San Fernando DUI Defense Attorney

October 24, 2012

If Only Your Glendale DUI Punishment Would Be as Lenient: Pittsburgh Steelers’ Alameda Ta’amu Faces Two Games without Pay for DUI… and 14 Other Criminal Charges!

After recently getting arrested for driving under the influence in Glendale – and possibly for other charges on top of that – you face a scary and, quite frankly, fraught legal future.

But the world is unfair.

Sometimes, people can commit truly egregious actions and receive little to no penalties. Consider, for instance, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Alameda Ta’amu, who was arrested early Sunday morning (i.e. Saturday night) for 15 separate criminal charges, including DUI, aggravated assault, misdemeanor accident causing damage, resisting arrest, felony fleeing police, and other assorted “bad stuff.”

A sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggested that the Steelers should have cut Ta’amu for the DUI incident. But the management decided just simply to dock his pay for two games. Mike Tomlan, the Steelers’ coach, told a local radio station “we deem his actions as a detrimental effort and we are treating it as such… the other ramifications and so forth of the situation, I am not at liberty to discuss at this time, but we thought it was very important that we act quickly in terms of addressing this and we can focus our efforts on the men that are planning and getting ready to meet this week’s challenge… Obviously, it’s a disturbing incident, one that we take seriously as members of this community.”

How does this all relates back to your Glendale DUI charge?

If you committed far fewer violations than Ta’amu allegedly committed, you can nevertheless wind up with a variety of unpleasant punishments, not limited to a long time behind bars; huge fees and fines; a tremendous spike in the amount of money you pay for car insurance, if you can still get a car insurance; a suspension of your driver’s license; intense probation; and damage to your reputation at work and your social life that may take months or even years to rebuild.

Your Glendale DUI situation may seem unfair – and you may feel a range of emotions including but not limited to depression, overwhelm, frustration, fury, and helplessness. The key to moving forward in your life is to start to understand what options might be available to you.

To that end, you may benefit a lot by getting in touch with attorney Michael Kraut of Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. As a Harvard Law School educated ex-prosecutor of Glendale DUI crimes, Mr. Kraut understands on a firsthand basis how prosecutors will likely treat your case, and he can develop a DUI defense that’s most appropriate and that has the best chances of getting the best results.

October 17, 2012

Burbank DUI Sports News: Mark Ditka Busted for DUI for Forth Time – Bad News for the Bears Even As Their Session Is Starting Out Pretty Well…

by Michael Kraut

Even if you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank, and you’re not a sports fan, you likely are familiar with the Chicago Bears’ legendary old coach Mike Ditka – if not for his football legacy then at least for his appearance in snarky TV ads (or maybe his football-related wine label).

But Ditka’s brand has been challenged by the strange behavior of his sons, Mark and Michael.

Michael has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence –including a stop in April 2011 that we discussed at length here on our Burbank DUI blog. Curiously, in the 2011 case, Michael lashed out that he had been stopped because if his family name.

His brother, Mark, meanwhile, has also been in the headlines for DUI arrests multiple times – in fact, last Sunday he scored his fourth DUI arrest in Deerfield, a suburb of Chicago. According to local news reports, police saw him driving erratically and pulled him over. They found Hydrocodone pills in his car (a prescription opiate – which Mark apparently had no prescription slip for). Plus, Mark lacked insurance and had been driving on a suspended license. When he refused to take a blood or breathalyzer test, he was arrested and held on a $25,000 bond.

Ditka was arrested last year around the same time, according to the Chicago Tribune, for driving with a BAC of around twice the legal limit. In Burbank, that limit is 0.08% BAC, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23153. That case was tossed because Ditka’s chewing tobacco likely skewed the results of his breathalyzer test. In his other two DUI arrests, he managed to get the charges lowered.

But Ditka’s situation illustrates both dangers and opportunities for people who have been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence in Burbank.

