Repairing Your Relationship with Your Spouse After Your Long Beach DUI

Things were already rocky between you and your spouse, before you got arrested for driving under the influence in Long Beach. Now things are worse.

What can you do?

First of all, you need to address the realities of your arrest and all the legal implications. According to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) or 23152 (b), even a misdemeanor DUI in Long Beach (or elsewhere) can lead to jail time, annoying court costs and fees, mandatory installation of an Interlock Ignition Device (IID) in your car, strict probation terms, mandatory alcohol school, and loss of your CA driver’s license. And that’s just for starters! On top of that, your insurance rates can go up and you can lose your job.

That’s brought up not to spook you, but rather to help you focus on what’s truly important right now, which is your Long Beach DUI defense.

In other words, the “practical stuff” regarding your defense needs to take priority. Otherwise, you run needless risks. The longer you delay getting good representation, for instance, the more difficult it will be to take care of/prevent other bad events. For instance, right now you might be able to contest the driver’s license suspension, find evidence to challenge the Long Beach breathalyzer test results, and anticipate what prosecutors may throw at you.

This isn’t to say that you should neglect your relationship. At some point, you DO want to circle back to address pivotal emotional issues. After all, you’re going to need support not only to manage the logistics of your life – e.g. who’s going to drive you and your children places, if you have a suspended license? – but also to keep you from recidivism and boost your confidence.

Obviously, this is a Long Beach DUI defense blog, not a relationship counseling blog. But you might find it useful to treat the “Long Beach DUI conversation” with your spouse (or partner or girlfriend/boyfriend) as you would treat an important business meeting. In other words, prepare for it! Spend time writing down the stuff you want to stay and imaging the conversation going as well as it could go.

If you haven’t yet broken the news to him or her, prepare. If you’ve broken the news, and the “first round” didn’t go over well, you need to go from there. Acknowledge your starting point – don’t lie to yourself or pretend your problems aren’t as bad as they really are. But retain hope and faith that you can get through this — that you will rebound from your DUI in Long Beach stronger, more compassionate, safer, and more resilient than before.

Step one is to understand your current playing field. What’s true now about your arrest, your charges, and your possibilities? Get insightful, confidential answers by connecting with the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers today. Attorney Kraut is not just a very highly regarded and well connected Long Beach DUI defense attorney, but he is also an ex-prosecutor, so he knows what prosecutors will want out of your case.

If you have been arrested for a DUI in Long Beach or you are under investigation for driving under the influence in Southern California, please contact Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut for 24/7 assistance by phone at (323) 464-6453 or toll free at (888) 334-6344 or online.