los angeles dui attorney

July 8, 2016

Crusader for Tougher DUI Laws Faces DUI Charges

Most people charged with DUI in Los Angeles never intended to break the laws against driving while intoxicated. But one drink too many can cloud their judgment, and they get behind the wheel not understanding that they really shouldn’t be driving.

Dr. Stephen Miller of Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, may not have realized his condition when he got behind the wheel of the family vehicle one evening in June. But he should have been more attuned to the dangers of DUI than most people. Miller lost his five-year-old son Kevin in 2012 when a DUI driver stuck the child as the family was crossing a road. Instead of stopping to assist, the driver fled the scene.

After Miller learned that the driver could spend only a year in jail for his crime, he and his wife spent the next two years advocating for stronger penalties for those who flee the scene of fatal accidents. In 2014, the state legislature passed “Kevin’s Law,” raising the minimum penalty for that crime to three years. The Millers and their extended family were present to witness Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signing the bill in June 2014.

July 5, 2016

Man Loses Legs in DUI Collision

by Michael Kraut

All too often drivers arrested for DUI in Los Angeles may come away from a crash unscathed while some innocent bystander suffers life-threatening or life-changing injuries. The latest out-of-state example comes from Denver, where a 19-year old under the influence of drugs crushed the legs of a man in a DUI-related crash.

Denver Channel 7 reported that 19-year old Dylan Gottschling was driving under the influence of two drugs—heroin and Xanax—when he slammed into the back of a parked SUV on July 4th. The SUV, pushed forward, struck another vehicle; unfortunately, Craig Towler had been standing between them.

The crash pinned Towler and crushed his two legs. To save his life, physicians had to amputate both legs below the knee.

Gottschling, arrested for DUI, reckless driving and vehicular assault, admitted he had been trying to change music on his phone when he hit the SUV. But police think there was more involved; they also charged the teen with texting while driving.

April 29, 2016

Nebraska Supreme Court Reinstates Driver’s DUI Conviction

by Michael Kraut

Drivers who appeal their conviction for DUI in Los Angeles always hope that an appeals court will rule in their favor. A Nebraska driver had that wish come true—only to have the state’s Supreme Court overrule the appeals court, so his conviction still stands.

The Lincoln Journal Star reported on the case of 27-year old Adam Woldt, arrested for DUI in September 2013. A police officer had pulled over a truck that was traveling in front of Woldt’s vehicle, because the officer thought that truck had knocked over some traffic cones. Woldt said that the truck and the police vehicle, with its door open, were blocking the road, so he started backing up in order to drive around the two stopped vehicles.

April 27, 2016

DUIs Hit Your Pocketbook

by Michael Kraut

Ever wondered how much a conviction for a DUI in Los Angeles will really cost you? A recent study from InsuranceQuotes.com provides some insights.

The website took a look at the average increases in vehicle insurance rates after drivers get a ticket for a moving violation. Insurers raised their rates the most for drivers arrested for DUI/DWI; the average premium for the entire country almost doubled, increasing by 94 percent.

Insurers in California, however, are even tougher on their customers. California has the third highest average rate increase after a DUI–a whopping 189.34%! (But Golden State drivers can be glad they don’t live in North Carolina, where the average increase is 333.85%, or in Hawaii, where they’ll pay an average 293.79% more for auto insurance after a DUI.)

Reckless driving will also get you a hefty increase in your auto insurance costs. The average rate increase for California drivers is 189.34%, second only to Hawaii’s 290.68%. Speeding apparently does not cause the same degree of concern for insurers, since the average premiums in California increase by 37.83% for that offense. (California has the eighth highest average premium increase in the U.S.)

April 13, 2016

Will 13th Strike Finally Get DUI Driver Out?

by Michael Kraut

Everyone knows that in baseball the rule is three strikes, and you’re out of the game. But life isn’t always like baseball, and drivers convicted multiple times of DUI in Los Angeles often get behind the wheel and pose threats to others. Of course, California isn’t the only state with this problem, as illustrated by a recent incident in Denham Springs, Louisiana.

Before March 19th, 53-year old Jeffrey Blough had managed to rack up 11 DWI arrests and eight DWI convictions between 1983 and 2016. He had served time in jail and in prison, and he was on probation for one of those DWI offenses, when he crashed his Black Suburban into another vehicle while driving in Denham Springs. Police arrested him for DUI and took him to the station. Somehow, though, they did not pick up the fact that he had a long history of similar offenses and convictions. They let him go after charging him.