On the one hand, with a properly positioned and executed defense, you can do things like effectively challenge a breath test reading. After all, as we’ve discussed dozens of times here on this blog, breathalyzer tests can be compromised due to innumerable factors, including the presence of chewing tobacco; whether you are a diabetic or not (ketones produced by ketoacidosis on the breath can artificially inflate your BAC rating); and diverse other factors.

On the other hand, if you get arrested and convicted for multiple DUIs in Burbank or elsewhere, prosecutors can enjoy more and more different kinds of legal leverage against you.

For instance, if you are arrested and convicted for three DUIs within a 10-year period, prosecutors can try to convict you of a felony for what would ordinarily be a misdemeanor offense. Likewise, as you get more and more DUI convictions, you will face an escalation in penalties, such as the amount of money you have to pay in fines and fees, the length of your jail sentence, the extent and severity of your probation, the amount of time you have to spend in alcohol education classes, the duration of your California license suspension, and much more.

To respond aggressively and effectively to the difficult charges against you, look to the Burbank DUI criminal defense team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers to equip you with a sound legal defense. Attorney Kraut is a highly respected and highly motivated ex-prosecutor who uses his Harvard Law School education and deep connections with the Los Angeles DUI community to get excellent results for his clients.

October 1, 2012

Burbank DUI News Blotter: Three Year Jail Sentence for Women Who Caused Three Accidents in Just One Hour

by Michael Kraut

January 10th was not a good day for 23-year old Allison Smolinski. If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence in Burbank or elsewhere in the Southland, chances are (hopefully) your event was less dramatic and devastating than Ms. Smolinski’s.

According to news reports, Smolinski piloted her 1997 Nissan Pathfinder into three different accidents within a single hour, climaxing with her smashing the SUV into a house in Wheaton, Illinois. People inside the home had been watching TV, and fortunately no one inside was hurt.

But Smolinski suffered a neck injury, and her passenger, a 27-year old male, sustained a major gash to his head. Prior to the explosive conclusion to the accident-spree, Smolinski allegedly smashed a car on Blanchard Street and banged into another car on I-290. Reports suggest that she might also be implicated in a rollover crash on another highway, I-355, where witnesses said that some driver had been “swerving all over the road.”

Smolinski has been in jail since January. Since she has already served several months in prison, and she only need to serve 85% of the total jail sentence per state law, she might be eligible to get parole in only two years or so.

Nevertheless, Smolinski’s situation is a dramatic example of how Burbank DUIs or DUIs anywhere in Southern California or the rest of the country can radically alter one’s future in ways that you could hardly predict. Imagine, for instance, if your family member got hurt or even killed in the rollover accident on I-355. Imagine if Ms. Smolinski had smashed into your home instead of the home on Wheaton Street.

The big question before you is: How can you pick up the pieces of your life and reputation after your Burbank DUI arrest?

This is not an easy question to answer.

In fact, the relevant laws, such as California Vehicle Code Section 23153(a) and 23153(b), which cover injury DUIs in Burbank, are pretty subtle. If you don’t have a respected and compassionate Burbank DUI criminal defense lawyer on your side, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers here in the Valley, you may have a difficult time intuiting the right way to build a defense and fight your charges.

Don’t make a major strategic mistake – get in touch with a member of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to go over what you can do — and, even more key, what you shouldn’t do — to defend against your charges and start to pick up the pieces after your overwhelming experience.

August 20, 2012

After Your Burbank DUI, Hopefully, You Did Not Threaten to Kill the Officer Who Stopped You, Like Rick Springfield Allegedly Did…

by Michael Kraut

No doubt, your Burbank DUI arrest was one of the lowest moments of your life.

You’ve always worked hard, tried to do the right thing, and taken care of yourself. But you’ve also faced obstacles that a lot of people have never had to deal with. Now you’re facing a fresh new challenge that has the possibility of resulting in your imprisonment as well as all sorts of other inconveniences, such as fines, the suspension of your driver’s license, mandatory alcohol education classes, a spike in your already nearly usurious auto insurance rates, and on and on.

