Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog

How many Long Beach DUI convictions should a person be allowed to rack up before that person is removed permanently from society?

This is not a purely theoretical question. In fact, a Bloomingdale, Indiana man, 49-year-old William Dietrich, was sentenced last Monday with two decades behind bars for his 11th DUI conviction since 1982. A local newspaper summarized the checkered, disturbing history of the defendant: “In addition to the April charge, Dietrich received DUIs in McLean County in 1982, 1985, twice in 1986, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2002 and 2005. He also was cited for the offense in 2007…a conviction that resulted in an 8-year prison sentence." Dietrich was released on parole in September 2010 on that charge, but returned to prison for violating the terms of his release after the 2011 charges.

Dietrich’s odyssey is not typical for a Long Beach DUI defendant. But his escalating punishments – and the reasons behind those punishments – serve as a powerful cautionary tale. Consider what Indiana attorney Jane Foster said about Dietrich’s situation: “[The State of Indiana] has made repeated efforts to stop and change this defendant's behavior through fines, jail, prison, treatment, probation, parole and revocations of his license. Since he has refused to comply with the law and to stop driving under the influence, our office wanted him removed from society.”

California also has an escalating system of punishments. Any Long Beach DUI conviction is a blemish, and you could face jail time even for just one DUI event – particularly if you caused injury to someone else or engaged in other crimes while DUI, such as hit and run, assault, etc. If you get three or more Long Beach DUI convictions within a 10-year span, prosecutors might be able to charge with you a felony instead of a simple misdemeanor. This could be in addition to escalating penalties – hiking up your fines and fees, increasing the amount of mandatory alcohol school and the strictness of your probation, etc.

Dietrich’s odyssey raises questions about what can be done to stop and, ideally, treat seriously recidivist Long Beach DUI drivers. Why did treatment and rehab fail for him? Is Dietrich just a rotten apple? Or did the problems stem from ineffective punishment and/or treatment? All of the above? None of the above? Did he have brain damage or a mental illness? Without more information about his case, it’s impossible to judge.

And that, in essence, is the point.

If you or someone you care about has been arrested more than once for a Long Beach DUI, you need to drill down to the root of your problem. An experienced, compassionate Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can help you come to terms with your charges and what to do about them. Attorney Michael Kraut is a well-known and well-respected former prosecutor.

Continue reading "481 Long Beach DUI Convictions?? Not That Many, but Still a Ridiculously Large Number…" »

In a recent blog post, we enumerated the many unpleasant, repugnant penalties for Long Beach DUI. We won’t belabor them again, but they include jail time, massive fines, probation, mandatory installation of an IID, alcohol school, etc.

But is that really the worst of it?

In the worst-case scenario, you could at least imagine yourself surviving these penalties and carrying on with your life. No one wants to spend three months in jail or pay thousands of dollars in fines. But life is long, second chances abound, etc.

In some sense, this attitude is correct. In another sense, however, it ignores the far more insidious but potentially terrifying, debilitating indirect penalties of a Long Beach DUI conviction.

Punishment worse than jail?

There are, believe it or not, worse things than going to jail. Unless you commit a truly heinous crime, jail is a temporary situation. However, the long-term “metaphorical prisons" that we build for ourselves can incarcerate us for a lifetime. Bad habits beget bad habits. Bad self-image begets worse self-image. And so on. Indeed a Long Beach DUI conviction can be the first step on a slippery slip towards an unfulfilled and unfulfilling life.

Consider the hazards potentially in your way:

• Conviction makes it more likely that you will be punished harsher for any future crimes or infractions;
• Conviction will almost certainly spike your car insurance rates (assuming that you are still allowed to keep your license) for years, draining your pocket book of potentially of thousands of dollars;
• Once convicted, you may find yourself judged harshly by employers, acquaintances and people in your social circle as well as by close family members and even by yourself.
• If you “don’t believe in yourself” or lack support from friends or family members who’ve “given up on you” you may find it harder to get a job, harder to get a loan, harder to find the inner resources to fight through obstacles in your way, be they career obstacles or even medical problems.
• Loss of driving practice and mobility. If your license gets suspended, you may have to lean on public transportation, friends and family members, and ingenuity to survive. If you are like most people who live in and around Long Beach, you likely depend heavily on your car, truck, or motorcycle to deal with the “stuff” of life.

Count those costs. How many hours of productive time will you have to sacrifice? Will you be fired? Will you sap your spouse’s productivity and thus limit his or her income? What about loss of confidence behind the wheel?

Once you’ve been convicted for a serious violation, such as a Long Beach DUI, you may lose confidence in your ability to drive safely and effectively. Your driving persona may change for the worse.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go through the gauntlet of defending yourself by yourself.

An experienced Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney from the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) can help you develop a powerful strategic response to whatever charges you face. Attorney Kraut is a former Deputy District Attorney with a fantastic track record at jury trials and a Harvard Law School Education.

Continue reading "Hidden Long Beach DUI Penalties Could Be Worse Than Jail Itself" »

When you read about celebrities (or even relatives of celebrities) arrested for driving under the influence in Long Beach or elsewhere in the Southland, you have to feel a certain amount of sympathy and sadness. Celebrities, actors, politicians, well-healed CEOs and others who get into trouble with the Long Beach DUI laws inevitably face not only protracted legal troubles but also embarrassment and shame because, as important figure heads, they “should have known better.” So guilt and shame likely compound the already stressful situation.

Last week, Griffin O’Neal – son of actor Ryan O’Neal and daughter of the late great actress Farah Fawcett – pled guilty to felony charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and driving under the influence, according to a San Diego Union Tribune report. The 47-year-old had a strike on his record for a 1992 vehicular shooting in Los Angeles. He didn’t hit anyone with the bullets, but he did shoot up a car, apparently.

Griffin collided head first with a car in San Pasqual, CA last August. The Union Tribune reports that “toxicology test revealed that O’Neal had amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana and Xanax in his blood at the time of collision…(in addition) raw cocaine and loaded weapons were found in (his) vehicle."

Interestingly enough, Griffin’s half brother, Redmond, had been stopped and arrested in Santa Monica the day of his crash, after police officers found heroin in Redmond’s car.

