause an accident while driving under the influence may try to escape the consequences by fleeing the scene. But their respite from arrest is usually brief, and they’re picked up and charged with a Los Angeles DUI or some similar offense.
But it’s not always easy to make a clean getaway. Just ask William Yeckering of Owens, Illinois. He rammed into another vehicle while allegedly driving under the influence and tried to run away. But he had made the mistake of hitting a car owned by 6’ 2” high school football player Evan Williams.

The senior guard and defensive tackle put his on-field skills to use by chasing after Yeckering and bringing him to the ground. Williams held Yeckering down until police arrived at the scene.

Williams was dressed up for his impromptu chase—he and his date were leaving the prom when Yeckering hit their car.

The abrupt end to the chase wasn’t the only unpleasant surprise that Yeckering faced that evening. When police arrested him, they found he had a gun in his car, for which he did not have a permit. They also discovered that he had four previous DUI driving arrests—and that he was driving on a suspended license.

Whether or not alcohol is involved, leaving the scene of an accident in California can get a driver charged with a hit and run misdemeanor or felony. For a misdemeanor charge, involving damage to property, fines can run to $1,000 and drivers face six months in county jail. When a driver leaves the scene of an accident involving personal injury, the fines can go up to $10,000 and the driver could end up in state prison for as long as four years.

As a frequent contributor to respected media, like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Good Morning America, Los Angeles DUI attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands what it takes to build successful defenses in complex DUI cases. Contact him and his team today to schedule a consultation.