Los Angeles DUI

Published on: July 13, 2015

DUIs Spark Arrests Over Holiday

Police officers patrolling Los Angeles County highways found little to celebrate over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. From Friday, July 3rd at 6 p.m. through midnight July 6th, they made 229 arrests for DUI in Los Angeles County and dealt with the aftermath of accidents that killed two people. During that same time period, the California Highway Patrol reported that its officers made 930 DUI arrests throughout the state, while twenty-six people were killed in vehicle collisions.

One deadly accident not included in this total occurred in the early morning hours of July 3rd in Lompoc. TV Station KSBY reported that 29-year-old Manuel Santos let his Toyota Corolla drift off the road, where it hit a culvert, a boulder and then a power pole. But that didn’t stop the car. It spun out of control and went back onto the highway where a Toyota Avalon smashed into it. The two people in that car went to the hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash killed 22-year-old Jesenia Liborio, a passenger in Santos’ car, and injured an eight-year-old girl sitting in the back seat without a seatbelt. Santos suffered major injuries and went to the hospital. Police later determined Santos had been driving under the influence, and charged him with felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter charges.

In another incident on July 4th, Mary Jane Plante drover her Toyota Tundra truck across the center divider on Highway 74 near Pinyon Pines. She struck a 1999 Nissan Maxima, injuring the 64-year-old driver so badly that he later died. Plante ran from her vehicle and spent the night on the run. It didn’t do her any good. Police picked her up the next day, arresting her on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, hit and run and gross vehicular manslaughter.

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: July 8, 2015

Switching Seats to Fool Cops into Thinking You Didn’t Drive DUI: Unsurprisingly, It Doesn’t Work!

by Michael Kraut

As this blog has documented over the years, people try a lot of crazy approaches to avoid being charged with a Los Angeles DUI. Some cry. Others flee the scene. Still others try to talk their way out of the charges.

One ploy that doesn’t work too well, however, is switching seats just before the police officer comes up to the vehicle. Just ask Jose Ruiz, age 29, of Providence, Rhode Island. When the police pulled him over, he quickly exchanged places with his passenger, maybe hoping the officer wouldn’t notice the swap. (He did.)

According to a local newspaper, the Warwick Post, when police spotted Ruiz initially, he was swerving into other lanes, and he just barely missed hitting a guard rail. When police pulled him over, they called his bluff and gave him a field sobriety test. He apparently didn’t do too well.

But trying to pretend he wasn’t driving wasn’t Ruiz’s only offense. He had been driving on a suspended license; his vehicle’s windows were too heavily tinted; and there were two bottles of Hennessy (cognac) in the car, one open and one closed. (Ruiz reportedly threw them in the back seat before he got out of the car; that worked about as well in terms of keeping him out of trouble as did changing places with his passenger.)

The final difficulty? Although the car was registered to Ruiz, the plates belong to a rental car company. Uh oh.

According to the Warwick Post, the police threw the book at Ruiz, charging him with misuse of plates, operating a motor vehicle with an open alcohol container, failing to use turn signals, roadway violations, and refusal to submit to a chemical test.

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

Published on: July 6, 2015

Drug DUI Defendants Take Note: Pot Can Linger in Your Body for Days

by Michael Kraut

Police use relatively simple tests to determine whether or not to charge someone with a DUI in Los Angeles. If a motorist’s blood alcohol content measures higher than .08 percent on a breathalyzer or blood test, that person will likely soon be visiting a local detention center.

But police face more challenging obstacles when it comes to determining whether someone has been driving under the influence of marijuana. According to a recent Fox News report, the way that humans metabolize pot makes it difficult to determine when and how driving impairment occurs. Unlike alcohol, which disappears from the bloodstream after a certain number of hours, the active ingredient in pot—tetrahydrocannabinol or THC—can linger in the bloodstream for days.

Colorado and the State of Washington have dealt with this problem by setting a level of five nanograms of THC per liter of whole blood as the threshold for driving under the influence. (Illinois may be increasing that measurement considerably; the state legislature has passed a bill raising the level of impairment to 15 nanograms.) So far, the testing process has involved measuring blood, urine or saliva samples, but one company, Cabbabix Technologies, may be changing the game. Cabbabix has created a prototype of a pot breathalyzer, according to Fox.