Once you've been arrested for a drug DUI in Long Beach, multiple alarm bells should probably go off. You don’t have to be Dr. Drew or a licensed psychotherapist to at least postulate that significant demons must be plaguing poor Mr. O’Neal. The question for anyone concerned with Long Beach DUI safety is: what should be done to treat people who are convicted for Long Beach drug DUI? And within the context of “what’s best for the defendant,” what can we do collectively to make our roads safer and more DUI driver proof?

These are obviously two huge questions – bigger than this blog post can tackle effectively. However, it’s at least helpful to raise them. The more we collectively think deeply about the news – not just scan it and gulp it down, but actually take the time to process its meaning and introspect on it – the better strategic thinking we will develop as a result.

On a more, specific, pragmatic note, if you need a Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney, consider talking to Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). Attorney Kraut is a well regarded and well connected attorney who has excellent knowledge of the system and a deep and practical understanding of what it takes to win a DUI defense case.

Continue reading "Celebrity DUI in Long Beach Update: Griffin O’Neal Pleads Guilty to DUI and Drug Charges" »

Last Tuesday, Long Beach DUI checkpoints, patrols, and enforcement got a financial shot in the arm, when the LBPD received a California Office of Traffic Safety grant of $300,000, courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to a special report in the Long Beach Press Telegram, these funds will be used to sponsor “motorcycle safety patrols, DUI and drivers license checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, red light enforcement and speed enforcement.”

The grant will fuel additional Long Beach DUI checkpoints in a bid to deter DUI drivers from getting behind the wheel and violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) or 23152(b).

According to NHTSA figures, Long Beach DUI checkpoints (and checkpoints throughout the country) “have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.

The Long Beach DUI enforcement grant will pay 10 officers to identify drivers who are DUI or drug DUI in Long Beach. On top of that, the grant will fund four additional motorcycle safety enforcement operations.

On the one hand, these increased patrols and special enforcement operations could help keep Southern California residents safer and, ideally, deter people from even thinking about committing a crime like Long Beach DUI. All that said, the law of unintended consequences can rear its head in the strangest of places and times.

While the saturation patrols could protect the public, they could also sweep innocent drivers into the dragnet and create hassles for those innocents and their families.

Challenges abound for those who want to ensure fairness in Long Beach DUI cases. If you or someone you care about has recently been stopped for driving under the influence in Long Beach, a Long Beach criminal defense attorney with the Kraut Law Group can help you understand your rights, resources, and responsibilities and make judicious and strategic decisions in a going forward.

Depending on the circumstance of what happened, you may be able to escape harsh punishments, such as jail time, license suspension, mandatory alcohol school, strict probation, annoying court costs and fees, and long-term indirect consequences, like trouble getting work and high insurance rates. Connect with Harvard Law School educated, former prosecutor Attorney Kraut now to understand your best Long Beach DUI defense options.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Enforcement Gets a Boost with $300,000 Traffic Safety Grant" »

Anyone who has sat and pondered the penalties for Long Beach DUI understands, on a visceral level, what fear feels like.

It’s not just the potential jail time that scares defendants. It’s all the other logistical, financial, and emotional headaches that come with the conviction. For instance, even if you are convicted for a minor misdemeanor Long Beach DUI -- no property damage or injuries -- you can face substantial mandatory alcohol school, court fines and fees, mandatory installation of an IID in your vehicle, license suspension, and, yes, possibly substantial jail time.

Those Long Beach DUI penalties are only the direct penalties. You still may have to face the indirect – the secondary, tertiary and quaternary “blow back” from your conviction – such as screwed up insurance rates, loss of support from friends, family members, and employers, self esteem problems, inconveniences both short term and chronic, and loss of self confidence.

Given all these disincentives, it’s not surprising that some people try their darndest to escape the Long Beach DUI process. Smart defendants might research and then retain a top-caliber Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). (Mr. Kraut is an experienced, highly reputed attorney with the connections, strategic insight, jury trial record, and compassion to help practically any Long Beach DUI defendant, no matter how complicated or scary the situation.)

On the other hand, fear can also motivate some, shall we say, less than intelligent behavior.

Consider a baffling story out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, of all places. A 29-year old man suspected in a DUI crash left a medical center in leg irons to escape custody. Here is a report from therepublic.com: “Authorities say (the 29-year-old Blaise) Melofchik was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after police said he crashed into a parked car on Tuesday. Officers took him to the hospital after he appeared to be under the influence of opioids." The Times Tribune (a local paper) reported that Mr. Melofchik managed to walk away from the Medical Center and escape undetected.

Even after “patrol officers swarmed the area looking for (him),” the search was unsuccessful. Authorities blamed the “breakdown in communication” for Mr. Melofchik's escape. But the deeper story here is the fear, possibly terror, that the suspect felt which motivated him to undertake the risky escape. If he does eventually get rounded up, one might naturally suspect that additional charges will be thrown at him.

Do not overcomplicate your defense. Begin today by making smarter choices and by connecting with a reputable Long Beach criminal defense attorney.

Continue reading "Fear of Long Beach DUI Penalties: Is It Enough to Make You Run in Leg Irons?" »

Getting pulled over for driving under the influence in Long Beach or anywhere else throughout the Southland (or the U.S.) can be a humiliating experience. The level of humiliation gets ratcheted up substantially, however, if you happen to be a public, elected official.

When lawmakers, police officers and others entrusted with the public good do bad things – such as drive DUI in Long Beach or elsewhere – the media pores it on.

Consider last week’s arrest of ex Wisconsin state senator Randy Hopper, who, per a story in the Green Bay Gazette, got pulled over in a Wisconsin parking lot, after witnesses saw him nearly collide head first with another car. Officers administered field sobriety tests to Hopper. He apparently failed, big time – he could not balance, could not say the alphabet, etcetera.

After his arrest, Hopper pleaded with the arresting officer, Deputy Nicholas Venne: “Will you put down there that you didn't think I was that I (was) driving; you never saw me driving; you don't know I was driving. I didn’t do anything illegal.” Hopper refused an evidentiary breath test, but jail staff did get a preliminary breath test which suggested that his BAC was around 0.13% -- significantly higher than the cut off for Long Beach DUI of 0.08%, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152.