Take a step outside of your own situation for a second and consider the recent arrest and legal saga of “Jessie’s girl” singer Rick Springfield. If you recall from our reporting from May of 2011, Springfield was busted for DUI in Malibu in his gorgeous classic 63 Corvette.

During the stop, Springfield allegedly threatened to kill the deputy sheriff. If you’ve been reading our blog recently, you will note that this is apparently a common theme now among celebrities pulled over for DUI in Burbank and elsewhere. Consider, for instance, our recent story about country singer Randy Travis, who allegedly told the Texas troopers who pulled him over that he would kill them.

In any event… in spite of the charges against him and other difficulties, Springfield’s DUI case had a happy ending – as far as Springfield is concerned. He managed to cut a plea deal with Los Angeles prosecutors. He plead guilty to a reckless driving charge instead of a DUI.

Springfield, as part of that deal, will have to go to a two month traffic program and endure a 3 year probation stint. Plus, he still got hit with a reckless driving charge – a misdemeanor – so if he gets arrested again for a different crime, he could face serious issues because of his prior.

But there will not be an alcohol impairment charge on his record. He will get to keep his license. He won’t be spending time in jail. And he can begin to reassemble his reputation and move beyond the event.

Can an experienced and respected Burbank DUI criminal defense lawyer do the same for you – get your charges pled down or even dismissed?

So there is no “abstract” answer to this question. Opportunities to build an effective defense could abound. For instance, maybe the Burbank breathalyzer test used on you was flawed in some way or mis-calibrated, in which case you might be able to challenge that evidence. Or maybe the police made a mistake while booking you or did something Unconstitutional. Or maybe you can strategically work out a plea deal by demonstrating contrition and negotiating in a savvy, effective way with prosecutors.

The important thing to remember is that what’s past is past.

You cannot go back in time – even in a car as fast as Springfield’s 63 Corvette String Ray, unless it so happens to be equipped with a flux capacitor, which is highly unlikely. So you need to deal with your situation: what’s “true now” for you.

Odds are, however, that you’ve never faced a problem quite like the one you are facing now.

So what do you do?

You may need an experienced Los Angeles DUI lawyer yourself — someone who the empathy and compassion to listen to you and the experience and track record to get results.

Attorney Michael Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers embodies both those elements. Mr. Kraut’s services embrace what business thinker Jim Collins might describe as the “Genius of the AND” – in that he is both a terrifically smart guy (Harvard Law School educated) and a compassionate advisor who helps clients really understand their challenges on a deep level.

Mr. Kraut would be happy to discuss your case and give you a powerful free consultation.

August 15, 2012

Does Your Burbank DUI Mug Shot Look As Good As Cat Cora’s Did?

by Michael Kraut

So many aspects of the Burbank DUI experience can be so frustrating and humiliating.

Take the DUI mug shot. Even celebrities can get tripped up by it. Consider Nick Nolte’s famously disheveled DUI portrait, for instance. This notorious example of “disheveled DUI chic” was funny to the world but no doubt devastating to Nolte.

On the opposite end of this spectrum, perhaps, is celebrity chef Cat Cora’s new DUI mug shot, which went viral a few weeks ago because the Food Network star (and co-host of “Around the World in 80 Plates”) looked fresh faced, pretty, even exuberant in her pose.

About Cora’s Arrest
Back in June, Cora rear-ended a BWM up in Santa Barbara. Officers who responded to the incident tested her with two breath tests: the readings showed 0.19% BAC and 0.20% BAC, respectively.