Law enforcement must also reconcile with the fact that no one really understands how pot affects driving. The Fox News report said researchers identified conflicting results in studies on the subject; some studies suggest that marijuana use has little to no impact on how likely someone is to get into a crash. Others suggest that drivers who use pot run a higher likelihood of getting into accidents.

Legislators in each state will need to discuss this question in more depth, as more and more states legalize the use of marijuana.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the number of motorists driving under the influence of pot has risen 50 percent since 2007.

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.

Published on: June 29, 2015

Police and the DUI Driver and the City

by Michael Kraut

Police officers are constantly on the lookout for drivers whom they can charge with a DUI in Los Angeles. So the last thing that impaired motorists usually want to do is to call attention to themselves and their driving. But in two recent cases, that’s just what happened—once accidentally and once deliberately.

Pedro S. Garcia of White Plains, New York, allegedly gained the notice two officers by almost hitting them. They had been directing traffic at the scene of a medical emergency when they saw a driver accelerate towards them, stopping just before he reached them.

When the cops investigated, they found that Garcia smelled like alcohol, had watery eyes and was speaking slowly and deliberately. When they gave him a field sobriety test, he flunked. The officers charged Garcia with DUI and hauled him off to jail, but he was soon released on a $220 bond.

In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, however, the police didn’t have to go searching for the intoxicated driver; he came right to them and literally asked to be arrested. Christopher Stewart, age 26, drove to the police station in this small town on June 16th and almost hit a parked police cruiser. He then got out of his vehicle and told officers that he was ready to go to jail for DUI.

Stewart told police that he drank a pint of alcohol before coming to visit them, and he then tried to drink a bottle (closed) of fuel injector cleaning fluid. So the cops obliged the young man by charging him as he requested. They didn’t say whether there was a particular motive for his unusual behavior.

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.

Published on: June 10, 2015

Colorado Gets Tough on DUI Drivers

by Michael Kraut

California has some pretty tough consequences if you’re convicted of DUI in Los Angeles; if you’re found guilty of the offense a fourth time within ten years you can face a possible felony as well as up to five years in jail.

Until recently, Colorado had some of the laxest DUI laws in the country. The state lacked a felony provision for multiple DUI arrests; someone arrested for a fourth, fifth or six DUI would only face misdemeanor charges and a relatively short jail term.
But that’s no longer the case, thanks to continuing advocacy by family and friends of people killed and injured by DUI drivers. After years of legislative battles, the Colorado state legislature just passed a bill making a fourth DUI a felony. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed the bill into law on June 1. To qualify as felony offenses, the DUI convictions don’t have to be in Colorado. If a judge or jury finds a Colorado licensed driver guilty of DUI in another state, that counts towards their total of DUI convictions.

Fox 31 Denver reports that the new law doesn’t require judges to treat the fourth offense as a felony, but it does give them the power to do so. The judges are somewhat limited by the new law, however; they can apply the felony penalty only if it appears unlikely that treatment for alcohol problems will help the convicted driver.

The bill will become law in two months, unless Colorado citizens unhappy with its provisions collect the more than 86,000 signatures required to put the issue on the ballot for state voters. They have until August 5th to file those petitions.

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 experience Los Angeles DUI attorney with many relevant connections in the local legal community.

Published on: March 9, 2015

Assemblyman and Young Woman Face Multiple Charges Associated With DUI

by Michael Kraut

The Los Angeles DUI community is abuzz about two recent, highly publicized DUI cases involving additional allegations of manslaughter and illegal weapons possession.

Officers arrested Nevada Legislature assemblyman, Richard Carillo, on Feb. 27. They found Carillo parked in his car just north of the state capitol. The arrest report indicated that officers found Carillo asleep with his hands and feet in driving position. The car was still running.

The officers also allegedly found a loaded .22-caliber weapon in his possession at the time. The assemblyman did have a concealed weapons permit; however, under state law, no one can carry a weapon under the influence. The charges against him include a misdemeanor DUI and weapon’s possession charge for carrying while intoxicated. Carillo has not made a public statement about the arrest yet.