To put it mildly – Hopper has not had a shining last few years. In a recent election, Hopper lost his senate seat to democrat Jessica King by a margin of 51% to 49% -- analysts believe that the razor thin defeat was fueled in part by Hopper's messy divorce. He apparently left his wife for a lobbyist, Valerie Cass, who witnessed the arrest. According to one report, Cass “reportedly became upset… and yelled at the family who had called the police.”

So what are some lessons this story can teach Long Beach DUI defendants?

1. What you say or do after your DUI arrest can matter – and come back to haunt you.

The fact that Hopper blew a 0.13% BAC preliminary breath test and uttered recorded comments to Deputy Venne may complicate his legal defense.

2. Anyone can get tagged with a DUI.

Just because you are an elected official or a police officer or some other “special person” does not immunize you from the consequences of driving DUI in Long Beach.

3. Your choice of Long Beach DUI defense attorney is pivotal.

The quality of your legal defense can fundamentally influence your potential sentencing – as well as your ability to rebound, long-term, from what happened to you. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) is an experienced former prosecutor with a phenomenal success rate at jury trials and a great reputation within his industry. Judges, former prosecutors, and others in the system all greatly respect him.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Consequences Can Be Brutal, Politically and Otherwise – Just Ask Republican State Senator Randy Hopper…" »

From Perez Hilton on downwards, bloggers and other media players who cover stories about driving under the influence in Long Beach (and elsewhere in SoCal) love to obsess over, speculate on, and pontificate about celebrity DUI arrests. The blogosphere lights up whenever a politician in Oregon is busted for riding his lawn mower while DUI, a pop star princess is busted for a Long Beach drug DUI on a return trip from Vegas, or a football player embarrasses his franchise by hitting three parked cars in one night after partying with his pals at a fancy South Miami club.

Obviously, these cases are entertaining, though theories abound as to why. Some deep thinkers suggest that the whole “let’s take a celebrity down a notch or two” attitude has its roots in the nature of the American myth. Others point to more simplistic Freudian and other physiological reasons. Irrespective of why we engage in voyeurism over celebrity DUI arrests, we do it.

A better question is: Is this media coverage helping people, harming them, doing both or doing neither? Let’s take a look at each of these possibilities.

Helping People

When the blogosphere exposes the latest careless or negligent celebrity, he or she is often painted as a clown or a danger to society. In other words, you don’t want to emulate that person. Thus, one can argue that Long Beach celebrity DUI news serves as a social deterrent.

The coverage also raises discussions about the perils of DUI driving by ruminating over the punishments (jail time, license suspensions, destruction of reputation, you name it), and thus these stories can serve as cautionary tales.

Hurting

On the flipside, one could make a compelling argument that these stories cheapen the problem of DUI. Since these stories circulate so often, our impression is that this is a relatively common thing to do. If people we look up to are doing it, we can probably do it ourselves.

Then there is also the problem of celebrities “getting off” relatively easily. For every story about Lindsay Lohan being tearfully condemned to a jail sentence, you can find three or four Long Beach celebrity DUI stories about football players, politicians, pop stars, etc. getting off with a proverbial slap on the wrist. Readers might be led to believe that driving DUI is (relatively) inconsequential.

The Neutral

Some readers might think this analysis is unnecessary, that a news story is just a news story. Drivers don’t really “take their cues” from what celebrities do or do not do on the roads. And there might be some truth to this side as well.

All of the Above

We also need to consider that there might be some truth to all three positions. Depending on the circumstances –the celebrity involved, the nature of the offense, your ability to relate (or not) with the celebrity, etc. –a news story might be helpful, harmful, or neutral to you.

For practical help with a Long Beach DUI, turn to an experienced attorney: Mr. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454). Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor who can give you powerful advice about how to deal with any charges, no matter how complex.

Continue reading "Long Beach Celebrity DUI Stories: Do They Help or Harm the Public?" »

Last week, 30-year-old fire department captain John David Hines was convicted of an April Fool’s Day Long Beach DUI hit and run. According to an L.A. Times report, the captain had a blood alcohol concentration of nearly three times the legal limit for Long Beach DUI (according to California Vehicle Code Section 23152: 0.08% BAC) when he slammed into 47-year-old bicyclist Jeffery Gordon and sent the man flying more than 70 feet.

Hines will serve 90 days in a California prison and may face a jail sentence of up to six years, depending on how things go during his sentencing hearing on December 2.

According to the Times, “Hines pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury [in Long Beach], driving with a blood alcohol over the state limit and hit and run with injury. Because his blood alcohol level was so high, he was also convicted of several sentencing enhancements.”

This last bit of information – about how his sentence was increased because of his excessive BAC level – should be of interest to anyone recently arrested for a similar crime.

The public may believe that a Long Beach DUI is a Long Beach DUI is a Long Beach DUI. But that’s far from the truth. Innumerable factors can influence sentencing, including whether you hurt anyone, whether you fled the scene of the accident (hit and run), how far under the influence you were according to breathalyzer and blood tests, and so on.

In a “best case” scenario, your Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney might be able to clip your sentence down or even get the charges dismissed altogether. But if you killed someone while DUI, depending on the circumstances, you could be face a DUI murder charge and wind up with life behind bars.

This is a huge range of possible punishments.

And while there is obviously no “one-size-fits-all” solution to Long Beach DUI charges, your choice of attorney can make an enormous impact on your ultimate outcome. Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) can clarify your options and develop a strong case for you. Attorney Michael Kraut served as a prosecutor for nearly a decade and a half – this fact gives the Harvard Law School educated attorney a huge advantage when building DUI defenses. He also can leverage his excellent jury trial record, status as a Long Beach DUI media observer, and relationships with the legal community to get you the results you crave.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Hit and Run Nets Fire Captain 90 Days Behind Bars" »

Last week, Rodney King – the man whose videotaped beating ultimately sparked race riots that left 55 people dead and $1 billion worth of property damaged in its wake – was charged with DUI near Long Beach.