Just to remind you, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b), the legal limit for a Burbank DUI is 0.08% BAC. So Cora tested at practically 2.5 times the legal limit.
Adding insult to injury, Cora allegedly called the people she hit “nerds” – at least according to initial reports from the website TMZ.com. She later released a statement to a cable news network: “I deeply regret my decision to drive that evening, after my designated driver became unavailable… I learned a very important lesson from this experience and take full accountability for my actions. This will never happen again.”
Beyond the standard aspects of her DUI situation, what really caused a stir on the blogosphere, was that she waited 11 days after her arrest (on June 17th) to take her mug shot. CA law permitted this, since Cora had no previous DUIs on her record.
Cora also managed to side step any time in jail: she was taken to the Sobering House in Santa Barbara, instead.

Your Burbank or Glendale DUI situation might be a tad different.

If you get convicted of driving 2.5 times the Burbank DUI limit, prepare to face serious penalties, even if this is your first time ever getting in trouble with the law.

First time offenders here in Los Angeles can lose their licenses for a year. They can face months behind bars; months of alcohol school and probation; thousands of dollars in fines and fees; compulsory installation of an interlock ignition device in your car, which you must pay to maintain; and other “not great stuff.”

By the way, this is the punishment just for a standard misdemeanor Burbank DUI!
If you hurt someone, committed a second or third offence, resisted arrest, or engaged in additional criminal behavior, your penalties can get significantly ratcheted up.

What should you do?

Every case has unique facets and intricacies. An experienced Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) is standing by to listen to your story and give you a confidential, free consultation about your rights and potential legal strategies. Attorney Kraut is a successful, well respected defense attorney (a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor, on top of that), and he can start you on the course to reclaiming your life and rehabilitating your reputation.

August 6, 2012

Glendale DUI Celebrity News: Ted Nugent’s Drummer Hit With a Golf Cart DUI Charge

by Michael Kraut

As regular readers of our Glendale DUI blog know, golf cart DUIs are surprisingly common, both here in the Southland and throughout America. The crime sounds a bit preposterous – like something out of a Caddyshack outtake, perhaps. But we keep seeing examples of it in the news. For instance, Sunday night before last, Mick Brown, the 55-year-old drummer for classic rock icon Ted Nugent, got hit with golf cart DUI up in Bangor, Maine. Brown’s story is more than a bit humorous – it reads like a stereotype of the “classic rocker bad boy breaking the law.”

According to police reports, Nugent stole a golf cart and drove it on a footpath recklessly, while DUI. Police officers tried to stop the runaway drummer, but he “sped past them” on his cart and even pushed a security officer aside. Eventually, two security officers grabbed Brown and pulled him off. He was riding with two females (of course).

Brown was arrested on a smorgasbord of charges including:

July 30, 2012

More NFL Glendale DUI Drama: Marshawn Lynch Slapped with a DUI in California

by Michael Kraut

Driving under the influence in Glendale or anywhere else in California can lead to conviction under California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) or 23152(b), which can result in serious jail time, fines, fees, and other radically harsh punishments – even if you didn’t hurt anybody and even if you were just “a little bit” over the limit.

On the one hand, it should a “no brainer” to avoid driving DUI. On the other hand, it’s a relatively common offense – even among famous politicians and athletes and celebrities. Consider, for instance, the debacle that has been the National Football League: since the conclusion of the Super Bowl back in February, there have been 27 DUI-related arrests of NFL players. One of the folks caught up in the dragnet is Marshawn Lynch, a runningback for the Seattle Seahawks. He was hit with a charge of DUI in California up in Alameda County (Emeryville).

According to news reports, officers saw Lynch weaving around I-880 in a Ford Econoline van. CHP officers said that Lynch almost crashed into two other vehicles on the road before cops stopped him. He was put through the paces of a field sobriety test, arrested, booked, and then tested again with a breathalyzer test while in jail. Lynch’s attorney stated that his client was under the 0.08% BAC limit that defines the limit for DUI in Glendale and elsewhere, per CVC 23152(b).