Meanwhile, in Florida, 24-year-old Shameka Jones crashed her SUV. According to reports, her vehicle rocketed into the air after she swerved onto the shoulder. The SUV rolled multiple times and hit nearby trees. Jones’ SUV contained 12 people total, 3 adults and 9 children, ranging in age from 6 months to 10 years. A 2-year-old died, and all other passengers suffered injuries from the accident. Jones faces charges for DUI manslaughter.

These two cases highlight the complexities of DUI law. Contributing factors often lead to additional charges that are difficult to fight. The number of people involved in Jones’ accident will obviously profoundly impact the legal outcome and possible sentencing. Carillo’s weapons charge could complicate his DUI defense and challenge his ability to protect his job as a legislator.

DUIs affect more than a person’s criminal record. They also impact personal and professional lives. Court cases for DUI often take several months, even years, to complete.

Anyone facing a compounded DUI charge would be wise to consult with a qualified, experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney, who can help you understand the relevant laws as well as your rights and determine the best course of action.

Designing and executing an effective defense against DUI charges (even simple ones) is not intuitive. Fortunately, you can trust the seasoned, highly successful Michael Kraut. Call a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles with nearly two decades of experience.

Published on: February 10, 2015

DUI Victims and Survivors Successfully Advance Colorado Bill

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles DUI attorneys are monitoring the progress of a Colorado bill proposing that three DUI convictions should be a felony instead of a misdemeanor. The testimony of victims and survivors proved powerful in the DUI legislation. The Colorado House unanimously approved the bill on Feb. 5, and now the House Finance Committee will review it.

A person arrested for and convicted of an aggravated DUI for the third time could face up to 7 years in prison under the new legislation. Aggravated DUI in Colorado may include incidents causing injury or death, Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) greater than 0.15%, or a hit and run.

Testimony of individuals closely related to DUI victims and survivors impacted the bill’s approval. Many statements indicated that outcomes might be different if the proposed laws existed at the time of the incidents.

For example, 33 years ago, an intoxicated driver killed Gail Oleson’s husband. Prior to the incident, the state previously convicted the driver four times for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Ms. Oleson noted that her husband might be alive if drivers like that were in prison instead of on the road.

This is the second time Colorado legislators have attempted to make repeat offenses a felony. If approved, the projected cost of the new law is $4-13.5 million per year. Previously, the monetary estimate prevented a similar bill from passing. Opponents believe that other practices are more effective at preventing repeat DUI offenses. They argue that rehabilitation and stricter DUI checkpoints/patrols would be cheaper than the new bill.

A felony charge, rather than a misdemeanor, may prove to be an effective deterrent, argue advocates, because the penalties and impact on a criminal record would be more severe. Many states find that alternative methods effectively reduce DUI rates, however. Ridesharing programs and pocket breathalyzers also help drinkers make informed decisions about driving.

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: January 30, 2015

New Jersey Man Arrested for DUI on New Year’s Claims “Everyone Drives Drunk”

by Michael Kraut

When the police recently stopped you at a checkpoint or pulled you over on the freeway, you probably didn’t need a Los Angeles DUI attorney on hand to tell you to avoid saying obviously incriminating or stupid comments, such as “I only had 8 beers” or “my buddy left me at the bar — what was I supposed to do, walk home?”

Not everyone shares your restraint and wisdom.

To wit, on January 1st, police pulled over New Jersey resident Daniel Pratts for nearly running into a police vehicle. When the cops approached the car, they allegedly smelled alcohol on Pratts’ breath. They say that he failed field sobriety tests, prompting his arrest. Pratts refused the breathalyzer and then reportedly made an astonishing statement to an officer: “It’s New Year’s Eve, everyone drives drunk.”

Okay, that’s not smart. But what IS the right strategy? What should you do if you’re pulled over, and you believe you might be intoxicated or buzzed?

Even though it’s hard, try to stay calm. Excessive anxiety about a possible DUI could just incite unhelpful behaviors or lead to dumb comments that can make the situation worse. Avoid exhibiting anger toward the officer. Stay silent as much as possible.

Refusing a breathalyzer may provide enough probable cause for an arrest, and that information can be used against you in court. In many states, including California, refusing a chemical test can likely result in license suspension. It’s important to note that you can refuse a breathalyzer without jeopardizing your license if you inform the officer that you will take a blood or other test at the station, which will be more reliable.