Twenty years ago, King was stopped by LAPD officers and then beaten to near death – the tragic beating was captured on video, and it led to the indictment of four officers involved. When three of the officers were acquitted, the verdicts touched off race riots that tarnished Los Angeles’ name for over a decade.

So how did police handle the King near Long Beach DUI stop this time?

According to news reports: relatively smoothly. CNN reported this blow by blow: "A Moreno Valley traffic enforcement unit observed King commit “several traffic violations,” although he was not cited for speeding. After questioning King, a patrol officer noted King exhibited signs of behavior that might involve alcohol or drug consumption."

King was asked to step out of the car and submit to a voluntary field sobriety test. He was “cooperative and compliant.” So no drama on either King’s part or the LAPD’s part.

Is that a sign that the LAPD has evolved or that race relationships have changed in the city?

Pundits can say what they will, but a single stop is a single stop. It’s hard to extrapolate patterns from single data points, as any good scientist would tell you.

It’s pretty amazing – given what King went through 20 years ago – that he managed to behave calmly and rationally. A Long Beach field sobriety test can be a very scary ordeal. You might be asked to engage in a series of physical and mental coordination tests, such as walk the line, finger to the nose, horizontal gaze nystagmus, counting backwards, and other balance tests. If you underperform – trip or stumble – officers might interpret your lack of coordination as a sign that you were indeed driving under the influence in Long Beach, and you could be arrested and charged pursuant to California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) or 23152(b).

And that’s just if you were stopped without any other complications, such as an accident, injury, hit and run, or other traffic infraction.

If you or someone you love got pulled over for Long Beach DUI, you may be bedazzled by questions, like:

• What is the best way to navigate the Southern California legal system?
• How do you build your best defense?
• How do you make sure that the police and prosecutors treat you fairly?
• How do you avoid making mistakes or giving statements that could compound your legal woes?

A Long Beach criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can help you understand what to do – and, possibly more importantly, what not to do. Attorney Michel Kraut spent over 14 years as a Senior Deputy District Attorney for the City of Los Angeles (a prosecutor of crimes like DUI), and he has a fantastic track record for developing strategic, effective, and aggressive defenses for DUI clients.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Field Sobriety Test with Rodney King: How Did the Police Handle It?" »

Let’s get this straight: driving under the influence in Long Beach is a crime. A major one.

Depending on how you defend yourself (e.g. whether you consult with an experienced Long Beach criminal defense attorney or not), as well as the circumstances of your Long Beach DUI arrest, you can face truly horrific punishments, such as jail time. It doesn’t matter whether you are a celebrity, political superstar, rock star, or athlete.

Just ask Lindsey Lohan.

The latest proof that Long Beach DUIs can and will be punished -- hugely -- comes out of Pontiac, Michigan, where Jalen Rose, a former NBA player and ESPN analyst, started a 20-day jail sentence pursuant to his March arrest in West Bloomfield Township for DUI. According to an Associated Press article, “Rose crashed his sports utility vehicle… after drinking 6 large martinis. The 38-year-old pleaded guilty in May.” According to the AP story, the judge who sentenced Rose was known for “tough punishments.” 20 days behind bars is anything but light, especially since the analyst didn’t hurt anybody (expect for his car) in the disaster.

The story illustrates a truism about Long Beach DUI punishments. Namely, you can never identify in advance all the possible “X factors” that can lead to better (or worse) outcomes for your case. Here are some X factors, over which you have little to no control:

• Judge has a reputation of being unusually harsh;
• Police officer who arrested you (for whatever reason) has some sort of grudge;
• You can (or cannot) find compelling exonerating evidence;
• Your can (or cannot) win sympathy from a judge or mercy from prosecutors.

So there are so many factors outside of your control. Focusing on them can be depressing.

But fortunately, you can leverage factors within your control to get (probably) far better results than you likely realize is possible right now. In other words, don't say: “this is all so unfair. The police, prosecutor, judge, [insert other villain here] is against me. I have no hope.”

Instead, focus on being resourceful. What is true about your situation now? What do you want out of your situation in terms of preventing punishments and protecting privileges and rights?

Once you are very, ultra clear about where you are and where you want to be, you can start collecting resources to achieve that reality faster and more efficiently.

One great potential resource is Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (located in Long Beach at: 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) Mr. Kraut is an experienced former prosecutor who is often called upon as a legal expert by major media throughout the Southland. As a former prosecutor, he understands how other prosecutors think and react, and he can use his insight and knowledge to build a better case for you.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Penalties: A Cautionary Tale, as Former NBA Star Starts 20-Day Jail Sentence" »

A fatal DUI in Long Beach is always a needless tragedy. We can all agree on that.

But sometimes horrific events can be ratcheted up in terms of their horribleness fivefold, thanks to “after the crash” mistakes, errors of judgment, lack of decisive positive action, and so forth.

Indeed, many cases of DUI in Burbank, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, and DUI elsewhere throughout the Southland take turns for the tragically worse – when defendants react non-resourcefully to their situations.

This is all little abstract. So let’s bring it home with a specific example – a case out of suburban Philadelphia. Last week, a 45-year old man, Mathew McNamara, apparently killed himself in prison. He had been charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, after a July 13 automobile accident killed a woman and hurt a child.

According to a local Indiana paper, the Daily Reporter (out of Greenfield, Indiana), McNamara “died from injuries sustained in a fall from the upper level of the cell block at a central Pennsylvania prison… police say accounts of McNamara intentionally jumping from the cell block's upper level are consistent with surveillance footage.”

Obviously, if you played any role in a fatal Long Beach DUI event – even if you were not fully culpable – the grief and guilt may be weighing heavy on your heart. Even if you caused only minor damage – such as a Long Beach DUI with injury or just damage to an automobile or property – you may be feel overwhelmed, confused, and, frankly, angry at yourself.

But you can’t turn back the clock. What’s done is done. You made a mistake -- or you got unfairly charged. And that’s the reality now. The question is: how do you deal resourcefully with your circumstances?

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you plot out a strategy for your defense, combat charges, and clue you into outside resources to help you deal with your alcohol problem (if you have one).

You face fundamental choices. You may need to make reparations to someone you harmed. But there are resourceful ways of doing this that can not only help release your guilt but also help the victim – or the victim’s family – come to turns with what happened and experience emotional relief.

