From California Drunk Driving Law, (c) 1997 - Ed Kuwatch

APPENDIX A, CHAPTER 10


PUNISHMENT

1 EFFECTIVENESS OF PUNISHMENT

Clients, especially repeat offenders, often question the way the
criminal justice system deals with them in drunk driving cases. They ask
why the government wants to destroy their self-esteem, and even their
lives and livelihoods. They want to know what good that will do.
Typically, they assume that the justice system has their best interests
at heart, and seem perplexed at how it carries out that mission. They
reason that public humiliation and long jail terms only increases their
troubles and their stress and can only lead to more alcohol abuse. Some
of this is the result of the denial that all alcoholics have about
personal responsibility for their problems, and some of it is genuinely
perceptive of how wrong-headed the system can be.
Usually it's the third or greater offender that is the most perplexed.
That makes sense because the system does indeed make their troubles much
worse and they're the most likely to be as far in denial as one can get
about their own responsibility for their situation. These people are
sometimes said to be in Lake Victoria about their drinking (all the way
up de' Nile). You can help put them on the road to recovery by
motivating them to accept responsibility for their actions. Explain
their plight in a non-judgmental, non-condemning way that neither
supports their denial nor overly condemns the government's approach
which, right or wrong, they must learn to deal with. It's a , "Here's
where you are, here's how it is, here's what you do with it", approach.
Say to the client:

For a first offense, the government wants to slap you on the wrist
and get your attention, and make you aware of the options and
programs available to people with alcohol problems. The main focus
is, in a very general sense, a paternalistic approach to helping you
become more responsible. There is a desire to help you.
For a second offense, the government has the attitude that you
failed to pay attention and do something about your irresponsible
drinking and driving, so it's time to take you by the collar and
lead you through a treatment and reform program designed to make a
better person out of you. There's still a desire to help, but this
time it's done with a more forceful approach.
A third or more offense results in an entirely different approach.
The government has given up on you, and only seeks to destroy your
life and your livelihood, and make an example out of you. If you
lose your wife and kids and your home and your job and everything
near and dear to you, that's fine, but tell everyone you know how
bad it is to drink and drive and get caught and convicted and then
not learn from these mistakes. If you manage to change your life and
crawl out of this hole, that's your doing, and you're alone in doing
it. The government has no interest in helping anymore. They just
want to destroy you. They think that drunks have to hit bottom
before they can change.

This is tough talk, but it's effective in telling the client just
where they stand, and they usually appreciate the advice. Just don't get
involved in letting the client whine to you about how unfair it all is.
Sure, you'll probably agree that it's unfair, but it does no good to
give the client a detour from accepting personal responsibility for his
or her actions. Right or wrong, the system is there and it must be dealt
with. So you should instead convey the persona of one who's concerned,
but detached and unsympathetic to complaints about the punishment.
Sympathize with the client's personal problems, but not the law, which
he or she alone must confront. It's not your problem, it's theirs. Tell
them that you'll do the very best you can to defend the criminal
charges, but how they handle the punishment is for them to deal with.
Then help them help themselves get through it.