dui defenses

Published on: June 15, 2015

DIY DUI Checkpoint

You can never tell what someone will do when they’re operating under the influence. Police who deal with drivers accused of Los Angeles DUI can probably tell many stories about motorists trying to flee, becoming belligerent and/or fabricating some pretty creative excuses about why they shouldn’t be arrested.

But it would probably be difficult for most police officers to top a recent story from Central Pennsylvania. In late May, 19-year-old Logan Shaulis allegedly imbibed a bit too freely before deciding it would be fun to set up his very own, do-it-yourself DUI checkpoint.

The website wearecentralpa.com reports that at about 3 a.m. on May 31st, Shaulis took a BB pistol, handcuffs and a portable scanner out to an intersection in Lincoln Township. He parked diagonally across the road, set out some flares, and started waving motorists over.

One motorist said that Shaulis demanded to see his driver’s license, vehicle registration and insurance cards. The fake officer identified himself as Pennsylvania Police Trooper Steve Rogers. (In case you’re not familiar with The Avengers movie, that’s the name of Captain America.)

When the real cops showed up, Shaulis tried to hand the BB pistol off to the motorist he had stopped because he didn’t want to get caught with the weapon.

It didn’t take the officers long to figure out that Shaulis was under the influence, and it probably didn’t take Shaulis long to figure out that he was in big trouble. Police arrested him for DUI, carrying a firearm without a license, impersonating a public servant, harassment, disorderly conduct and several other charges.

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: June 8, 2015

New Hampshire DUI Defendants Could Go Free

by Michael Kraut

Anyone arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles has probably wished that the charges against them would just disappear. That just might happen in the case of several drivers who were picked up for DUI in New Hampshire.

Television station WMUR 9, located in Manchester, reports that attorney John Durkin is taking the state to court to get information about police officers who may not have passed the breathalyzer certification test. New Hampshire state law requires that all officers get recertified each year.

If it turns out the officers flunked the certification test, the DUI arrests that they made because of breathalyzer results, as well as the convictions that prosecutors won using those results, may all be invalidated.

The problem apparently stems from a glitch in the computer testing program that the state uses. More than 100 officers failed the test, but the program indicated that they had passed. The systemic issues could go all the way back to 2013, which could affect a lot of drivers charged with DUI during that stretch of time.

According to seacoastonline.com, the issue came to light when Durkin heard rumors about the certification problem. He filed a Freedom of Information request with the New Hampshire Department of Safety, asking that the department send him the list of officers incorrectly certified.

The Department of Public Safety says that it responded to Durkin within the required five days, telling him that it would take several weeks for them to comply with his request. At that time, Durkin filed his lawsuit, saying that time frame wasn’t good enough for people arrested for DUI by uncertified officers.

Durkin says he plans to share the information about the uncertified officers with other attorneys. Hopefully, these legal actions will help create a more open, clear system and challenge other law enforcement agencies across the U.S. (and right here in Southern California) to more effectively and meticulously certify the machines they use when testing people suspected for driving DUI.

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: April 7, 2014

Should Certain Los Angeles DUI Offenders Be Punished Much More Harshly Than Others?

by Michael Kraut

Are all Los Angeles DUI offenders equal?

Obviously, the simple answer is no. For instance, let’s say you just got pulled over at a checkpoint. A police officer gave you both breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. You failed both. Now, you face a misdemeanor charge of violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152.

Alternatively, let’s say you hurt somebody while committing the same crime. Suddenly, you face charges under a different law – felony charges! – per California Vehicle Code Section 23153. There are other ways the law slices and dices DUI offenders. The law stipulates different punishments, depending:

•   If you were under age when you got behind the wheel while DUI;
•   If you’re a repeat offender (the law suggests more intense punishments for second and third time recidivists);
•   If you committed additional crimes while DUI, such as hit and run, battery against a police officer, etcetera;
•   If you were egregiously over the legal limit.

But are these classifications “fine grained” enough? More to the point: might there be certain classes of offenders who should be punished far more harshly than “standard” Los Angeles DUI offenders?

For instance – and we’ve all seen drivers like this – but let’s say you see a 19-year-old kid in a hot rod car speeding while likely DUI on the 405. He cuts across 4 lanes of traffic and nearly causes four wrecks before police pull him over. He behaves extremely aggressively/recklessly/obnoxiously. In an ideal world, perhaps the 19-year-old should lose his license for ten years and be forced to write handwritten apologies to everyone he almost killed.

Obviously, that wouldn’t/shouldn’t happen. But that’s the gut reaction many of us have, when we see drivers behaving super obnoxiously: “that guy should have his license taken away forever and should be thrown in jail, just for being a jerk.”

We’ve all had those thoughts – even people who defend DUI drivers for a living!

The question is: is there scientific merit to such thinking? Are superb obnoxious drivers, for instance, more likely to get into injury crashes? If we could catalogue drivers in a more fine grained way, could we come up with more appropriate punishments for certain crimes? Even if we COULD slice and dice the galaxy of offenders like that, would we really want to? Practically speaking, this strategy would open up a whole raft of moral and legal questions.

The problem is inherently complicated and messy – and that’s the point of this thought exercise. Dealing with DUI is an inherently messy exercise. The law cannot foresee every situation, nor spell out every contingency plan. And that’s why it’s so important for a defendant to work with a seasoned Los Angeles DUI lawyer. You need to stay on track and avoid getting confused or misled.

If you haven’t already retained an attorney, call Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to explore your defense options. Mr. Kraut is a seasoned former prosecutor; he can help you come to terms with your charges and get excellent results.
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