April 7, 2016

Tough Decision for DUI Driver: Alligator Teeth or Handcuffs?

by Michael Kraut

Drivers arrested for DUI in Los Angeles have usually demonstrated that they don’t make good decisions. Once you’ve made a poor choice, it’s surprisingly easy to make a tough situation worse – often, far worse!

Case in point: Richard Lange faced a decision recently in Montgomery County, Florida. Should he continue to flee from police and risk getting bitten by alligators? Or should he remain on safe ground and wait for rescue (and arrest on charges of DUI, among other things)?

According to The Courier of Montgomery County, Lange hit several cars on I-45 and left the scene of those accidents when deputies spotted the front end damage to his vehicle and saw that he was riding on only three wheels.
But Lange wasn’t ready to surrender. When police pulled him over, he ran and jumped into a nearby lake to avoid capture. Trouble was, the lake was full of alligators. Lange realized his mistake and swam to the island in the center of the water, where he stayed for four hours until police got a boat to rescue him. He still tried to appear innocent and reportedly asked the officers if it was a crime to go swimming.

March 29, 2016

The Statistics are in: Interlock Devices DO Prevent DUI Deaths

by Michael Kraut

As states look for ways to further reduce deaths from DUI accidents, many are considering new requirements for ignition interlock devices (IID). For example, a bill now making its way through the Maryland State legislature would require first-time DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles. (Drivers convicted of DUI in Los Angeles County already face that penalty for first offenses.)

A study from the University of Pennsylvania has shown that mandatory interlock devices do work as intended. According to an article in Medical Daily, Penn researchers found that mandatory in-car breathalyzers saved an estimated 915 lives between 2007 and 2013. They arrived at this conclusion by studying NHTSA data about the number of alcohol-related crash deaths, comparing states with mandatory ignition interlock laws with those that did not have them. The researchers reported that states with the mandatory interlock laws saved the life of one person in every 125,000.

March 7, 2016

Video Release Embarrasses DUI Solicitor

by Michael Kraut

In earlier days, people arrested for DUI in Los Angeles could concoct an involved story about what really happened when they crashed their vehicles into a light pole or ended up in a highway median. It was always somebody else’s fault. But in the age of video surveillance, it’s getting harder and harder to make such stories believable.

Just ask Donnie Myers, the 11th Circuit Court Solicitor in South Carolina. Responding to a report of someone hitting a utility pole, a police officer tracked Myers down to his home. Found in his garage, Myers told police that he had been slightly hurt in the accident, which was caused by another driver who had forced him over. But the officer apparently doubted that story, since he smelled alcohol.

February 23, 2016

February 2016’s Three Most Unusual DUIs?

by Michael Kraut

Although it’s the shortest month in the year, February usually seems to drag on forever. Maybe that’s why some DUI drivers–no doubt including a few charged with DUI in Los Angeles–have exhibited some rather unusual behavior this month.

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• When a Sumter County, Florida, deputy pulled over Christopher Beauchemin in the early morning hours of February 1, the 45-year-old was standing outside of his car and holding a palm branch. The vehicle was running but was still in gear. When the deputy questioned Beauchemin, the driver said he thought the branch was part of his car that had fallen off. After failing a field sobriety test, Beauchemin got a ride to the Sumter County Detention Center, where authorities charged him with DUI.

• A 29-year old woman from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, must have had it in for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) when she got behind the wheel on February 21. After sideswiping another vehicle, the woman, suspected of DUI, managed to hit no fewer than four separate PennDOT signs before her car flipped and rolled. She escaped with only minor injuries; there’s no word on how much damage the signs suffered.

February 3, 2016

Los Angeles DUI Celebs and Politicians Make the News [Vince Young DUI and More]

by Michael Kraut

Have you ever noticed how high-profile DUI arrests seem to come in spates? You’ll read nothing about celebrity DUI in Los Angeles for a few months, and then police arrest a number of stars and/or elected officials within a week or two.

On January 22, police in Austin, Texas, picked up former Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Vince Young for driving under the influence. Young allegedly was speeding and drifting between lanes when officers pulled him over. The arresting officer said that the sports star was slurring his words, had glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and was swaying as he walked.

Young apologized on his Facebook page after the charge against him–a single misdemeanor count of DUI–became public. So far his current employer, the University of Texas, has opted to keep him on the job.