los angeles DUI defense

Published on: August 6, 2014

P.J. Tucker of Phoenix Suns Gets Busted on “Super Extreme” DUI Charges

As regular readers of our Los Angeles DUI blog know, the crime of driving under the influence is anything but monolithic.

Your blood alcohol concentration and subtleties regarding your arrest and criminal history (if any) can dramatically influence your potential punishments. For instance, if you test just over the limit (0.08%), you will face lesser charges than if you test way over the limit (0.15%+ BAC). Our neighboring state, Arizona, has similarly stratified its DUI punishment scheme, and P.J. Tucker, a forward for the Phoenix Suns, may soon become intimately familiar with the gradations.

According to the AP, the star forward just pled guilty to “super extreme” DUI. He will spend three days in jail and 11 days in home detention.

Police pulled Tucker over in Scottsdale on May 10 and tested him to have a BAC of 0.22%, two and three quarters over the legal limit. In addition to the jail time and home detention, Tucker will pay a fine of $2,750, go through alcohol counseling, use an interlocking ignition device in his car for the next year and a half and undergo probation for five years.

The President of the Suns issued a statement: “In considering this matter, we concluded that P.J. was sincere in his remorse and his resolve to accept the consequences of his actions… we are convinced that he will take the necessary steps to avoid any such conduct in the future. The Suns do not in any way condone his conduct, but we do support him as he works through this.”

According to police reports, Tucker was driving around in his Mercedes Benz, when police pulled him over. He allegedly exhibited classic DUI symptoms, such as bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a lack of coordination on his field sobriety test (FSTs). The Suns booked him on a $6.5 million three-year deal less than two months after the arrest, and he promised his team and his fans “I will not let you down.”

Tucker’s case is important for at least two reasons.

First, his arrest demonstrates that even highly successful, motivated and publicly visible people can and do make grievous DUI mistakes that can lead to major punishments. Just because you’re an NBA forward does not mean that you are immune from the laws of the land and that you can’t wind up behind bars.

Secondly, the Tucker story also shows that resilience is possible. Although Tucker faces long-term inconveniences, such as probation and an IID in his vehicle, he still managed to lock a $16.5 million contract, and his team has given him a second chance.

To build an effective Los Angeles DUI defense, call attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation with a former high-level prosecutor who has won significant renown for his work and who has great relationships not only with clients but also with Los Angeles judges, prosecutors and police officers.
Continue reading

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 16, 2014

Jovial Chicago DUI Arrestee Provides a Lesson in How Not to Take a Mug Shot

by Michael Kraut

Individuals facing Los Angeles DUI charges would do well to take a lesson from the case of Ronald Searl, a Chicago area man recently arrested for drunk driving.

Police stopped 54-year-old Searl on July 3 when they spotted him driving in the center turn lane of a city street. After smelling alcohol on his breath, officers administrated field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer, which revealed Searl’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit.

In addition to DUI charges, Searl received a citation for operating his vehicle in the wrong lane. Perhaps due to his “polite, cooperative and respectful” demeanor during the arrest process, police released him on his own recognizance.

Although Searl may have behaved well throughout the booking process, his bizarre mug shot tells a different story. In the photo, Searl is visibly laughing and neglects to look at the camera. The lackadaisical response to his arrest may appear to some as an utter disregard for the seriousness of his offense.

California law imposes serious penalties on individuals who commit DUI offenses, regardless of whether they cause accidents or injuries to others. First-time drunk drivers may receive jail time, fines, license suspensions, probation, and installation of interlock devices in their vehicles.

Although no one should drink and drive, mistakes happen. Should you find yourself under arrest for driving with a prohibited blood alcohol content, cooperating with authorities and taking full responsibility for your actions affords you the best chance of a minimal sentence. Maintaining a serious demeanor – particularly in a mug shot – shows genuine remorse for unlawful behavior and may sway a judge in the accused’s favor.

