Appleton DUI Lawyers
VanWagner & Wood:
Wisconsin law refers to drunk driving offenses as OWI charges, which stands for Operating While Intoxicated. Other states may refer to these as DUI - Driving Under the Influence or DWI - Driving While Intoxicated. In Wisconsin, there is no distinction between a drunk driving charge and an OWI charge; a person can be arrested for being under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicant including illegal drugs, legal prescription drugs and over the counter medications.
- Pitsch Law Offices:
If you've been cited for Drunk Driving, given an OWI or BAC/PAC
citation or violation of the Absolute Sobriety Law, then you need to seek
out the services of a qualified attorney. There are generally four (4)
phases to an OWI stop and arrest, as listed below:
Phase 1: The Stop
An officer doesn't always stop people with just legal cause. We have
gotten our client's cases dismissed for such illegal stops, such as when an
officer pulled one of our clients over for making too many right hand
turns, "because it was suspicious", or when a client was illegally stopped
because an anonymous person made a call but the officer failed to first
verify independently that there was a violation, or when our client was
pulled over illegally by the police for flashing his high-beam lights at an
on-coming car.
Phase 2: Personal Contact/Reasonable Suspicion
Just because you are stopped doesn't mean the officer can get you out of
your vehicle to test you to see if you are drunk. Remember, the officer
never stops you for Drunk Driving, you are stopped for violating the rules
of the road, such as for speeding, or failing to come to a complete stop at
a stop sign, etc. To get you out of the vehicle for field sobriety testing the
officer must establish "Reasonable Suspicion" that you are Intoxicated,
not simply that you've been drinking. This is done by establishing, in the
totality of the circumstances, that enough indicators are present to form
such a belief, such as red/glossy eyes, slurred speech, fumbling with
your wallet/purse, having the odor of an intoxicant emanating from you,
the admission of recently consuming an intoxicant. Keep in mind that one
indicator by itself do not necessarily amount to "Reasonable Suspicion." It
is not illegal to drink and drive, you just cant drive while intoxicated or
with a prohibited level of B.A.C. And, the odor of alcohol is not by itself
an indicator of being intoxicated, just simply that you may have drank or
had a drink spilled on you. We've been able to get all of the testing and
results suppressed and cases completely dismissed because there was no
reasonable suspicion to believe our client was intoxicated; thus, no legal
cause existed for the officer to begin an investigation into a possible
OWI/BAC violation.
Phase 3: Pre-Arrest/Field Sobriety Testing (FST)
Just because the officer has enough to get you out of the car for FSTs
does not mean he has enough to make an arrest, which is why they have
you perform tests, such as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test,
Walk-And-Turn test and the One-Leg-Stand. Officers never perform the
HGN test correctly and therefore it is impossible to know what they saw
or reliably predict intoxication. So, it is often times not predictive and
therefore not able to be utilized with any degree of accuracy when
determining if a suspect is intoxicated. Officers often times misinterpret
the results of the Walk-And-Turn test too because they either have the
suspect start on the incorrect foot, which causes them to be on the
wrong foot at the ninth step and therefore unable to correctly make the
pivot turn. They also, from time to time, count stepping "off the line"
each time to establish enough clues to possible indicate intoxication.
Whether you step off the line once or five times it is technically supposed
to be one indicator, not five indicators. As for the One-Leg-Stand, an
officer will attempted, often times, to get you to stand on a rigid leg,
which creates a higher (top end weighted) pivot point, which is more
unstable and will often times lead to loss of balance. The key to this test
is to slightly bend the leg you stand on and lean slightly backward, which
creates a more sturdy base for balancing. Failure by the officer to
properly administer these tests can lead to suppression of all evidence of
intoxication and the dismissal of your case. We have gotten our clients
evidence suppressed and cases dismissed at this phase for such violation.
Phase 4: Post Arrest/Implied Consent
If you are arrested and "Probable Cause" is established in the "totality of
the circumstances" after performing the FSTs, it's not over yet.
Following the arrest but prior to formal breath or blood testing, the
officer is required by law to read you the Informing the Accused. Failure
by the officer to inform you of those rights may lead to suppression of
evidence of intoxication and cases being dismissed. Also, if you submit
to an officer's request for formal testing, you may request secondary
testing. The officer will provide you with secondary testing at no cost, or
permit you an alternative test of your choice at your cost. If request
secondary testing and the officer fails to provide you this opportunity,
then the remedy is that evidence is suppressed, including his primary test
that you previously submitted to, and cases may also be dismissed. We
have been successful at getting our client's evidence suppressed and
cases completely dismissed for these such violations, even after juries
have found our clients to be guilty at trial.
Remember, a mistake by an officer at any one of these phases may result
in you case being completely dismissed!!
- Zoesch, Tom:
Criminal Traffic Violations
* DUI/DWI: He defends clients against criminal charges involving drunk driving and helps people recover their driving privileges.
* Moving violations: He helps people with multiple moving violations, particularly those who are in danger of losing their driver's license.
Other Charges
* Sexual assault
* Drug crimes
* Burglary/theft
* Disorderly conduct
* Assault/battery/domestic abuse
* Parole and probation violations
- Benjamin Legal Services:
OWI law covers more
than alcohol
The legal BAC (blood alcohol
concentration) limit for a first time OWI (operating while intoxicated)
offender is .08. Nearly 40% of all fatal crashes are alcohol-related and
78% of drivers in fatal OWI crashes are first-time OWI offenders.
OWI law covers more than alcohol. The
legal definition is "operating while under the influence of an
intoxicant, any controlled substance, any other drugs, or a combination
thereof." Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal. It
is also dangerous. Plain and simple.
If you have been arrested for OWI or
have been issued a citation for Zero Tolerance, you will be required to
complete a substance abuse assessment and any recommended treatment. In
addition, you are required to complete an educational course for
drinking drivers. Information on this and other effects of OWI will be
thoroughly explained to you by one of our experienced attorneys.
Once youve received an OWI ticket, you
need representation. You need an attorney experience with traffic law
and OWI cases, which is willing to take that extra step to help with
your unique case. MGM Lawyers have experienced attorneys on staff who
are willing to go that extra mile and take every step possible to make
sure your rights were not violated and get you the best possible outcome
for your situation.
- Sisson & Kachinsky:
If you are charged with drunk driving you will need to appear in Criminal District Court. It is here that your guilt or innocence will be determined, and here where your criminal consequences, if any, will be determined. A conviction for drunk driving can affect your ability to maintain car insurance, establish a criminal record for you, result in costly fines, and even jail time or court ordered alcohol treatment. Because of the numerous and burdensome potential consequences, it is imperative that you have an experienced attorney represent throughout the process.
Return to Wisconsin DUI Lawyers
|