Doing all this is tricky. And right now, you are probably most concerned with urgent issues: Will you go to jail? For how long? What are your other punishments? What can you do to bring order to this chaos? Etcetera.

Turn to Long Beach attorney Michael Kraut at the Kraut Law Group (444 West ocean Suite 800 
Long Beach, California 90802 (562) 531-7454) for help with your situation. Mr. Kraut is a former Deputy District Attorney (a high profile prosecutor), and he can help you understand what to do next.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Homicide Tragedy: Suspect in Fatal DUI Jumps to his Death in Prison Cell" »

Ask anyone who specializes in helping people who have recently been charged for driving under the influence in Long Beach about their experiences, and you will hear a common refrain: Drivers often needlessly dig themselves deeper after getting stopped, and these stupid post-hoc actions often cause far more legal trouble than defendants realize.

Let’s say you get pulled over for driving under the influence in Pasadena, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, Burbank DUI, or what have you: Likely, you will feel terrified, angry, frustrated, ashamed, and many other emotions. In that highly volatile, spiked emotional state, you might say or do things that can make your legal woes infinitely worse. For instance, you might swear at or hit a police officer, leave the scene of an accident that you just caused, or even try to flee an accident by swimming across a local reservoir (as a Boulder Colorado woman recently tried to do – this blog covered that last week).

Perhaps the most common mistakes come from failing to hold one’s tongue.

By saying things to the police like “I only had 6 drinks,” talking back to police, prematurely confessing to guilt in an accident, and so on, you might, within a span of seconds, accidently add months or even years to your sentence.

Last week, a DUI suspect in Santa Rosa illustrated this lesson literally. According to California Highway Patrol reports, Olan Yahal Mitchell got pulled over early Saturday morning on the 101. The suspect refused to take field sobriety tests (common Long Beach field sobriety tests include walk the line test, finger to the nose test, Rhomberg test, other balancing tests, reciting the alphabet backwards, counting backwards, etc).

According to officer Jonathan Sloat: "While seated [in the police cruiser], Mitchell began to lick the keyboard of the officer’s computer…the officer ordered Mitchell not to interfere with any equipment. Mitchell repeated his behavior, and the officer reached in to move the computer out of his reach… That’s when Mitchell kicked the officer, promoting both officers to restrain him and put him in the back of a “caged” patrol cruiser.”

At the end of the day, Mitchell was charged not only with DUI, driving without a license, and possessing marijuana but also with resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer.

As a qualified Los Angeles criminal defense attorney will tell you, those extra two charges – the battery charge and resisting arrest charge – will almost certainly compound the defense.

Part of the problem is that, if you’ve already committed a crime (or likely crime), you may be in an irrational state of mind. Thus, you might not realize the consequences of your continued criminal conduct. Education is critical – not only to help you deal with your current situation but also to help you avoid future mistakes and punishment.

Connect with Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) for a free consultation to go over your options and figure out a smart and strategically sound plan to go forward. Attorney Kraut understands how prosecutors think and react, since he actually was one for nearly a decade-and-a-half (Los Angeles Senior Deputy District Attorney).

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Object Lesson: When to Hold Your Tongue" »

Long Beach DUI blogs, like this one, typically don’t stretch to include extraneous news events, like the April 29 royal wedding in Britain. But some interesting controversies regarding the wedding plans may shed light on crucial issues relevant to anybody who has been tagged for Los Angeles DUI, driving under the influence in Burbank, driving under the influence in Pasadena, Glendale DUI, and so forth.

Before we get to the main event, let’s briefly recapitulate a breaking story out of Hamilton County, Indiana. Last Tuesday, James Kittle, the 67-year-old former head of the GOP in Indiana, pled guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge and managed to avoid jail time.

According to news reports, Kittle got arrested in mid December 2010 in Carmel. Not only did he fail a field sobriety test, but he also blew a 0.10% on a breathalyzer – as our regular readers know, Long Beach DUI breathalyzer results of 0.08% or higher will be enough to get you arrested for the crime of DUI pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b). Kittle stepped down as the Indiana Republican Party chair in 2006 – he had been considering trying to re-up, but his arrest put a crimp in those plans.

Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reported on April 12th that the royal wedding may “serve as a rehearsal for Queen’s funeral.” HuffPo quotes an unnamed royal aid in the British paper, Express: “obviously we all hope such a sad event will be a long way off – Her Majesty may be 84, but she is in very good health…(nevertheless) we need to rehearse logistics and timing for what will be a huge ceremony. It may seem odd to think about his grandmother’s demise at the same time as William’s wedding, but having all these diplomats and VIPs in London on April 29 makes it sensible to run through the procedures and things like seating plans.”

Wow. It’s definitely a little bit macabre. But it’s not the only strange aspect of the wedding – another wrinkle, which may be relevant to the Long Beach DUI blogosphere, albeit very indirectly, has to do with the bride-to-be’s mother’s diet. The Dukan diet – a French concoction that emphasizes low carbohydrate, high protein, low fat -- is a fad diet that’s sweeping not only Britain but also the United States. It differs from other low carb diets, such as Atkins, because it emphasizes high protein instead of high fat. Without delving into the debate over which method is safer or better, individuals who are on the Dukan diet may want to take extra care when driving along the freeways and surface streets around Long Beach and LA.

When you restrict carbohydrates in the diet, as we discussed in a post last week, your body can produce chemicals called ketones. These chemicals can show up on your breath and skew your breathalyzer readings, as Protein Power's Dr. Michael Eades and other experts on the subject of carbohydrate restriction have discussed. The moral here is: if you're trying to emulate the princess-to-be’s mom’s weight loss by going on the Dukan diet, be on the lookout for this potential problem. If you do get pulled over, for whatever reasons, your breathalyzer results may be way off.

For help developing a defense to a DUI charge, connect with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) would be happy to discuss your situation. Trust this former prosecutor to give you excellent, actionable advice, and help you build a strategy.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Twofer – GOP’s Kittle Avoids Jail Time… and a Big Controversy over the Royal Wedding!" »

Discussions about Long Beach DUI and DUI elsewhere in the US inevitably pivot back to celebrity drama. It’s unfortunate, given that most cases of DUI in Glendale, DUI in Pasadena, Burbank DUI, and Los Angeles DUI involve ordinarily law abiding citizens who make miscalculations or errors of judgment.