If you have been charged with DUI in Los Angeles, you may feel confident you’ll get off with a “slap on the wrist.” However, an experienced DUI attorney such as Michael Kraut helps defendants better understand the laws regarding their cases and achieve the best possible outcomes. To discuss your case, contact Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to set up a free consultation.

Published on: June 30, 2014

Do You Need a Perfect Solution for Your Los Angeles DUI… Or Just a “Good Enough” One?

by Michael Kraut

How should you handle your Los Angeles DUI charges?

That question might sound trite. Obviously, you want to minimize/avoid punishments that prosecutors might ask for, which could include jail time, cumbersome probation terms and alcohol school, as well as unfortunate spikes in your insurance rates.

In an ideal world, your DUI lawyer could just snap his fingers and make it as if police never pulled you over on the 210 for cutting across lanes or stopped you at a checkpoint near Caltech. But we don’t live in an ideal world, so “good enough” has to be enough.

Perfection Vs “Good Enough” — Why the Debate Matters for Your DUI Defense

In the world of math, the search for a perfect solution is called an “optimization problem.” Here is a vivid example. Imagine it’s raining torrentially. You need to seek shelter at a high place or you’ll drown. How high do you need to climb above the flood plane to save your life? The answer depends on an astonishing number of variables, including the amount of rain, your swimming ability, how far it is to the nearest high place, whether you can climb aboard a lifeboat or not and just float it out, etc.

The IDEAL solution would be to hike up to the top of Mount Rainer, where the rain is least likely to drown you in the U.S. Obviously, this solution is impractical for many reasons: you just want to find a “good enough” solution, so you can ride out the storm in relative safety.

Likewise, you want to think of your defense in the same way. What does the equivalent of “not drowning” look like for you? Would it mean avoiding a lengthy jail term? Would it mean being able to keep your California driver’s license? The clearer you are about what success means to you, the easier it will be to create a customized battle plan for your defense.

Talk to Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut and his team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to figure out the next steps for your Los Angeles DUI defense. Continue reading

Published on: May 28, 2014

NFL Contemplates New Penalties for Football Players Who Drive DUI

by Michael Kraut

The Los Angeles DUI defense community is buzzing with news that the National Football League (NFL) may be revising its rules regarding how professional football players should be punished after being caught for DUI.

Why does the defense community at large care? What are the proposed rule changes, and what do they aim to accomplish?

Let’s address the nitty-gritty first and then talk in more general terms about why these proposed changes could have profound ramifications not just for football players and other athletes but for DUI defendants in general.

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and NFL are striving to change the substance abuse policy for the league. Right now, first time DUI offenders automatically get fined two game checks. The NFL wants to throw a one game suspension into the mix. The NFL and NFLPA also want to revise the rules about the human growth hormone (HDH) testing process. Both groups agree that HDH testing should be done, but they can’t figure out who should arbitrate any decisions – an independent arbitrator or Roger Goodell, the NFL’s top dog.

The policy changes seem subtle. However, they can teach us several important lessons:

1. DUI policy is always in flux.

The rules governing when and how DUI drivers should be punished are constantly changing, both in the NFL and in state legislatures. To that end, do not attempt to construct a defense by yourself; rather, work with an experienced attorney who understands the latest and most important legal changes.

2. The conventional wisdom almost always favors punitive approaches for dealing with DUI.

One of the key ideas behind the NFL’s proposed policy change is that, by threatening players with even more penalties for driving DUI (i.e. a suspension, rather than just a fine), the league hopes to curb DUI behavior. However, this assumption may or may not be true. Some research, for instance, suggests that ratcheting up punishment in such a fashion does not deter recidivism.

3. DUI behavior is a social phenomenon.

Human beings are deeply influenced — at unconscious or subconscious levels — by how their friends and peers behave. If you play in the NFL, for instance, and you see a lot of your friends or colleagues drive under the influence, you might be more likely to get arrested yourself for that crime. This is not a conscious choice – we just tend to mimic people who we think are similar to us. To that end, if you have been hanging out with a crowd that’s prone to partying and breaking the law, think about getting new friends.

