Wisconsin Driving Under The Influence Laws
In Wisconsin Driving Under The Influence Laws, a DUI is called an OWI (operating while intoxicated).You may also be charged with operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration (.08 or more, or .02 if it is a fourth offense or greater) or operating with a detectable amount of a controlled substance (drugged driving).
In most cases, your driver’s license is suspended 30 days after an OWI/DWI arrest and if you drive after Revocation you get Charge of Operating After Revocation in Wisconsin. If you have a commercial driver’s license (CDL), you will lose that license as well, even if you have been accused of drunk driving in your personal vehicle.
Even for a first offense of drunk driving, the Wisconsin OWI/DWI penalties for drunk driving can be severe. If you are convicted of a DWI or OWI, you could suffer the following as Wisconsin Driving Under The Influence Laws:
- Possible jail or prison time
- Costly Fines
- A permanent criminal record
- Higher Insurance Rates
- License revocation
- Alcohol Treatment
- Probation
- Loss of your vehicle
- Ignition interlock device
What Our Waukesha and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, OWI Arrest Attorneys Can Do
License suspension hearing:
The first step in any drunk driving case is to prevent your driver’s license from automatically being suspended.
Within 10 days of your arrest, you must request a hearing from the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles.
Our Wisconsin rapids attorneys will then challenge the suspension of your license during an administration review hearing.
Refusal hearing:
If you refuse to submit to a blood or breath test, you must request a hearing within 10 days to prevent a minimum one-year revocation of your driver’s license.
If this is your second or subsequent offense, the revocation period will be longer.
Investigation:
Next, we start investigating your case. Our Wisconsin DUI lawyer gather police reports and determine whether your rights were violated during the stop of your vehicle and/or the arrest.
If they were, we may be able to get the case thrown out of court. Our Waukesha DUI/DWI defense attorneys know how to cross-examine any witness, including police officers.
Strategies for Lessening Punishments
Even if you plead guilty, there are many ways our Wisconsin rapids attorneys can lessen your penalties:
- We can refer you to an alcohol counseling program, which can greatly reduce jail time.
- If you have prior DWI/OWI convictions and you did not have a Wisconsin DUI lawyer, or the convictions occurred in another state, we can investigate those prior convictions to see whether the prosecutor can use them to increase the penalty for this offense.
- If you received other tickets along with the DWI/OWI charge, we often get those companion charges dismissed.
On Prescription Medications? Taking Sleeping Pills or Pain Medication?
If you were pulled over after taking too much of a prescription drug, you can still be charged with OWI/DWI as a drugged driver, even if you were on a valid prescription.
Driving under the influence of prescription drugs/operating with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance falls under the same statute as drunk driving and carries the same penalties.
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[…] Charges in Wisconsin :If you are caught driving after your license has been revoked due to DUI or OWI, you may face charges of Operating After Revocation (OAR), not to be confused with Operating After […]