At the beginning of 2022, the law regarding DUI diversion changed. DUIs are no longer eligible for diversion in California. Please contact our office with any questions. Email us at abortellaw@gmail.com OR Call us at: (415) 523-7878

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Law Firm of Aaron Bortel

Should I Go To Rehab If I Am Charged With A DUI?


Going to rehab is not something that can be used against you. Rehab can be for a lot of different reasons and there’s confidentiality there. Things can happen; people can have all sorts of issues, mental health issues, and go to rehab. It could be drugs; it could be alcohol; it could be PTSD. You can need intensive counseling in an environment where you just need to kind of take yourself out of the mainstream for 28 or 30 days or whatever it is or longer and it’s not a big deal. If you are someone who gets a DUI and wants to go right into rehab, that is not going to hurt you; that is, in every case, almost always going to help you. What I try and do in those situations is get someone, especially if it’s a multiple offense or a real high blood alcohol level, I try and get my clients credit for that against any potential jail time or sheriff’s work program time against a lot of different things.

I would highly recommend anyone who’s thinking, “Maybe I should go to rehab”, if you’re thinking it, get in rehab right away. If you need referrals or ideas on how or where to go, I implore people to call me, just send me a text, send me an email or give me a call. I will help you get into rehab, whether you hire me or not. I will help anybody who is wanting or thinking about doing that to do it. Many insurance companies will pay for it and in some cases, they will pay for all of it without even a deductible. It’s pretty amazing what some insurances will do; consult with an attorney about that. If you think you need rehab and you talk to the lawyer and he goes, “No, I don’t do rehab”, make sure you say to that lawyer, “I think I need it”, and they hear you this time. If they say, “No, you don’t need to do that. You need to pay my bill instead” then that’s the wrong lawyer for you. Turn and run or walk.

Should Everyone Charged With DUI Attend Rehabilitation Programs?

Most people charged with DUI should at least be doing AA, but not everyone. There are cases where when you talk with your attorney, it may not make a difference. I do not recommend that every client that comes to me start going to AA. Some I recommend it, some I don’t; some need the more intensive outpatient programs and many need residential treatment. Everyone’s different, every case is different and the only way you’re going to know what’s right for you is by talking to an attorney who understands how this works and also an attorney who understands what people are going through and what is needed to help overcome the addiction that so many of them have.

How Can Rehabilitation Programs Help To Improve My Life In Addition To Mitigating My DUI Case?

Obviously people work hard at addiction showing that the odds are going down of recidivism by attending these classes, these meetings, these programs, these residential programs or whatever they may be. Those are, in many cases, going to help convince the judge and the prosecutor who is dealing with your case to give you the benefit of the doubt, to go easier on you, to require less of a sentence, if possible. Anything that you can do that your lawyer would advise in regards to self-help will not hurt, and will only help. Everybody knows that doing the self-help to be healthier, to be safer, will help everyone physically and mentally. Improving your life helps for work purposes and helps for licensing. If you have a licensing board or organization that oversees people and sees convictions, it can hold these against you or make you lose your position. For health purposes, there’s no question.

You see studies once in a while, “Drinking a glass of wine a day is healthy for you”. There are other things that you can drink that are a lot healthier than a glass of wine, I can tell you that. I don’t need to be a doctor to tell you that. Abstinence is huge and required for most people who get DUIs and for everyone who is an alcoholic. There are so many things that you can do to improve your life. In these classes you will learn things from people who have gone through it, from people who have lost everything, who’ve hit rock bottom many multiple times. You’ll hear their stories and you’ll hear how they picked themselves up and have gotten into recovery and maintained in recovery. Just going to these classes will improve your life because it will show you that life can get better and stay better. A lot better than it is when you are looking into going to these classes.

These programs and classes will improve almost everyone’s life and you’d be a fool not to take advantage of the opportunity to get some counseling. Everyone can use counseling, whether they are an alcoholic or not, or a drug addict or not, everyone in this world can use counseling. The important thing is finding the right counseling and that may take a while to find the right AA meeting or therapists. A lot of people go into therapy, but until they find a good or the right therapist, they may not get better or improve or be able to cope with what they’re dealing with. There are a lot of therapists out there, but until you find him or her, keep searching until you find the right therapist.

There are residential programs that are better than others for certain reasons and some may be better for some people and others for other people. Find the right one. It’s common sense and it just takes time and patience. No one changes with the snap of the fingers. We wish it could be that quick, but it’s not how it works. Do the best you can to be the best person you can.

For more information on DUI School In California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (415) 523-7878 today.

Aaron Bortel

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