For help understanding your charges and formulating an effective Los Angeles DUI defense, call attorney Michael Kraut today at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.

Published on: May 26, 2014

Driver Who Crashed Ferrari at 100 Miles Per Hour Gets 7th DUI, But Won’t Spend a Single Day Behind Bars

by Michael Kraut

When people read about Los Angeles DUI defense stories, they often get suspicious. Are DUI attorneys simply getting dangerous people “off the hook” and causing miscarriages of justice?

The reality is: absolutely not.

Attorneys like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers work diligently to ensure justice and fairness and to protect people who don’t understand their rights and obligations. But every once in a while, some ridiculous story comes down the pike that seems to confirm the popular suspicion that DUI lawyers are simply in business to get dangerous drivers off the hook. This sets our entire cause back substantially.

Consider, for instance, the recent case of Joseph Shaun Goodman, a Washington state man who smashed up his $70,000 silver Ferrari F360 on December 29, 2013, after leading police on a high speed chase. Per news reports, this was Goodman’s seventh lifetime DUI arrest. He just pled guilty to both the DUI charge and a felony charge for alluding police.

However, per his arrangement, he will not spend a single day in jail.

Another man, Henry Griffin, had been riding in the car with Goodman on the evening in question, when police saw his Ferrari speeding and tried to pull him over. Instead of stopping, Goodman fled, driving erratically at high speeds. Griffin called 911 and begged his friend to let him out of the car. Goodman finally slowed down enough so that Griffin could jump out of the car. He did and got pretty banged up as a result.

Griffin, who was still on the line with 911, then reported “I jumped out of the car and now I’m calling you guys because you I’m scared he might be looking for me… he smoked them, man. I mean, he went so fast.”

Griffin later told a local paper “he hit a buck thirty through all the red lights in town… I thought I was going to die, 100%.”

Eventually, Griffin crashed, and police caught up to him. They tested him and found that he had a 0.16% BAC – twice the legal limit in Washington and here in Southern California. He was busted not only for felony eluding and felony DUI but also on suspicion of falsely imprisoning Henry Griffin. Local law says that someone with two or three DUI priors gets, who get caught for DUI again with a BAC greater than 0.15%, must serve a prison sentence of 120 days. But Goodman somehow managed to get out of this penalty, prompting Griffin and two dozen others to protest the lenient punishment.

In Southern California, if you are convicted three times for DUI within a period of ten years, you can similarly face mandatory massive jail time, even if you didn’t hurt anybody, elude police or falsely imprison anyone in your vehicle.

Whether Goodman’s result was another case of “affluenza,” as critics have said, or just a fluke or lucky break is impossible to say.

If you or someone you love wants a free consultation about your rights and options, call former Senior Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles Michael Kraut today to get the insight you need into your Los Angeles DUI defense.
Continue reading

Published on: May 14, 2014

Jett Adkinson, Daughter of Country Legend, Hank William Sr., Busted for DUI [Again]

by Michael Kraut

It’s a sad tale that we keep noticing here on this Los Angeles DUI blog — children and relatives of famous celebrities cause terrible harm to their reputation and future (and sometimes to other people) by making unwise choices regarding drinking and getting behind the wheel.

To wit, consider the recent arrest of 61-year-old Jett Adkinson, daughter of the famous country singer, Hank William Sr. Police arrested Adkinson last Friday, after witnesses noticed that she had been driving on the wrong side of the road. Police stopped Adkinson at around 10.30 PM, after she allegedly forced a red truck to swerve to avoid her on Leeville Pike and Hartmann Drive. She later told authorities that she had consumed “some wine” before getting into her vehicle. She allegedly exhibited signs of DUI, including odor of alcohol on her breath, and she failed her field sobriety tests.

