DUI Defenses

Published on: October 12, 2015

Law Enforcement DUIs – 13 Year Veteran Busted in Maryland; Other Cop Grins in Mug Shot

While many DUI arrests get brief mention in the media, a police officer charged with a DUI in Los Angeles can make national headlines. But most law enforcement officers in this uncomfortable position try to keep a low profile. They certainly wouldn’t top off their arrest with a booking photo that shows them with a big grin.

A DeSoto county constable should probably have displayed fewer teeth when police in Horn Lake, Mississippi, took his picture for their records. They stopped Christopher Plumlee, one of five elected constables in DeSoto County, for speeding and later charged him with DUI as well. Plumlee’s booking photo—which shows him with a wide, toothy grin and a slightly manic look in his eyes—has gone viral and drawn a great deal of criticism from county residents.

Photos also played a part in the arrest of Corey Britton, a corporal with the Howard County, Maryland, police department. On the evening of Wednesday, October 6, Britton collided with a car but allegedly took off instead of stopping at the accident scene. The other driver involved in the crash had a camera, however, and managed to snap photos of the damage to both cars and a picture of Britton’s license plate before he fled the scene. Maryland State Police used that information to help track Britton down.
When they finally caught up with Britton, they arrested him for failing to remain at the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, driving under the influence while transporting a minor, failure to control speed to avoid an accident and operating in a negligent manner.

Howard County police officers placed Britton, a 13-year veteran of the force, on administrative leave pending the results of the State Police investigation and their own internal investigation.

Locating a seasoned and qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer is a critical part of the process of reclaiming your life, your time and your peace of mind. Call ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for a free consultation right now.

Published on: October 7, 2015

How Many School Kids Are at Risk from DUI Bus Drivers?

by Michael Kraut

Many school districts across the country face a frustrating shortage of qualified bus drivers. Some people don’t want the job because they can’t imagine spending a few hours every day with noisy grade schoolers and/or middle or high schoolers with an attitude. Others have incidents on their driving records—like a DUI in Los Angeles—that make them ineligible for such positions.
One driver in Indianapolis, Indiana, and another in Orange Beach, Alabama, aren’t likely to be getting behind the wheel of a school bus again—not after their high-profile arrests for DUI.

The bus driver in Orange Beach allegedly contributed to his own downfall. Patrick Glossop, who worked for Baldwin County Schools, hit a sign while dropping off students on Ono Island. Glossop, who had four students left on the bus, told the Ono Island private security guard what happened. The security guard called police, who eventually charged Glossop with DUI and four counts of child endangerment (one for each student).

Glossop’s blood alcohol wasn’t at the legal limit for most DUI arrests, which is 0.08; his reportedly tested 0.07. But that number is far above the BAC limit for commercial drivers, which is 0.02.

Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, reports say that Janet Kay Shaw took out utility pole wires, causing a power outage, and drove on the edge of the road while picking up students for their morning trip to school. Several of the 21 kids on the bus called their parents, who alerted school authorities. They waited for Shaw when she pulled in with her load of students and took her off the bus right away.

Police arrived on the scene and found Shaw had a stash of drugs on the bus. They charged her with 21 counts of endangering a minor while operating while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance and leaving the scene of a crash.

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.

Published on: October 5, 2015

Daughter’s Plea Leads to Mom’s DUI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

What would you do if someone you cared for insisted on getting behind the wheel after a few too many drinks? Would you call the police and risk their arrest for a DUI in Los Angeles? Would you ignore the situation and simply hope that no one would get hurt?
A 28-year-old woman in Senoi, Georgia, faced that situation in September. In a move that the local police chief called “an act of courage,” the woman got in touch with police and asked for help.

According to the story on the Fox5 Atlanta website, Donna Dodgen was driving her daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter when the trio stopped at a local convenience store. The daughter went in to the store and asked the clerk to call police because her mother had been drinking and wasn’t in any condition to drive. (The daughter couldn’t drive herself, because she had previously been in a car accident in which she suffered a head injury.) She told the clerk she was worried about her daughter’s safety and her own. (It’s not clear why she and her daughter didn’t simply get out of the car and refuse to go any further.)

A police officer watched Dodgen leave the parking lot and sit at a green light for 30 seconds without moving. Before too long, he caught up with Dodgen and asked for her driver’s license. Dodgen allegedly kept trying to give him her credit card instead.
Then the officer gave Dodgen a sobriety test, which she reportedly failed. She also smelled of alcohol, according to police. They charged her with DUI, endangering a child under age 14, weaving on the roadway and driving under the minimum speed.

