DUI arrest los angeles

Published on: January 23, 2015

Father Charged with DUI While Driving His 2 Autistic Children

All but four states in the nation have laws on the books that increase penalties for people who drive DUI while transporting children. In California, police recently arrested a man named Joel Feseer for precisely this crime and hit him with charges of DUI and child endangerment.

Feseer’s job consisted of driving children between schools and their homes. He allegedly flipped his Ford van north of Anderson, California while driving two autistic children. Miraculously, the accident did not lead to any serious harm. Police insisted that he failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

Child endangerment typically makes California courts far less sympathetic toward defendants. In California, child endangerment on its own can be considered a “wobbler” charge, in that the court can consider it either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on circumstances.

Feseer, for instance, could have to contend with a sentencing enhancement for child endangerment if the court finds him guilty of DUI; alternatively, he may face separate charges. If the children had been under the age 14, his DUI would automatically trigger even more severe sentencing.

Defense strategies in cases like these typically involve some sort of plea bargain in order to secure sentencing under reduced charges. Other circumstances in the case will determine whether the charges are combined and if there are other, aggravating factors that need to be considered. It is unlikely that Feseer has ever been convicted of a DUI before if he was transporting children as a job, but anyone who does have prior convictions will automatically face harsher sentencing.

Being convicted of a complex suite of DUI charges can change your life in ways that you may not be able to anticipate. In addition to the standard punishments – being required to serve time in jail, pay thousands of dollars in fines, use a breathalyzer every time you get behind the wheel, etc – you face additional obstacles such as loss of support or confidence from a boss or partner, lowered self-esteem and higher insurance rates.

Securing representation early from a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney can help you not only develop a strategy to fend off the charges but also examine the parenting and other life challenges that may have led you, unwittingly or accidentally, to put your children at risk.

Published on: July 23, 2014

Give Yourself a “Time Out” from Worrying about Your Los Angeles DUI

by Michael Kraut

Ever since you woke up the morning after your Los Angeles DUI arrest, you have been obsessed with your case and deeply worried about what will happen to you and your life.

• Will a six-month California driver’s license suspension be in the offing?
• Will you have to go to jail for hurting or seriously injuring someone else?
• Will your insurance rates go up?
• Will your boss fire you?
• Will your girlfriend or boyfriend break up with you?
• What will happen to you, if you ever get in trouble with the law again?
• Are you doomed to be a slave to your impulses to consume alcohol and/or drugs and/or prescription medications?
• How can you fight the charges and get best results?
• Etc.

These and dozens of other questions and scenarios are likely floating around in your head and causing you tremendous agitation and stress. They are important to address.

But given your current fragile state, you may not be able to address them effectively. Try the following exercise to give yourself some space – almost a mini mental vacation – from the chatter about your DUI.

Find 15 minutes where you can be alone and in peace, and practice doing meditative breathing as follows. Sit comfortably in a chair — ideally, upright with your body relaxed but alert. Then just watch your breath flow in and out of your body. You don’t have to try to force the breath or take deep breaths or anything. Just watch the breath as it goes into your lungs, and then watch it as goes out of your lungs. You can breathe naturally: just try to focus all of your attention on the act of breathing – watching the process as if you were an objective observer watching the ocean waves flow in, hit the shore, and flow out.

You will notice that there are basically four distinct parts of the breath. There is the “in breath.” There is a kind of pause that happens at the top of the in breath. There is the “out breath.” And there is the pause after the out breath. Try to become very interested in all the minute details of this process.

If and when thoughts about your DUI pop up – and they likely will, and the chatter may grow intense as you get into this exercise – acknowledge them, but let them go. You will have time to think those thoughts later. For now, you just want to focus on the breathing. Set a timer behind that will go off in 15 minutes, and tell yourself that you can “touch” those thoughts and worries once the timer goes off. Every time you have a non-breath related thought, let it float away from you, as a child might let a helium balloon float into the clouds.

Hopefully, that exercise can give you a little sense of peace and quiet and help you improve your concentration. For practical help with your Los Angeles DUI defense, get in touch with attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor who can help you make smarter decisions about your case.

