Articles Tagged with dui defense

Anyone facing trial for a Los Angeles DUI would be well advised to tell the truth when taking the stand. Lying to a judge and jury lead to serious consequences, including perjury charges. But if the truthfulness of a police officer’s statement is in doubt, that can be good news for drivers whose convictions depend on his or her testimony.losangeles-DUI-charges-thrown-out

To that point, the district attorney of Wake County, North Carolina, recently decided to dismiss charges against 104 drivers accused of DUI after a judge caught a sheriff’s deputy lying during his testimony during one trial. Prosecutors had planned to use Deputy Robert Davis as a witness in those DUI cases and in 71 other traffic cases, which the prosecutor also dismissed.

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Anyone charged with a Los Angeles DUI can expect a fairly speed resolution to their case, whether that means paying a fine, spending some time in jail or having an ignition interlock system installed on their car.north-dakota-dui-punishment

But it took 20 years for justice to catch up with Jason William Gale. According to the INFORUM website, on March 13, 1995, a police officer in Grand Forks, North Dakota, saw Gale swerving his vehicle into a bicycle path. The cop pulled him over, but Gale didn’t do well on the field sobriety test. The cop arrested him for DUI.

Gale hired a lawyer, Henry Howe, to defend himself against that charge. Gale trusted Howe to guide him through the court process and even signed a power of attorney so that Howe could represent him during preliminary court proceedings. Howe told Gale he had handled everything, but the lawyer actually never showed up in court.

Gale moved soon after the DUI incident and subsequently lived in Colorado, Fargo, North Dakota, Florida and Minnesota. Along the way he held multiple jobs, got involved in a few civil court cases and had at least five background checks. But it took a recent employment background check to uncover the fact that the Grand Forks court had issued a warrant for his arrest back in 1995 after he failed to show up in court.

North Dakota must have some tough prosecutors. Gale tried to set things right, and his new attorney thought the court would dismiss the charges. But the prosecutor tried the case, calling up the arresting officer from 20 years ago to testify. Gale ended up paying a $500 fine, but at least he didn’t get sent to jail and there are no more outstanding arrests warrants against him.

Locating a seasoned and qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer is a critical part of the process of reclaiming your life, your time and your peace of mind. Call ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for a free consultation right now.

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Most people understand that someone who meets the criteria for a DUI in Los Angeles has a good chance of getting hurt if he or she gets behind the wheel. But people in Wisconsin–and perhaps in other states as well–are more likely to get hurt from falls when they’re under the influence than from driving a motor vehicle.wisconsin-dui-los-angeles-dui

According to an article in the Madison, Wisconsin, Capital Times, officials recorded 349 deaths in Wisconsin from alcohol-related falls in 2012 (the latest year for which figures are available). Meanwhile, they recorded only 223 alcohol-related traffic deaths that same year. The Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project (part of the University of Wisconsin Law School) gathered the data for this report.

The newspaper story notes that DUI-related fatalities in Wisconsin have declined significantly since 1979, when 593 people were killed in such crashes. By 2013, yearly fatalities had decreased to 185. Fatal falls related to alcohol, on the other hand, have increased by 36 percent since 2004.

The Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project links this increase to the aging of Wisconsin’s population. Older people have continued to drink, even as they become less steady on their feet and/or take medications that make them more susceptible to alcohol’s effects.

There is one positive aspect to this development. Unlike DUI drivers, who can kill or severely injure several other people when they’re out on the road, someone who falls because they are intoxicated usually injures only themselves.

A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health identified Wisconsin as the hardest-drinking state in the country. In 2011, the annual alcohol consumption in the Badger State was 634 drinks per person for those over the age of 14. That compared to an average 468 drinks per person in the U.S.

Do you need help defending against a drug or DUI charge? Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers is a trustworthy, highly qualified former prosecutor. Call a Los Angeles DUI attorney today to strategize for your defense seriously.

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The problem of Los Angeles DUI, on some level, seems intractable.robot-car-dui-prevention

After all, even if we collectively could reduce DUI incidences as low as possible, we’re never going to eliminate the problem completely. Even the very definition of the problem changes over time. How much marijuana do you have to smoke before you will be over the limit for a drug DUI, for instance? Will the National and Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) succeed in lowering the legal DUI limit to 0.05% BAC from 0.08% BAC, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (b)?

Human beings – and our laws – are both unpredictable and ever-changing. The best we could ever hope for, in terms of reducing DUIs, is probably some low, but non-zero number.

So can we ever get to a zero-DUI society?

Every few years, futurists speak grandly of the promise of “robot cars” and “robot drivers.” Some of this speculation is idle. Some of it involves good science and promising engineering (e.g. Google’s automated car experiment).