But Lynch will likely face additional challenges due to his criminal history. Back in 2009, Lynch pled guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge here in Los Angeles and got 80 hours of community service along with a multiple game suspension. Back in 2008, he hit a woman with his car in Buffalo, NY and then drove off – resulting in a hit and run charge.

Will the discrepancies in Lynch’s blood alcohol tests ultimately help him get the charges dropped? Will his past criminal history and other brushes with the law impact his legal fate?

At this point, it’s impossible to know. His court date is scheduled for August 14th.

What you can learn from Lynch’s situation, if you have been charged with driving under the influence in Glendale?

The main takeaway is that subtleties about your arrest (or accident) — as well as your background — can dramatically influence your ideal strategic course, legally speaking. For instance, if the Glendale breathalyzer test that officers used on was miscalibrated or otherwise inappropriately handled, you might be able to build a case to get the breathalyzer evidence dismissed entirely (and thus possibly get your charges dropped or substantially reduced). On the other hand, if you can’t make that argument, you will need to find to some other way to develop a defense.

Very few people have the same sense for the subtleties of Glendale DUI law than attorney Michael Kraut of Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123). Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated lawyer who is often quoted in publications like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times as a DUI expert. He is also a former city prosecutor – that means that he understands the mindsets and motivations of those who will be prosecuting you.

July 18, 2012

A Contraption to Douse Burbank DUIs? Could Wisecracking Urinal Cakes Be the Answer?

by Michael Kraut

Policymakers, police, and lawmakers are in a perpetual desperate scramble to stop Burbank DUIs. This is an admirable quest. Even an A-list Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney, like the Harvard Law School educated Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers, would agree that reducing DUI arrests is a wonderful and important goal for our community.

Everyone wants the roads to be safer. The question is: how do we do it?

Once you get into the question of strategies, differences of opinion emerge!

One intriguing strategy got deployed over the 4th of July weekend in Michigan. It was an indirect strategy, intended to influence intoxicated men to call a cab, find a designated driver, or otherwise make smarter decisions.

How do these men access this font of wisdom? When they go to the bathroom.

That’s right — a company called Wizmark, based in Maryland, has been advertising wisecracking urinal cakes, which warn urinal “patrons” about the dangers of DUI in Burbank or Michigan or wherever. The message goes something like this: “Hey there, big guy! Having a few drinks? Then listen up. Think you’ve had one too many? Then it’s time to call a cab or a sober friend for a ride home.”

This message will certainly take restroom patrons for something of a loop. Who knows, maybe it will have some positive impact. The State of Michigan sure believes that the cakes will help – Michigan ordered 400 of the cakes to be deployed in various bars and eateries across the state.

Obviously, it’s important to test various mechanisms to try to thwart Burbank DUI events.

And thinking out of the box like this might even work. But when policy people lean on solutions without measuring results, they’re being unscientific. If policymakers really believe something like this might help, then they need to measure what happens in a controlled and sophisticated way that can be replicable and scalable.

Because if warnings like this do actually have a good effect – if they reduce DUIs by even just a small percentage – then maybe the program should be scaled up to a nationwide endeavor. Odds are, however, that this is an ad hoc experiment that’s not being carefully measured and controlled.

And therein lies a problem! Even sophisticated and seemingly useful tools, like the breathalyzer, are often highly flawed. Defendants often get confused about what test results might mean. That’s why it’s useful to at least talk to a Burbank DUI criminal defense attorney )2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) as soon as possible after your arrest, so that you can get informed about the realities of your situation.

July 16, 2012

An Object Lesson in How to Make Your Glendale DUI Situation Worse – Way Worse – Almost Instantly

by Michael Kraut

No one wants to get arrested for DUI in Glendale or anywhere else. But there is a time and a place for pleading your defense. And that time is not when police are waving you and other cars over to pass through a Glendale DUI checkpoint.

Consider, for instance, what happened the Sunday before last on Pennsylvania’s Route 413.