The daughter (who remained unidentified in the news story) told police that her mother had been driving erratically before the convenience store stop, unable to remain in the her lane and attracting the ire of drivers, who honked to signal their displeasure.

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.

Published on: September 30, 2015

3 Things Donald Trump’s Crazy Candidacy Teaches Us about Los Angeles DUI Prevention

by Michael Kraut

Even if your life has been turned upside down by a Los Angeles DUI arrest, you probably have been paying at least some attention to the political news. In this post, we’ll explore 3 lessons about DUI defense courtesy of the bizarre, eyeball grabbing GOP nomination bid of real estate tycoon, Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 23: Donald Trump listens at the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C Groundbreaking Ceremony at Old Post Office on July 23, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage)

The billionaire magnate’s controversial campaign has been fueled in part by Trump’s attention getting gambits, high profile virtual catfights with celebrities and candidates and general atmosphere of anger and distresses among voters. So what can this candidacy teach us about something so seemingly afield?

1. Don’t be afraid to fight back.

It’s easy to make the argument that Trump “fights back” way too hard and against targets who absolutely don’t deserve his opprobrium and that he does so in a highly offensive fashion. But as a general rule, many defendants in DUI cases act too passively in the face of charges. Just because a police officer says that you did such and such at a checkpoint, or just because a breathalyzer clocked you at over the California’s Vehicle Code Section 23152 limit of 0.08% BAC doesn’t mean defenses aren’t available and that you can’t challenge evidence or testimony.

2. Keep a flexible stance and change your strategy, if need be.

Say what you will about him – Trump has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to circumstances. He changed his policy platforms and persona to resonate with a certain specific slice of the GOP electorate. Likewise, your DUI defense does not have to be set in stone. It’s important for you and your attorney to evolve it based on the realities of new evidence, new testimony or new strategic options.

3. Listen to your audience.

Many pundits have accused Trump of bloviating and speaking his mind, irrespective of consequences. But astute observers have noticed that he pays close attention to his audience – the people he is trying to reach. Likewise, as a DUI defendant, you want to pay close attention to stakeholders in your case, including your attorney, the judge and your alcohol counselor.

To develop an effective, evidence-based defense to your Los Angeles DUI charges, call Harvard Law School educated attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free consultation.

Published on: September 28, 2015

How Much Does the Brutally Hot Fall Contribute to Los Angeles DUI Events?

by Michael Kraut

If you or someone you love recently got stopped by police and charged with Los Angeles DUI, you are likely feeling the heat for more than one reason. Temps across the Southland will continue to be balmy at least until mid-November. In fact, September and October in Los Angeles are, on average, just as hot as July and August. This raises a pertinent question: does our strange Southland climate impact DUI events and arrests and, if so, how? And what can be done to protect drivers and bring arrest rates down?

The truth is that we actually don’t have solid empirical data to answer these questions. Even if we could identify some correlation between DUI arrests and particular times of year or weather phenomena, we couldn’t necessarily draw conclusions about their meaning.

For a classic example, consider fall holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving – times of the year when DUI rates predictably spike and which many analysts blame on the holidays. Clearly, there is some reason why DUI arrests spike during these times, but why?

Possible hypotheses include:

• More people consume alcohol and drugs on holidays;
• More people are off work during the holidays, and thus they are more likely to be on the road. (As the total number of drivers on the road increases, the total number of DUI drivers also necessarily increases in proportion);
• Police patrol more for DUIs during these times of years, so arrest rates naturally go up because of the increased police presence;
• More people travel to unfamiliar places – as opposed to just driving to work and home – on holidays. Thus, more people will engage in awkward driving behaviors that lead to accidents or arrests;
• More people are distracted by the excitement of the holidays – and thus they’re more likely to engage in bad driving decisions that attract police attention.

The moral of the story is that it’s hard to pick out what causes what when looking at DUI prevention methods.

To create the “gold standard” science on DUI prevention, you’d have to randomize different groups and allow some groups to consume alcohol and drive while others to drive sober and engage in expensive and extensive rigorous trials that would put people at risk. Not possible, not even ethical.

Fortunately, the science of DUI prevention isn’t critical for you to know if you or someone you love has been charged with a Los Angeles DUI, and you need help with your defense.

Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers has been an effective Los Angeles DUI defense attorney for nearly two decades; he and his team can help you identify an appropriate strategy.

Published on: September 23, 2015

Do DUI Checkpoints Target Minorities?

by Michael Kraut

Police officers insist that it’s a matter of public safety when they’re setting up checkpoints for DUI in Los Angeles, New York, Miami or any other city. But do all motorists get treated the same when it comes to screening for excessive alcohol consumption?
A report in the Chicago Tribune says that the Chicago Police Department sets up DUI checkpoints almost exclusively in African American and Latino sections of the city. Police stopped motorists at 14 such sites between March and September 2015; nine were in police districts serving a majority black population, four in Latino areas and only one in a majority white district.

The paper cites examples of this disparity, noting the Grand Crossing District, which is mostly black, had the fewest alcohol-related accidents in the city while the predominantly white Jefferson Park District has the third highest number of such crashes. But authorities skipped Jefferson Park for a DUI checkpoint and scheduled one for Grand Crossing.

A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said that police use crash and citation data to choose the DUI checkpoint locations and that their goal is to safeguard the people of Chicago. But when the Tribune analyzed police data earlier this year it found no clear indication of correlation between a high number of DUI checkpoints and fewer alcohol-related crashes. But the data did show that during the last five years police set up 84 percent of 152 sobriety checkpoints in minority neighborhoods.
The chair of Chicago City Council’s Black Caucus has called for hearings on how police select the sobriety checkpoint locations.
Meanwhile, people who don’t want to go through any DUI checkpoints at all can play it safe by driving only in Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming. Those nine states have all banned DUI checkpoints.

What should you do if you or someone you love faces a serious DUI count? Will you go to jail? Will you lose your license? Call Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer Michael Kraut immediately to understand your options and craft a strategic response.

Published on: September 21, 2015

Unhappy Fate for Daughter of Anti-DUI Crusader

by Michael Kraut

Imagine how would you feel if you spent a career trying to get drivers suspected of DUI in Los Angeles off the road—only to have your own daughter fall victim to one?

The online media has been full of stories about Officer Dan Shragal, a 20-year veteran with the Indianapolis Metropolitan police. During his time on the force, Shragal has arrested close to 4,000 drivers suspected of DUI. It’s too bad he couldn’t have stopped at least one more.

Shragal’s daughter, 22-year-old Kirstin Burton, was driving down the road in Dayton, Ohio, with her 14-month-old son Orion on August 22nd.when a pickup truck driven by 32-year-old Walter Bradley slammed into her car. The impact pushed Burton’s car into a tree and killed her outright—emergency personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. It also critically injured her son, who was riding in the back seat of the car. Hospital personnel were uncertain at first if they were going to be able to save him because he had lost so much blood, but his prognosis is now good.

One eyewitness said that Bradley first hit the car of his (the witness’) wife, then hit a taxicab before Burton’s vehicle. Bradley tried to flee the scene, but witnesses chased him down and held him until police arrived. They reported that he was covered in blood.

In a sad irony, Officer Shragal received the call about the crash when he was taking a quick break from his job, which that evening involved working at a DUI checkpoint in Indianapolis.

Shragal said that his daughter’s death has made him more committed than ever to keeping DUI drivers off the road. Fox 59 News quoted him saying, “I don’t want to have another father bury his daughter or his son or children to lose a mom or a dad. It is destructive.”

Officer Shragal’s tragedy is profound, and it vividly illustrates the unimaginable costs of DUI. If you stand accused of DUI, stories like this must make you stop and take notice. Not only do you want to clear your name (if possible), but you also want to get to the root of why you got in trouble in the first place and do whatever it takes to make amends and become a much safer and more conscientious driver.

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.

Published on: September 14, 2015

Eight Kids And A DUI Driver

by Michael Kraut

Have you ever nervously watched a Los Angeles DUI driver weaving down the road at high speed? Then you also know the feeling of relief you get if you see that a police officer has pulled that driver over. You’re glad that they have yanked him or her off the road before someone ended up dead or in the hospital. If the vehicle carries passengers, you may wonder how the driver could risk endangering them—especially when those passengers are children.

Police in Madison County, Indiana, got a jolt when they encountered 26-year-old Jennifer Karkosky on the Saturday evening of Labor Day weekend. Karkosky was not only allegedly driving under the influence–she was also carrying eight children between the ages of three and 12 years old in her blue 2000 GMC Jimmy.