Unlike humans, robots are never tempted to drink alcohol or do drugs or take prescription medications. They do not fatigue, although their batteries can run out. They are not susceptible to road rage or depression, and they would never take their eyes of the road to text their robot friends behind the wheel.

In theory, therefore, if we all collectively switched to robotic driving (a la Google cars), we could probably get the DUI accident rate down to zero. Unfortunately, this utopian scenario may never come to pass, since even if a company like Google develops a perfect autonomous vehicle, human hackers may render the project fundamentally and intrinsically dangerous.

Until the time when we can solve all robot-car-related safety issues, we’ll be stuck with vexing human-driving issues, like DUI. As a defendant, you can trust the effective, ethical services of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers. Find out more about what sets Los Angeles DUI lawyer Michael Kraut apart, here on our website, or call or email the firm today to schedule your free consultation.
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Your Los Angeles DUI charge has thrown your world way out of balance.los-angeles-dui-process

For the first time, you probably feel oddly connected to Lindsay Lohan and Nick Nolte – you know how humiliating, frustrating and scary it can be to stand accused of violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (or 23153, if you hurt someone).

All of a sudden, you’re no longer laughing at unfortunate celebrity DUI mug shots. In fact, you can’t stop ruminating about the potential punishments in the offing (e.g. big fees, time behind bars, loss of your driver’s license, diminution of your professional reputation, probation, and other idiosyncratic penalties that court may decide to thrust upon you).

There is one lesson that you can cling to, despite this chaos, that will make the journey towards putting the DUI behind you easier and more certain.

And that lesson is this: moving beyond your DUI is a process, not a onetime project.

Even though you may have “collected” your DUI in a flash, the solution may not come bundled in a simple package. This isn’t to say that you can’t resolve your crisis rapidly and permanently, in somewhat short order. For instance, depending on your case, your lawyer might be able to…

•    Challenge and refute the breathalyzer test results or blood test results;
•    Challenge the Constitutionality of your stop or arrest;
•    Plea-bargain the charges down;
•    Stop the license suspension;
•    Connect you with other resources, so you feel more in control of your life;
•    Structure your defense, so that you can effectively get back to “business as usual,” even while your case is pending and the outcome is uncertain.

View your “post DUI” experience in a “process oriented” way.

When you have a process-oriented view of things — as opposed to a “product-oriented” view — you can learn to see setbacks with your case as opportunities. You can even look beyond issues of punishment and reward and see the DUI as a chance for self-improvement and self-development. In retrospect, the DUI could even be viewed as a good thing, in that it helped you make needed changes. For instance, it could catalyze more productive thinking and action about a drug or alcohol addiction problem.

Call a Los Angeles DUI defense attorney at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today to get a new perspective on your options. Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor, and his common sense, solid treatment of DUI cases has won him fans not just among clients but also among prosecutors and judges.
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As someone who recently had to endure a field sobriety test for Los Angeles DUI, you can attest to the surprising challenges that you endured:los-angeles-dui-walk-the-line

•    The humiliation of being made to “walk the line” on the side of the road, while other drivers passed and gawked at you;
•    The fear that you were going to fail your breath test and rack up a DUI charge, per California Vehicle Code Section 23152;
•    The anxiety as you contemplated the potential punishments for a conviction, including a mandatory interlock ignition installation, jail time and driver’s license suspension.

At the end of the day, you didn’t exactly pass your FSTs with flying colors, and you may have also failed a breath and/or blood alcohol test.

FSTs are inaccurate, sometimes very misleading gauges, though:

1. Bloodshot eyes – alternative explanations.

Having bloodshot eyes is a symptom of being DUI. But it’s also a symptom of being fatigued, sick or irritated by allergens. You could have sand in your eyes. Or an accident or a sudden stop might have caused the blood vessels to burst in your eyes.

2. Failure to pass the walk the line test – alternative explanations.

If you lose your balance while trying to walk on the line, that could indicate that you were driving DUI, but it could also indicate that you just generally have a bad balance or that you have an ear ache or ear infection. Or maybe you are just a generally uncoordinated person. Maybe you were confused by the slope of the road or by the shadows, and you stumbled. Perhaps you DID walk the line, but the police incorrectly recorded that you stumbled.

3. Slurred speech and having trouble following directions – alternative explanations.

If you slur your speech and you can’t understand and/or abide by police directions, you might be DUI. Or you might be exhausted, emotionally overwhelmed or sick. Or you might have a speech impediment or difficulty hearing. Perhaps the police pulled you over on a very loud section of the freeway, and you couldn’t hear the instructions over the roar of the traffic.

For help managing the aftermath of your Los Angeles DUI crisis, call attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today for intelligent, compassionate, thorough assistance with your charges. Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated attorney who racked up a success rate at jury trials of over 99%, when he worked in the Deputy DA’s office.

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