A 52-year-old man, John Connors (no relation to the hero from the Terminator series) blew through a sobriety checkpoint and nearly hit five police officers, according to the Pennsylvania State Police allegations. In court documents, police said that Connors blasted his red 2005 Dodge Dakota through the checkpoint “at a high rate of speed, causing officers to jump out of the way from being hit by the vehicle.”

Unsurprisingly, the police took off after him and chased him onto Snowden Avenue, where the SUV ran out of room. The driver hopped out of the truck and fled into a wooded region, where police ultimately caught and arrested him. Connors resisted, prompting an officer to taser him twice to stun him into submission for the arrest. After taking him into the car, police noticed an odor of alcohol, slurry speech, glassy eyes – typical symptoms of a Glendale DUI. They also allegedly found marijuana on his person.

Connors was hit with a diverse and scary battery of charges, including third degree felony fleeing and attempting to elude police, first degree misdemeanor DUI, misdemeanor reckless endangerment (second degree), and multiple other charges. And guess what his bail was set at? A humongous $150,000.

Now imagine if we dial back in time, and instead of fleeing the checkpoint, Connors stops at the checkpoint and deals with whatever comes his way. He might indeed get arrested for something like misdemeanor DUI – and he could still face serious punishments, including jail time and fines and other “unfun” stuff. But he wouldn’t be facing all of the extra counts – his legal situation would be monumentally simpler.

The takeaway for you, if you face Burbank DUI charges.

Even if it’s a day after your arrest – or a week after your arrest – your actions from here on out will determine and perhaps define how your arrest will ultimately impact your life, your freedom, and your self-development for years to come.

In other words, your DUI situation is not yet over!

To that end, it’s time to take sober, responsible action. Let the team here at Glendale’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) help you build an effective and strategic legal response. Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor who has a long and diverse history of helping clients like you succeed even in difficult circumstances.

July 8, 2012

Interesting Long Beach DUI News: White House’s Nominee for Ambassadorship Hit for DUI!

by Michael Kraut

What will be the negative repercussions of your Long Beach DUI arrest?

The answer depends. If you get the charges cleared up and quickly rehabilitate your personal and professional life, the consequences could be minimal.

Or not.

Witness what just happened to 58-year-old Timothy Broas, a white collar defense attorney in the D.C. area. Broas got pulled over June 19 and hit with a charge of “attempting to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol” – likely violating something similar to Long Beach’s California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a). What made Broas’ arrest newsworthy was the fact that he was on the verge of becoming the United States’ Ambassador to Netherland. Broas had raised $500,000 for the Obama campaign (2012), putting him on the list of the top 120 fundraisers for the President. (He also raised nearly $500,000 for the Obama 2008 campaign.) The White House announced last week that Broas “withdrew his nomination for personal reasons.”

But, reading between the lines, it’s pretty clear what happened.

Broas’ list of accomplishments is long: he won accolades for his work; serve on an esteemed think tank (Woodrow Wilson International Standard for Scholars); garnered praise from former presidential nominee John Kerry, who called me a “quintessential family man (who)…is a living example of the kind of compassion and strength that we expect from our nation’s diplomats.”

Yet his DUI got in his way.

Will your Long Beach DUI have a similarly devastating impact on your career – or your personal life?

Notice a key lesson here: Broas hasn’t even gone to trial yet for what happened to him – his court date is set for August 6th in Rockville, Maryland. In other words, he hasn’t even been convicted yet of anything, and yet he still lost the chance to be an Ambassador.

Being convicted for driving under the influence in Long Beach can lead to more serious consequences: jail time, points on your license, a big boost in your insurance rates, mandatory alcohol school, annoying and stringent probation terms, big fines and fees and legal costs, and so forth.

A way to wrangle your legal mess?

The powerful and widely respected Long Beach DUI criminal defense team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454) can help you formulate a practical, strategy centered response. There is no need to panic, but time may be of the essence, depending on what you have been charged with and what you have done so far. Connect with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for a free case evaluation.