According to Fox 59 News, Karkosky said she and the children had been on their way home from a swimming pool, and she was attempting to turn her vehicle around on the road. Instead, she backed off the road, ending up with the vehicle at a 45 degree angle and its hood in the air. Police officers responding to the scene said Karkosky smelled like alcohol and said she admitted to having three beers earlier in the day. Her blood alcohol content measured at 0.16, double the legal limit.

The passengers in the car included Karkosky’s own two children, three children of friends and three she was trying to adopt. It’s not likely that she’ll get custody anytime soon, if the DUI charges stick. The charges against her include one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with previous convictions against her; eight counts of neglect of a dependent child; and one count of driving on a suspended driver’s license.

Authorities released Karkosky’s two kids and the friends’ children to family members. The Department of Child Services is caring for the remaining three.

Locating a seasoned and qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer is a critical part of the process of reclaiming your life, your time and your peace of mind. Call ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for a free consultation right now.

Published on: September 9, 2015

DUI Drivers Hit The Wall, The Fence, Horse Trailers—And A Train

by Michael Kraut

A collision with an inanimate object often brings to a halt the odyssey of a speeding and/or reckless driver suspected of a DUI in Los Angeles or in any other location.

Take the case of 65-year-old Huyesin Oflu of Frankford, Delaware. Before police caught up with him in the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 26th, he had managed to cross a median strip and two lanes of travel on DuPont Highway. Oflu then hit a fence, but that didn’t slow him down. He proceeded to ram two horse trailers, a fence (which he went through), a utility box and a road sign. Oflu’s vehicle ended up in the parking lot of a convenience store, where Delaware state troopers found him. They charged him with DUI, failure to remain in a single lane, failure to carry proof of insurance and littering.

Local police arrested Anna Stafford, 45, of Western Springs, Illinois, after they watched her hit a retaining wall while attempting to turn into a driveway. According to the La Grange Patch, the officers had responded to reports of a car swerving all over Wolf Road. When they caught up with Stafford they found an open bottle of alcohol in her car. Stafford’s subsequent arrest for DUI wasn’t a new experience for her; this incident marked the fourth time police picked her up for DUI.

While a moving train doesn’t exactly qualify as an inanimate object, the Union Pacific freight car that Brandy Jo Johnson slammed with her 2007 Honda minivan did bring her trip to an end. (The flashing railroad warning lights at the train track/road intersection had failed to stop her.) When they arrived at the accident scene, Franklin County police found Johnson’s minivan on its side down a nearby embankment; Johnson, almost miraculously, did not suffer serious injuries. She will face DUI charges, however.

Do you need help defending against a serious charge? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers immediately.

Published on: September 7, 2015

Officer Arresting One DUI Driver Gets Slammed By Another

by Michael Kraut

Under most circumstances, police officers might welcome the opportunity to nab two DUIs with one traffic stop—at a checkpoint for DUIs in Los Angeles, for example. But Denver Police Officer Daniel Swint, a member of a special DUI unit, would probably have been content with his initial DUI pickup. The second one landed him in the hospital with serious injuries.

According to Denver’s Channel 9 news, Officer Swint had pulled over 27-year-old Jennifer Beauregard on suspicion of DUI around 4 a.m. on a Friday morning. Beauregard halted in the left lane of I-25 so Officer Swint stopped his car there as well. After determining that Beauregard was probably DUI, Swint placed her in his cruiser. He was making a call on his microphone when a young woman came along in the lane and rammed him.

Swing’s patrol car slammed forward, banging into the car ahead of it and causing a four-car chain reaction. Despite his injuries, Swint was able to radio for help. After medics arrived on the scene they rushed Officer Swint to the hospital, where doctors treated him for a fractured jaw, spinal cord fracture and five broken ribs.

The police officers investigating the crash said there was no evidence that the woman had tried to swerve or break to avoid a crash. She said she had not been drinking, which officers found hard to believe since she was slurring her words and swaying as she stood. She initially refused to take a blood alcohol test but after talking to a lawyer agreed to cooperate. The officers charged her with vehicular assault; more charges may come after the BAC test results come in.

News reports later revealed that police in Tennessee had previously arrested the woman for DUI, but she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless endangerment.

Do you need help defending against a drug or DUI charge? Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is a trustworthy, highly qualified former prosecutor. Call a Los Angeles DUI attorney today to strategize for your defense seriously.