Madison DUI Lawyers
- Chirafisi Law Office:
Wisconsin law refers to drunk driving offenses as an OWI offense - operating while intoxicated, while in other states, they are referred to as DUI, DWI, or OUI. The basis of all drunk driving law is to accuse, charge and punish people for driving while under the influence of anything that may impair their ability to drive. Alcohol or illegal drugs can cause impairment, but so can prescription medication and over the counter medications.
Legal Limits
In most situations, the legal blood alcohol limit is .08; however, people with CDL licenses (commercial driver's license), people who have been previously convicted of a drunk driving offense, and minors are subject to stricter rules.
Drunk Driving & People Under 21 Years
Wisconsin's legal drinking age is 21. Under Wisconsin's zero tolerance laws, a person under the age of 21 years stopped for drunk driving who has any trace of alcohol in their blood is automatically charged with an OWI.
Refusals - Refusing To Submit To A Blood Alcohol Test
Wisconsin's implied consent rule provides that any person who has a valid driver's license gives his or her consent to be tested for drunk driving if they are stopped. The consent to test is implied by the fact that they have a Wisconsin driver's license. If the person refuses to submit to a test, then many other rules apply, such as a refusal to an implied consent test is valid grounds for automatic and immediate suspension of a person's driver's license, and subjects that person to immediate arrest.
- Bednarek Law Office:
operating while intoxicated - OWI - DUI - Defense
From proactive "zero tolerance laws" (absolutely zero alcohol in a blood alcohol test) to movement towards making a first drunk driving offense a crime in the state of Wisconsin, and Circuit Court judges imposing much harsher jail and prison terms than the sentencing guidelines propose, Wisconsin laws are tough on alcohol and other drug related driving offenses.
Remember: neither an arrest for drunk driving or a refusal to submit to a test is a conviction, but your rights must be defended to have any hope of preventing the problems and issues that can follow an OWI arrest.
- Charles Kenyon:
If the police want to question you, perhaps your response should be to read the ÒInvocation of
RightsÓ card, or simply say: ÒI want a lawyer.Ó If they want to search you, your home, or your car,
you do not have to agree to this. The language is: ÒI do not consent to any search.Ó If the police
want to Òstep intoÓ your home, apartment, or even motel room, you do not have to agree to them
doing so. If you do let them in, you may be giving them rights to search, you are certainly giving
them the right to see what anyone coming in could see.
- DeVos & Baer:
Drunk
Driving
(DUI, PAC, DWI, OUI, OWI, Test Refusal)
Different standards apply for different drunk
driving violations. It is therefore very import to consult
an attorney regarding what standards apply in your case. Some
of the factors may depend upon whether you have prior drunk
driving or refusal convictions, whether you were driving with
a commercial driver’s license at the time of the offense,
and how high the alcohol level was.
If you are being charged with a drunk driving
related offense, it is absolutely crucial that you immediately
contact an attorney. The time period for protecting
your rights in drunk driving cases can be incredibly short.
Some of your rights may expire within 10 days of your arrest.
Some of the most common defenses to drunk driving
charges include:
- Challenging prior convictions
- Challenging whether the police violated your constitutional
rights when they pulled you over or when they made you take
a blood or alcohol test
- Challenging whether the alcohol test was accurate
- Brian Gleason:
Drunk driving charges can have a serious impact on your life, your relationships, your ability to drive and get to work, and your finances. Those charged with this offense often have a great many questions. Was the field sobriety test administered correctly? Did I have to take the Breathalyzer test? Does the level of my BAC affect my case? Why was my drivers license revoked? Your drunken driving case depends on several facts, and an experienced drunk driving defense attorney can have an impact on the outcome of your case. Serious charges deserve to be handled by experienced criminal defense attorneys.
- Kelly & Habermehl:
Any personaccused of a drunk driving charge, whether it be Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) or Operating Under the Influence (OUI) (known in other states as Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Driving Under the Influence (DUI)), needs to secure a defense lawyer immediately. A person convicted under Wisconsin OWI law will always experience a license revocation, even for a first offense, on top of other punishments. A second offense requires mandatory jail time.
- James Murray:
Don't wait until your first court date to contact a lawyer. You may have as few as 10 days from your arrest to request a hearing to save your license!
- Karen Michaelis:
Dont just accept the citation. Fight to preserve your driving record and your license.
- Richard Jacobson:
An act is either wrongful by its very nature, or wrongful because the law makes it so. For example, no one needs a law to tell him or her that murder is wrong. But it is only the law which makes going through a red light illegal. Both, however, violate the laws. Laws prohibit many acts, but not every such prohibition is a criminal law. Crimes are either felonies or misdemeanors. A misdemeanor carries less serious penalties: usually a maximum of one year or less of incarceration. A felony is more serious, and carries maximums of greater than one year in prison. In Wisconsin, driving while intoxicated, if it is the first offense for the wrongdoer, is not criminal, and carries monetary penalties (a forfeiture of money) but not jail. Second, third, and fourth offense Operating While Intoxicated are misdemeanors, while fifth and subsequent offenses are felonies.
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