Psychology, Your Mental State in the OWI Process

Psychology of Your Case

Top Ten Things That Cause You to be Mentally Upset:

1. They treated me like I was not a person, like I had no value and was just a number..In our system of justice, unfortunately, there is little compassion, empathy, sympathy, or understanding from either police, jailers, prosecutors, or judges. The numbers of people dealt with and the stigma of you as the defendant, guilty until proven innocent in some eyes, contributes to this phenomenon. Keep your head up, you have value, you deserved decent, respectful, treatment. This is a system failure.
2. I just want to hide, I feel so bad, so low, so ashamed.This is all part of being accused of a crime, a situation you did not anticipate or intend. It is natural to be emotional and upset, it does not make you a bad person.
3. I just want this to be over with.Another natural reaction since the stress of a pending case is something you are living with. But, don’t let the emotions you are suffering and the stress of the case cause you to make a decision without the proper information. Would you buy a car without knowing the price or quality? Isn’t your life or your record or the gravity of this arrest worth as much consideration as the decision information you want for buying the car?
4. I have to convince my lawyer that I am a good person/not guilty etc.No you don’t. I am on your side, I am not here to make you feel worse. I accept you as a good person who is now in an uncaring criminal justice system. I am dedicated to finding the best way out of the system for you whether that be plea agreement, motions, or trial.
5. The police report is nothing but a pack of lies, how can they get away with this?I could not agree more that reading the police report is one of the most frustrating things in the entire case. Believe me when I tell you that the officers write the report in that light most damaging to you. They also can embellish, take things out of context, place statements in the wrong order chronologically, characterize your words or attitude incorrectly and in general make the facts of your arrest completely different than what really occurred. I do not accept the police report, I do consider it.
6. Why do I have to lose my license, go to treatment, be on probation, carry Hi-risk insurance etc. – I have never been in trouble before, this is too harsh.I agree that the price paid in most first offense drinking driving cases is too harsh. Unfortunately with the advent of MADD, the politics of judgeships and prosecutors, and the conservative nature of most legislative bodies, particularly Indiana, most drinking driving offenses have statutory requirements such as pre-conviction mandatory license suspensions and hi risk SR-22 insurance which must be imposed. The rest of the probation requirements etc. are judge generated. You are right, first offenders should not have probation, be required to automatically do treatment etc., but this is the system we are currently stuck with, sometimes you simply have to accept these things for what they are if you are going to accept an agreement instead of going to trial.
7. I am so mad at myself, my spouse, family etc. are suffering because of what I did, they are mad at me too, I am a criminal. .The pressures of your own guilty feelings  or guilty feelings  imposed on you by family are natural. Keep your composure and your poise, at worst, even if guilty, a drinking driving case is a mistake, not an intentional crime.
8. I am not guilty why do i have to go through this whole process to get to trial, it takes too long.We can make your trial happen quickly if you want to pay all of the fees immediately, but most of the time, the passage of time is on your side. The American system of justice is not perfect and just as with O.J. Simpson’s dream team, the more resources you have to invest in a project, the better your probability of putting on an excellent presentation and succeeding in your goal.
9. I just cannot decide what to do, tell me.I can’t tell you what to do because the case is yours and the life is yours. I will make a recommendation to help you.  Sometimes it just helps to talk out your options!
10. This will never happen to me again, can’t you make them believe that I am a good person and make it go away, “it’s my first offense for crying out loud”?   Believe me, I want to make that happen, but in this age of MADD, increased politicization of judges and prosecutors, and anti-drinking/driving sentiment, it will be the evidence which gets you a break if there is a break to be had, not the quality of your character.

Finally, let me offer you this:  Everyone on life’s journey makes mistakes.  Beating yourself up over and over again is counter-productive.  The challenges and risks that a criminal case presents are significant and anxiety and frustration and worry are all normal human reactions to the process.  At my office we pledge never to judge you.  We pledge to treat you with respect and dignity regardless of the charges or accusations leveled at you.  We pledge to give you our best effort to help you make decisions to resolve your criminal law situation in a way that is best for you.  You always have the right to choose to have a jury of your peers from your community evaluate your case to see if the State can prove the accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.  However, if you choose to take the guarantees and eliminate the risk of consequences that a plea bargain offers, that is also a reasonable choice.  There simply is no right or wrong approach.  Everyone has individual needs and goals.  Everyone has risks that they are and are not willing to take.  Our pledge is to try and help you reach that point with your case where you have clear options available for resolution of the case and, that you have a full understanding of the options, the risks, the advantages and the disadvantages of all choices to be made.