Adkinson originally insisted that she had just been drinking diet coke and eating pizza.

This is Adkinson’s second DUI of the year. Police pulled the Nashville native over in February after witnesses saw her Jaguar weaving between lanes. Adkinson was born five days after her father died; she apparently had no idea about her legacy until the 1980s.

While Adkinson had insurance on her, many people stopped for DUI don’t have insurance – and don’t have up-to-date licenses, either. If you are stopped and charged per CVC code 23152(a) or 23152(b), you are not mandated to tell your insurance company about the DUI right away. If your attorney can dismiss the charges, you may not have to tell the insurance company at all.

However, IF the insurer does find out about the DUI, your rates could spike and cost you literally thousands of dollars over the next months/years. Your insurance company will examine your DMV record whenever assessing you for renewal. If a representative spots a DUI, your rates will probably go up. A carrier can also discover your DUI if/when you seek an SR-22 certificate, which is required by law to confirm that you meet the Golden State’s insurance requirements. You must request an SR-22, after your license suspension, if you want to drive again. At that point, the insurer will find out about the DUI, and your rates could go up.

For help understanding what to do to fight back against your charges, contact a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer with Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Mr. Kraut is an experienced former prosecutor (Senior Deputy District Attorney) who has helped people just like you prevail with their cases.

Published on: April 21, 2014

Horrendous News – 16-Year-Old Girl Dies After DUI Driver Hits Her Apartment

by Michael Kraut

This awful news qualifies as one of most disturbing Los Angeles DUI stories of the year: a 16-year-old girl died over the weekend, after a suspected DUI driver smashed into her Palmdale apartment complex.

Police found a mini-van jammed inside a building on 10th Street and Avenue R East at around 4 in the morning. Per Sheriff’s Lieutenant Ken Wright (from an interview he did for KNX 1070), “The vehicle was embedded into the building and went into the bedroom of a 16-year-old girl who has passed away as a result of injures from the accident.”

16-year-old Giselle Mendoza had attended Palmdale High School. Her father, Alberto Mendoza, was inconsolable – calling himself “destroyed.” Meanwhile, 20-year-old Roberto Rodriguez – also of Palmdale – has been arrested on suspicion DUI.

Per Lieutenant Wright “[Roberto] has been taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries and will be booked for vehicular manslaughter … preliminary investigation indicates he was under the influence of alcohol.”

A local eyewitness, James Fisher King, told reporters: “I saw a car coming down 10th, east, about 80-85 miles per hour, and didn’t stop or hesitate. Just right into the building. Boom.” Another girl — just 14-years-old — almost also perished in the accident. Rodriguez’s car plowed through her bedroom as well. But she had been sleeping on the couch that night, fortuitously. Rodriguez made his $100,000 bail, which outraged the victim’s father, who said “You have a lot of money… and you spend money, and come out. And forget it. Somebody died… it’s not fair.”

The powerful emotions that follow a DUI accident in which someone dies can lead to unbelievable amounts of grief, confusion, and frustration on both sides of the equation. It’s easy for people to jump to conclusions about who caused the accident and why and what should be done. However, it’s critical to conduct a sober assessment of the facts.

Prosecutors can choose from an array of charges in DUI accidents that lead to injury or death. A typical non-injury DUI might be charged per California Vehicle Code Section 23152. An injury DUI, on the other hand, might be charged per CVC 23153. The difference between these codes is not just one number – it’s the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.

If someone dies in an accident in which DUI is suspected, prosecutors can seek vehicular manslaughter charges. There are different grades of this charge, as well. “Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated” is defined by California Penal Code Section 191.5 (a). Prosecutors face a very stiff burden of proof in such cases, but the punishments can be comparably severe. Depending on what happened, the offender can face anywhere from probation to 10 years behind bars in a California prison for every person who died in the crash.

To construct an appropriate defense to your charges, contact a Los Angeles DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation with a former prosecutor and Harvard Law School educated attorney.
Continue reading