Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Published on: May 11, 2016

Oakland DUI Drivers Avoid Checkpoints On May 5th

Should people of Irish ancestry complain about planned checkpoints for DUIs in Los Angeles on St. Patrick’s Day? In Oakland, California, at least, their protests could have an impact if the local department’s actions regarding Cinco de Mayo DUI checkpoints are any indication.

A press release, “Fiesta Time of Jail Time,” issued by the Oakland Police Department triggered protests by Hispanic activists, according to various media reports. The release said that “In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become synonymous with festive fiestas and salty margaritas…but present-day celebrations often lead to drunk driving–and there’s no victory in that.” (Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.)

Published on: May 9, 2016

Judge Goes to Jail with DUI Offender – Why?

by Michael Kraut

Defendants who go to court charged with a Los Angeles DUI may anticipate a lecture from the judge who hears their cases. They likely would never anticipate, however, is that the judge would sentence them to jail… and then spend the time behind bars with them!

Stories in North Carolina’s Fayette Observer and in the Washington Post tell the tale of Sergeant Joe Serna, a retired Special Forces veteran who served almost twenty years with the U.S. Army. He survived four tours of duty in Afghanistan and had close brushes with death three times; he earned three Purple Hearts.

Serna’s wartime experiences never left him entirely. He suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he has had some substance abuse problems. After being arrested for DUI, he had been on parole and enrolled in a veteran’s treatment court program supervised by North Carolina’s District Court Judge Lou Olivera.

Published on: May 6, 2016

Could Big Changes to Los Angeles DUI Law Be Coming? [New Tests for Non-Alcohol DUI]

by Michael Kraut

Police in California may soon have a new weapon in their efforts to get DUI drivers off the road. The state legislature is considering authorizing the use of a device that measures levels of marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and pain medications (including opiates).

The push to get the new device approved is apparently in response to a California ballot measure that would authorize the use of recreational marijuana in the state. In an April 6th article, the Los Angeles Times reported that State Senator Bob Huff of San Dimas has authored a bill that permits police to take an oral swab from a DUI suspect and then use a handheld device to test for the presence of marijuana and other controlled substances.

Lawmakers may have good reason to be concerned about the consequences on driving habits if the pot bill passes. The Times article notes a 40 percent increase in positive tests for drugs in drivers killed in crashes in California between 2009 and 2013. It also said that pot-related traffic deaths increased by almost one-third in Colorado in the year after that state legalized recreational pot.

Published on: May 4, 2016

Arizona Supreme Court Rules: One Word Wrong–No DUI Charge

by Michael Kraut

When police officers charge drivers with Los Angeles DUI, they must take great care when booking people to avoid violating their Fourth Amendment rights. Even simple, seemingly trivial mistakes in protocol can mean that an otherwise justified arrest won’t stand up in court.

To that end, the Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled that if police officers say that a driver is “required” to take a blood alcohol test rather than “requested” to do so, the DUI charge won’t stand. According to Tucson TV station KVOA, the court said that requiring a search would violate a person’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search.

Published on: May 2, 2016

High on Aerosol Dust Clean? No DUI Charges with Synthetic Drugs

by Michael Kraut

Synthetic drugs are causing a real dilemma for states striving to enforce laws against driving under the influence. Depending on the type of drug a driver uses to get high, prosecutors can find it next to impossible to obtain a DUI conviction. Is that fair? How can states standardize how they handle and punish drug DUI cases? What safeguards should be in place to protect defendants?

An Associate Press article recently analyzed the case of 18-year-old Kristian Roggio, who suffered fatal injuries when another driver crossed a road in Brooklyn and collided with her car. Police maintain that the offending driver got high after inhaling aerosol dust cleaner, and they charged him with vehicular manslaughter. However, the New York Supreme Court threw out those charges, because that particular substance didn’t appear on the state’s list of banned substances. The Court decided that case nine years ago, but problems regarding how to identify and prosecute drug DUIs in New York and beyond persist to this day.

Published on: April 29, 2016

Sentencing for DUI Driver Who Killed Three

by Michael Kraut

There’s often some sense of relief when a driver convicted of multiple deaths due to DUI in Los Angeles goes to jail; at least that person will be off the road for a few years. But in Anderson County, South Carolina, a recent DUI sentencing has left little more than a sense of loss and waste due to a young man’s poor decision one evening.