But DUI tabloid stories inevitably pop-up – often more than once a week, as this blog has covered – and these stories tend to make all DUI defendants look like nincompoops.

Case in point: Joe Giudice, the husband of Bravo reality star Teresa Giudice (of Real Housewives of New Jersey) was busted the Friday before last for obtaining a phony driver’s license. As this blog covered few weeks ago, Giudice was arrested for driving under the influence in 2010. Anyway, he apparently secured a phony driver’s license using his brother’s ID. The 40-year old was held on bail of $50,000.00. His maximum penalty could be a decade (10 years) behind bars for this crime.

Teresa Giudice apparently was completely oblivious to the potential perils. Following the bust, she took to her twitter account: “Happy Friday! Going to Mount Airy in the Poconos tonight, cooking for my fans! What is everyone else doing?”

The DUI penalties for Long Beach DUI recidivist (repeat) offenders can be painful and life altering. Most regular readers of this blog – and any good Los Angeles criminal defense attorney – can now recite by rote the first time misdemeanor DUI penalties that the court can impose, which include DUI alcohol school; jail time of 48 hours minimum, six months maximum; court costs and fine of up to $1,000.00; formal probation; one year CA driver’s license suspension; and possibly you’ll have to install an interlock ignition device on your vehicle.

But multiple offences can lead to an escalation – or ratcheting up – of your penalties on practically every dimension. You could face more jail time, a longer license suspension, longer time in alcohol school, bigger fines, more court costs and stricter prohibition terms. Moreover, if you get arrested for multiple times within a 10-year period, prosecutors could try to charge you with a felony instead of just a standard misdemeanor. This again has life-altering consequences – a felony is a much more serious charge. Convicted felons can be haunted for years by their conviction and find it much more difficult to get loans, find work, and rebuild their professional reputations.

Long Beach DUI attorney Michael Kraut (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can answer your questions about your DUI. Even if you’ve gotten into complicated legal trouble, this former prosecutor and Harvard Law School educated attorney has the wherewithal and intuition (as well as experience with the system) to deliver results.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Shenanigans – Reality Star Joe Giudice Could Face a Decade Behind Bars for Drivers License Fraud" »

A week ago Sunday, Bryson Smith, a 22-year-old baseball player for the University of Florida, got smacked with a DUI charge and taken to Alachua County Jail – Long Beach DUI experts and others who follow the world of sports news have noticed an uptick in stories about young athletes like Smith getting in trouble for driving under the influence, violating the terms of their contracts, and generally tarnishing the reputations of their sports.

As this blog has relentlessly pointed out in discussions about DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Burbank, and DUI in Los Angeles, sports and DUI simply do not mix. But professional bobsledders, GMs of the nation’s most prestigious teams, and superstar MLB and NFL players alike seem to be getting in DUI trouble these days. Why? What's going on?

More specifically, what happened to Smith?

According to Gainesville Police Department reports, the 22-year-old had been out with his friends at a bar called Cantina 101, when officers saw his vehicle swerving around Northwest 22nd Street, making unusually wide turns and drifting across lanes. Officer Jessie Bostick pulled the suspect over and put him through field sobriety tests (FSTs), which apparently did not go so well.

Officer Bostick reported that Smith “performed poorly on field sobriety exercises… and had bloodshot and glassy eyes.” After Smith was arrested and taken to jail, he refused to take a breathalyzer test. His coach, Kevin O’ Sullivan, released a statement: “I am aware of the charges against our baseball student athlete, and we take these very seriously… Bryson Smith has been suspended from the team effective immediately.”

Coach O’ Sullivan clearly did not want to have to suspend his key player – Smith was hitting .345 for his team with 5 RBIs on the season – one of them a game winner.

The symptoms of a Long Beach DUI that police look for are often “obvious.” In this case, the officer saw Smith swaying from side to side and observed him to have glassy and bloodshot eyes. Other common symptoms include: inability to respond to officer questions, odor of alcohol on the breath, admission to having drunk alcohol (Smith said he had one beer), empty containers of alcohol in the vehicle, slurred speech, loss of coordination, and inconsistent story telling.

As we just said, these symptoms seem “obvious.” Unfortunately, what often might appear to be clear signs of intoxication can actually be attributable to something else. For instance, someone can pull an all-nighter and thus have red bloodshot eyes because of fatigue. Someone might be uncoordinated and not be able to “get it together” enough for FSTs.

Conversely, just because you test negative for symptoms doesn’t mean that you are NOT DUI. For instance, a trained athlete with a great sense of balance might be able to pass the “walk the line” test with flying colors… even with a BAC more than twice the Long Beach DUI legal limit.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454), can answer your questions about your DUI case. Talk to a Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor about your best and smartest plan to deal with the charges.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Dilemma: What to do about all these sports stars getting arrested?" »

When a police officer pulls over a driver for suspicion of driving under the influence in Long Beach (or elsewhere throughout the Los Angeles/Southland region), tempers can flare and the situation can even become violent. It’s all too easy to compound a Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, DUI in Glendale or Los Angeles DUI situation by fleeing the scene of a crash, confronting an officer, or otherwise acting in a way that will make it more difficult to defend yourself in court later on.

Case in point: Detroit Tigers' slugger Miguel Cabrera’s recent DUI arrest in Florida.

According to police video from the MLB player's arrest (as well as 911 calls and 42 pages of arrest affidavits), Cabrera made multiple mistakes, which will likely compound his DUI trouble and may lead to significant legal problems.

First of all, prior to his DUI arrest, Cabrera allegedly made a series of threats at a nearby restaurant, Cowboy's Bar-B-Q & Steak Company. The manager on duty told him that the bar and dining sections were closing – news that Cabrera did not like. He allegedly threatened to attack the manager and his staff with a gun and “blow up the restaurant.” The threats were serious enough that the bartender called 911.