When you are released, the first thing you should do is contact a qualified attorney, who could potentially reduce the charges to reckless driving or fight for exoneration of all charges.

First-offense DUI cases that don’t involve recklessness or result in injuries are fairly common, although each case has its own important subtleties. Call a Los Angeles DUI lawyer with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free consultation about your challenges.

Published on: January 26, 2015

Los Angeles DUI Community Ponders Oklahoma’s New Anti-Alcohol Purchasing Restrictions

by Michael Kraut

This Los Angeles DUI blog constantly scours the national landscape (or at least attempts to do so) to identify important legal trends in the field. State lawmakers – often out of desperation – sometimes decide to “get tough” on DUI by arbitrarily imposing harsher sentencing.

The general efficacy of this tactic is dubious, as this blog has argued in the past. If nasty anti-DUI punishments are failing as deterrents, why would slightly nastier ones suddenly succeed as deterrents. As Will Rogers once quipped, if you’re in a hole, stop digging.

In any event, let’s turn to Oklahoma, where Patrick Anderson, a local Republican Senator, just wrote and started promoting Bill 30, a measure that would ban DUI offenders from purchasing alcohol for a specified amount of time. The bill parallels a similar law in Alaska.

If Bill 30 passes, the legislation would mandate that an offender’s driver’s license be altered to include a stamp that restricts all alcohol purchases. If that person buys alcohol while banned, he or she will be sent back to court to face probation violation charges. Furthermore, the owner or managers of the establishment that sells alcohol to a restricted license holder could face felony charges.

Other laws that address issues like repeat DUI offenses and levels of intoxication would have to be revamped to accommodate the Bill 30 related changes. Further legislation modifications might be needed to address issues concerning:

•   Repeat offenders
•   Timeframe for the purchasing restriction
•   Exceptions regarding religious services
•   Etc.

Opponents of the law maintain that Bill 30 is a form of public shaming. They worry that the myriad of changes to current legislation would create confusion and sew public distrust. Opponents also complain that the law would put strain on bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, because every patron would have to be carded, including those clearly over the legal drinking age. Advocates argue that this legal tactic could serious deter potential repeat DUI offenders.

Debate over the new bill is set to open in February.

Currently, California DUI laws impose no such restrictions. The Golden State does have strict DUI laws that permit harsh sentencing. To protect yourself and your rights, contact a trusted, respected Los Angeles DUI defense attorney with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to explore your possible defenses and responses.

Published on: January 21, 2015

Kentucky State Senator Begs Press for Special Treatment After DUI

by Michael Kraut

As Los Angeles DUI attorneys can attest, some CEOs, politicians and celebrities really do feel entitled to special treatment in the legal system, even though the law strives to treat everyone equally. Long-time Kentucky Congressman Brandon Smith stands accused by many in the media of asking for this kind of princely treatment in light of a DUI incident a few weeks ago.

On January 6th, the senator allegedly had been driving 20 MPH above the speed limit. A police officer who pulled Smith over detected alcohol on his breath. Smith exercised his right to deny taking a breathalyzer, so the police arrested him and hit him with an aggravated DUI charge.

In statements that he later made to the press, Smith insisted that his past history as a good guy should exculpate him, to a degree. He insisted that he’d “never been in any kind of trouble. You can’t just change overnight.” In a different interview, he said that his DUI shouldn’t affect his career as a lawmaker.

Any person pulled over in Kentucky (or in California) on suspicion of DUI can be subject to mandatory blood testing under the state’s implied consent law. If police arrest you for DUI, you also must take a blood test. Police encourage drivers not to refuse a chemical test, because such a refusal can create complications for the defense and potentially lead to excess jail time, longer license suspensions and other consequences.

In California, any driver pulled over on suspicion of driving while under the influence can be subject to a breathalyzer test. Assuming you’re not a minor and you don’t have a criminal history, in general, you do not have to take this test. However, refusal to take a test after arrest could lead to loss of license and fines, even if you’re not ultimately convicted of DUI.

No matter what happened during or after the event that led to your arrest, the experienced team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers has the compassion and deep knowledge of relevant laws and statutes to craft an appropriate defense strategy. Please call a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer now to review your options.