According to WYFF News 4, Riley McDermott, age 25, had gone out with his roommate to get chicken wings on the evening of November 8, 2014. He ended up drinking too much, getting behind the wheel, and crossing the center line of the road. He was going 73 mph when he slammed into a car carrying five young people. The crash killed Amber Hope Perkins, 17, Jessica Roberts, 20, and Cory Simmonds, 20. Jessica’s sister, 17-year old Samantha, suffered injuries in the crash. Amber’s sister, Cheyenne Queen, will face lifelong problems because of her extensive injuries.

McDermott reached a plea agreement with the Anderson County prosecutor. In return for a sentence of 18 years in prison, he pled guilty to three counts of felony DUI with death and two counts of felony DUI with manslaughter. The maximum sentence could have been 135 years in prison.

Published on: April 27, 2016

Philadelphia Nun Loses License After DUI Conviction

by Michael Kraut

Arrests for DUI in Los Angeles frequently have a twist–a celebrity arrested, an incident involving some unusual circumstances. But L.A. doesn’t have a monopoly on strange DUI arrests, as evidenced by this East Coast case.
A judge in New Jersey didn’t buy the excuse given by Sister Kimberly Miller, age 41, for her DUI arrest. Miller, who lives in Philadelphia, claimed that she hadn’t even known she was behind the wheel when police picked her up on November 7th in Gloucester County. She said that the combination of a glass of wine and a dose of the sleeping medication Ambien at bedtime had left her “sleep driving,” and she had no recollection of how she got to New Jersey or in police custody.

Sister Kimberly Miller of Little Flower H.S. is organizing its 1st Little Flower Teen Author Festival. Photograph in school library with display of books written by young authors that will attend the festival. Picture taken on Thursday afternoon February 20, 2014. ( ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER )

Police arrested Miller after witnesses saw her backing into the glass door of an auto repair store–breaking it–and leaving the scene. When the officers caught up with the nun, she had a half-empty bottle of wine behind the front seat. She blew a .16 on a breathalyzer test, but the judge threw out that evidence because police had not followed the proper procedures–observing Miller for 20 minutes–before administering the test.

Published on: April 25, 2016

Repeat DUI Drivers Lose Loophole In Oklahoma

by Michael Kraut

When courts find someone guilty of a DUI in Los Angles, the penalties that person faces will depend on whether or not he or she has prior DUI convictions. (It doesn’t matter if some of the DUI convictions occurred in another state; California treats those offenses as if they occurred in state.)

Most states also track DUIs that take place in different jurisdictions within their boundaries. But Oklahoma has provided an out for drivers convicted of DUI in most municipalities. Only two municipal courts in that state are courts of record, which report DUI convictions to the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network. That leaves 350 municipal courts that don’t report to the state. Drivers can rack up an unlimited number of DUIs, and as long as they took place in different municipalities, each would count as a first offense.

Published on: April 20, 2016

Using Social Media to Expose Light DUI Sentences

by Michael Kraut

Should the public be informed if a judge gives a driver convicted of a Los Angeles DUI a very light sentence? The State of New Mexico thinks that’s what should happen in the Land of Enchantment.

New Mexico judges who routinely hand out lenient sentences to DUI drivers may soon have observers in their courtroom. Governor Susana Martine announced in mid-April that New Mexico plans to pay staffers from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to monitor these trials—and to report to state officials on what they’re seeing. State employees will tweet the names of the repeat offenders and the judges who let them off easily.

According to an Associated Press report, the state has given MADD an $800,000, two-year contract to carry out this work. Governor Martine said the program is necessary, because the justice system too often fails families whose suffer because they have lost loved ones in DUI-related crashes.

Published on: April 18, 2016

Kansas Court: Open Container Not Enough for DUI Test

by Michael Kraut

Police officers who suspect a driver of DUI in Los Angeles must have probable cause before they can ask that person to take a breathalyzer test. But what constitutes probable cause? In Kansas, at least, police officers can no longer use some of the indicators that they used to employ.

According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, the Kansas Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Darcy Unrau, who appealed his conviction on DUI charges. Unrau’s lawyers argued that Officer Steve Koch, who arrested the driver, lacked good cause to ask the defendant to take a breathalyzer test.

Unrau had been driving 30 mph over the speed limit when Koch pulled him over in August 2014. After spotting a holstered gun in the vehicle, Koch asked the driver to get out. The officer admitted that Unrau had no problem talking or walking but said he smelled of alcohol. When Unrau’s passenger opened the glove compartment in the vehicle to take out the insurance information, a can of beer rolled out. Officer Koch subsequently found two other cans of beer, one opened, in the vehicle.