Cabrera left the restaurant and headed towards the Tigers' spring training camp in Lakeland in central Florida. His SUV broke down. Police officers soon showed up on the scene. Cabrera allegedly threatened the police, drank a bottle of Scotch whisky in front of them, and gave one of the officers the bird. When the patrol trooper tried to arrest him, Cabrera “pushed off the vehicle” -- a defensive/aggressive move that earned retaliation from the trooper in the form of “3 to 4 knee spikes” into Cabrera’s leg.

Misbehavior, violent actions and threats to the police can vastly complicate your Long Beach DUI situation. You also might experience escalated penalties if you hurt someone while operating a vehicle while DUI.

Here's the scoop:

Typical misdemeanor charges are dealt with under California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) and 23152(b). Injury Long Beach DUI matters are charged under slightly different vehicle code sections – 23153(a) and 23153(b). From the labeling, that might not sound like a big difference – you go from 23152 to 23153. So what? But the consequences for your potential punishments are profound. 23153 allows prosecutors to elevate misdemeanor charges to felony charges.

Do you know the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony? The difference is enormous. If convicted of a felony, you may get significantly longer than one-year in jail, permanently lose the right to hold public office and vote, and suffer incalculable damage to your professional reputation, credit, ability to get loans, and ability to negotiate favorable probation conditions.

A qualified and reputable Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you build a sound and sensible strategy to combat the charges against you. Michael Kraut of Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (located at 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) has a long and decorated history of helping defendants. With a 99% success rate at jury trials, 14 plus years as a former prosecutor, and a Harvard law school education, Mr. Kraut can give you the guidance and legal help you need to get best results.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Madness -- Miguel Cabrera Tells Officers: “Shoot Me, Kill Me”" »

The Huntington Beach Police Department is on the case of Sharkeez, a downtown bar linked to over 72 arrests for driving under the influence in Southern California over the past year and a half. On November 11, 2010, Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small sparked an investigation into the popular watering hole's safety practices. This week, the story went viral, attracting the attention of the national media.

If you recently got arrested for Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, DUI in Glendale, or driving under the influence in Los Angeles elsewhere, police and prosecutors might target the person or proprietor who provided the alcohol that you drank prior to your getting in your vehicle.

Baja Sharkeez's owner, Ron Newman, has taken up a defiant stance. In response to Chief Small's written statement, "I believe the ownership… represents at best an indifferent attitude toward public safety," Newman retorted, "What happens on the highway, we cannot control... we don't serve anybody who's overly intoxicated. I can't tell if you've had two or three drinks. If you're not obviously intoxicated, we can't tell. If someone is obviously intoxicated, we cut them off."

Sharkeez is not the only downtown Huntington Beach establishment with a less than stellar track record of serving drivers who go on to get tagged for Los Angeles DUI. Hurricane's Bar and Grill has been linked with 52 DUIs over the same 22 month period. And Kilarney's Pub and Grill has been linked with 33 DUIs over that time frame.

The showdown between Chief Small and Newman has taken on a life of its own and generated media headlines and, of course, frothing chatter from the blogosphere. The debate raises interesting practical and philosophical issues about how to control and restrict driving under the influence in Los Angeles.

California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (a) and (b) define what precisely constitutes a Huntington Beach DUI and how such a crime should be punished. 23152(s) says that, if the California Highway Patrol stops you while you're operating a car, truck, or other vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you can be charged with a serious crime. Even if convicted of just a misdemeanor, you could wind up serving jail time, losing your California license, getting points on your record at the DMV, and paying major court costs and fines. This doesn't even begin to touch on the indirect consequences, which can include hiked up insurance rates and loss of professional stature.

23152(b) defines Long Beach DUI slightly differently -- as having a blood alcohol concentration of greater than 0.08%, as measured by a Breathalyzer, urine, or blood test.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can give you the experience and thorough legal help you need to combat the charges. Look to former LA prosecutor (14+ years as a Senior Deputy D.A.) and Harvard educated attorney, Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group to plan your strategy. Mr. Kraut provides excellent, reliable services, and he can help you feel more in control of your life and legal situation.

Continue reading "Huntington Beach DUI News Bombshell: Popular Bar Sharkeez Linked to Six Dozen DUI Arrests in Just 22 Months" »

Rarely do Southern California DUI stops play like something out of a bad 1980’s cop movie (or episode of Reno 911!). But last Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol pulled over a goat – yes, a goat – during a routine DUI stop in Riverside County. (Well, actually the goat wasn’t driving – the goat was a passenger in a car. But the story is nevertheless quite comical.)

Most defendants struggling with charges of DUI in Glendale, DUI in Los Angeles, Pasadena DUI, or Burbank DUI are fortunate, in that their cases are relatively straightforward – or at least not embarrassingly absurd enough to merit a “news of the weird” mention in the paper.

In any event, when the CHP officer approached the truck near Mayberry Avenue in the town of Hemet, a (human) passenger fled the vehicle and almost immediately “fell flat on his face.” The female goat was likely stolen, according to a local animal services representative. By Thursday, the goat was “comfortably” at a local animal shelter in Riverside.

Meanwhile, across the country in Miami, 52-year-old David Hodge was arrested last Thursday for his 12th – yes, 12th – DUI. He remains in jail, at least as of this post, on a bail of $100,000. Yikes.

Often, police officers won’t see something as obvious as a goat in your truck to alert their suspicions. They thus look for subtler symptoms of DUI in Long Beach, including:

• Inconsistent stories about where you have been and where you are going;
• Erratic driving (e.g. swerving out all over the road);
• You smell like alcohol or there are open containers of alcohol in your car;
• You don’t respond naturally to officer’s questions;
• Your eyes are bloodshot or watery;
• Your speech is slurred;
• You lack coordination;
• You have difficulty following officer instructions.

Not everyone who exhibits these Long Beach DUI symptoms should be classified as actually DUI – for instance, you might have bloodshot eyes because you haven’t slept in two days (still not a good idea to be driving). Conversely, you can be DUI and NOT exhibit any of these signs.

This simple logical observation suggests that suspect should consult with a proven and results-oriented Los Angeles criminal defense attorney to combat charges. Someone like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group -- (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802, Phone 562-531-7454) -- can provide superior service for defendants.