Published on: July 10, 2014

Wilmington DUI Driver Appears Unremorseful for Deaths

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles DUI attorneys are closely following the case of 25-year-old Yocio Jonathan Gomez, who received a lengthy sentence on Friday, July 11 for DUI conduct that killed two construction workers in 2012. The guilty verdict included two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and second-degree murder, for which Gomez will spend 34 years to life in prison.

On July 22, 2012, Gomez got behind the wheel of his Ford Explorer with a blood alcohol level of 0.21 percent, almost triple the legal limit of 0.08 percent in California. While driving approximately 90 miles per hour through a construction zone on the 405 Freeway in Torrance, Gomez struck another vehicle, pushing it into construction workers Ricardo Zamora and Ramon Lopez. The collision killed both men.

This arrest, Gomez’s third drunken driving offense, happened while he was serving probation for another offense, which likely contributed to the long length of his sentence. Another factor may have been his lack of emotion or remorse throughout the sentencing hearing, despite emotional testimony from the families of the deceased.

Under California law, second-degree murder charges for DUI drivers are rare and represent a profound disregard for the lives of others. While the standard sentence for such a conviction is 15 years to life in prison, this sentence is increased for each individual killed, and prior offenses do make a difference.

Based on the circumstances of this case, Gomez represents an anomaly among DUI drivers. While a rare number of individuals may act with blatant disregard for the safety of others, the vast majority of DUI drivers get behind the wheel without intending to harm anybody. However, all DUI drivers must take responsibility for their actions and the consequences that follow.

If you currently face Los Angeles DUI charges, you may feel remorseful and afraid. Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers understands the complexities of California law and can help you form a strong legal defense. Contact us today for a free consultation regarding your case.

Published on: June 4, 2014

The Moment Before You Had the Drink That Led to Your Los Angeles DUI: Why?

by Michael Kraut

Given all the sturm und drang over your Los Angeles DUI arrest, you’ve had very little time to reflect about events. The little thinking you’ve done has likely been “surface level” thinking. For instance, you’ve probably spent some time puzzling out:

•   What to do about your job;
•   How to get by without a license;
•   What to tell your parents or peers about what happened;
•   How to find an effective Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer to represent your interests and help you avoid (or at least minimize) punishments for your crime, which could range widely and include tough probation terms, forced installation of an interlock ignition device in your car, mandatory CA license suspension, fees and fines and prison time.

But could you benefit from considering your Los Angeles DUI in a different kind of context? What if you tried to figure out what drove you to drink too much (if you did, indeed, drink too much)? What if you spent time puzzling out WHY you got behind the wheel while DUI?

These questions sound almost sophistic and possibly irrelevant. After all, who really cares why you did what you did? You just want to get out of trouble, stay out of jail, avoid the fines, etcetera. But reflecting on your mistakes (if you made any) is vitally important, if you hope to achieve the best outcome.

Such thinking could possibly inform your defense strategy. It could help your attorney figure out what kind of evidence to collect. It could help you figure out what you need to do to avoid future DUI trouble. For instance, let’s say you have a history of driving problems or trouble with drugs and alcohol. If you’re honest about that history, your attorney can help you find a good therapist and other resources to keep you on the straight and narrow, going forward.

So how CAN you figure out what “tipped you” into making your fateful decision?

Try to think back to the key moments of the day or evening of your DUI arrest. What were you thinking about right before you grabbed the keys and got behind the wheel? What were you thinking about right before you chose to have that fourth beer or glass of wine? What were you thinking about just before you drove away from the scene of your Los Angeles DUI accident? What were you thinking about just before you got into the verbal fight with the police officer?

Seek to understand the thoughts and emotions that triggered your strange/unwanted behavior. Your attorney can use this thought process as a springboard to contrive an intuitive and effective defense.

For help getting to the bottom of your Los Angeles DUI situation, get in touch with attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut is a vastly experienced ex-criminal prosecutor with a long history of successes in complex criminal trials.