Attorney Kraut attended Harvard Law School, one of the top law schools in the country, and spent 14 years as a city prosecutor for L.A., during which time he sought (and got!) stiff penalties against DUI drivers. In short, Attorney Kraut understands how the system works from both sides, and this makes him a potent criminal defense lawyer – not only trusted by clients and feared by prosecutors but also respected by impartial arbitrators, such as media organizations like CNN and the New York Times, who call upon him for expert advice on breaking DUI news stories.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Madness: News Roundup Yields DUI Goat, a 12 Time DUI offender, and More Weirdness." »

Last Thursday, actor Gary Busey got pulled over on the Pacific Coast Highway under suspicion of a Los Angeles DUI, after two “reporters” told police that Busey had been driving his Mercedes erratically on the PCH. When Busey got stopped, the couple, Mark Abel and Patrice Karst, began snapping up photos – perhaps to try to sell to the tabloids for a pretty penny.

As anyone who has been pulled over for Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Los Angeles DUI, or Pasadena DUI can tell you, getting stopped by a police officer is both a harrowing and embarrassing ordeal. Although Mr. Busey himself was found to be “perfectly sober,” according to reports, both Karst and Abel got arrested at the scene for interfering with a DUI investigation. Furthermore, Karst got charged with illegal possession of marijuana.

Obstructing a police officer investigation is a criminal offence. It remains to be seen whether these two wannabe paparazzi will be prosecuted harshly. Gary Busey, meanwhile, must surely be traumatized by the incident. Several years ago, Busey was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident. He has since devoted much time to speaking to motor safety groups.

Let’s take a deeper look at how a typical Beverly Hills DUI investigation actually works.

#1. Officer sees a sign that you might be intoxicated and pulls you over.

Perhaps you drove erratically, swerved out of a lane, or operated a vehicle with a broken taillight.

#2. Field sobriety tests administered.

The officer will administer field sobriety tests – FSTs – to determine whether you are under the influence or not. The FSTs include balancing tests, mental tests, tests of physical co-ordination, and a general “sizing up” of your demeanor, behavior and attitude.

#3. Chemical test given.

Depending on circumstances – for instance, if the officer smells alcohol on your breath or if you fail an FST – you may be asked to take a PAS (“Preliminary Alcohol Screening”) test, which will give a guesstimate as to your BAC level (Blood Alcohol Concentration).

#4. Arrest.

Depending on how you do on your tests, the officer may determine that you are in fact under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants and place you under arrest.

A smart, experienced, and educated Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can provide much needed guidance if/when you or a loved one gets charged with a Beverly Hills DUI. LA criminal law is exceptionally complicated, and the penalties for conviction can include not just jail time but also license suspension, strict probation, steep fines, and many other unfortunate short and long-term consequences.

To protect yourself, connect with Attorney Michael Kraut immediately at the Kraut Law Group. His local Beverly Hills offices are located at: 9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Phone Number 310-550-6935.

Get solid help from a former Deputy District Attorney (city prosecutor) to forge your best defense today.

Continue reading "Beverly Hills DUI Insanity: Actor Gary Busey’s Bogus DUI Arrest in Malibu Sends Bloggers into a Froth." »

When police arrest a driver for driving under the influence in Southern California, most people just assume that the driver must have failed a breathalyzer test or otherwise demonstrated a total lack of sobriety. But a hefty percentage of DUI cases involve surprisingly murky and grey situations. To wit, consider the case of Democratic representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, a Washington state senator arrested on I-5 in Seattle on July 2010 for DUI. Last week, she pled guilty to negligent driving charges coming off that arrest.

If you or a relative or a close friend faces scary charges of DUI in Glendale, DUI in Los Angeles, DUI in Burbank or Pasadena DUI, the trials and tribulations of representative Santos may be quite instructive to examine.

Let's first look at the facts. According to both the Seattle Times and the Associated Press, Santos drifted out of her lane on I-5 in Seattle. An officer pulled her over. She admitted to having had three drinks. She did not do well on field sobriety tests. After having trouble with her FSTs, Santos took a breathalyzer test and blew a 0.77% -- a little bit under the Southern California DUI limit (and Seattle limit) of 0.08%.

The officer who arrested Santos said that she had not blown hard enough into the machine. Santos' attorney, William Kirk, retorted that "even though Ms. Santos blew under the legal limit, she was still arrested."

As part of her plea deal, Santos must serve 20 hours of community service and pay approximately $15,000 in court fees and fines.

It's very common for police officers to use breathalyzer tests on Long Beach DUI suspects. The breathalyzer is a simple machine with a better reputation in the general public than it has in the legal and judicial community. In fact, the sheer flimsyness of breathalyzer results may surprise you.

For instance, let's say you blew a positive for DUI result. Your Los Angeles criminal defense attorney may be able to get the test results thrown out and the charges dropped or at least reduced significantly.

Curiously, neither the Seattle Times nor the AP article asked this key question: "what would have happened had Santos blown too hard into the machine?" Both studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that blowing too hard in a breathalyzer can yield a "false positive." In other words, if you blow softly, you will get a wrong result one way; if you blow too hard, you will get a wrong result in the other way.

This is but one of the many serious flaws with breath testing. Good testing requires extremely delicate calibration. It demands near perfection from both the administrator and the administratee, which in practical terms almost never occurs.

Also note that breathalyzer tests don't discriminate between men and women; don't discriminate between diabetics and non-diabetics (diabetics produce chemicals on their breath that can change their BAC readings); and don't discriminate between ethanol (the active compound in alcoholic drinks) and many other organic chemical compounds.

The long and short of it is that, if you have been charged with the serious crime of Los Angeles DUI, you need an attorney who understands the law and understands how to negotiate and deal with prosecutors. The Kraut Law Group, located at 444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 (phone 562-531-7454) can provide crucial and timely assistance with your defense. Attorney Michael Kraut is a former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney (high level prosecutor), and he uses his more than 14 years of experience as a former prosecutor – as well as the connections he formed -- to provide his clients with truly top caliber help.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Defendants Pay Attention! Seattle Politico's Reduced Sentence May Be Instructive" »