drunk driving laws
Wisconsin Drunk Driving Laws - DUI OWI DWI BAC PAC law and state statistics can be confusing. Attorney Tracey Wood - DUI Defense Attorney & Criminal Defense Lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin provides definitions and explanations about Wisconsin's operating while under the influence or intoxicated laws, prior convictions, fines, jail time, occupational license and huber work release.
An Overview of changes in wisconsin's dui laws
by Attorney Tracey A. Wood
Attorney Tracey Wood is a criminal and Wisconsin
drunk driving defense lawyer, a member of the Board of Regents for the
National College for DUI Defense. Attorney Tracey Wood is Wisconsin's
foremost authority on drunk driving law, the first and only Wisconsin
attorney ever appointed to the Board of Regents for the NCDD, and the
only female attorney to have served the board, as well as the youngest
member of the board. Attorney Wood regularly speaks at seminars across
the nation to teach other drunk driving defense lawyers how to properly
defend OWI and DUI charges. Attorney Wood is an expert advisor on challenging
and appealing prior drunk driving convictions.
Wisconsin Drunk Driving Laws - OWI DUI DWI
Wisconsin's OWI (Operating While Intoxicated, also known
as Drunk Driving) Laws have undergone continual change over the past 5
years to:
- Lower the BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) also known as
PAC (Prohibited Alcohol Concentration) level to.08,
- Expand the use of ignition interlocks,
- Repeal the mandatory forfeiture
of vehicles, although forfeiture is still an option,
- Prohibit Huber /
work release privileges for any convicted driver who is not in compliance
with court ordered assessment, and
- Establish treatment requirements, and
- Increases
fines in certain drunk driving cases.
Wisconsin Drunk Driving Penalties - Arrests - Fines - Jail Time
permissible blood alcohol content level lowered - BAC down
Under Wisconsin laws, the legal limit at which a person can be fined and removed from driving on the roadways is .08, unless the person has prior OWI convictions or a commercial driver's license.
Wisconsin’s OWI law has lowered the PAC (Prohibited
Alcohol Concentration Level) to 0.02 for anyone with a fourth or subsequent
drunk driving offense. Counting includes both drunk driving offense and
test refusal offenses, so the conviction number is determined by any combination
of these offenses.
Higher fines for drunk driving convictions
Wisconsin's new drunk driving law vastly increases fines
in third and subsequent drunk driving offenses whenever the blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) level is high.
BAC 0.17 to 0.199: fines are doubled (2 times original fine)
BAC 0.20 to 0.249: fines are tripled (3 times original fine)
BAC above 0.249: fines are quadrupled (4 times original fine)
The changes in the law have also vastly increased fines in third and subsequent
offense drunk driving cases where the alcohol concentration is high: the
minimum and maximum fine ranges doubled if the BAC is 0.17 to 0.199, tripled
from 0.20 to 0.249, and quadrupled above that. However, an escape clause
which already existed in prior law was expanded to allow a judge to impose
lower fines for those that can't pay the higher amounts and require the
person to use the reduction in amount to pay for the assessment and "driver
safety plan," i.e., treatment.
increased fines for drunk driving convictions
Where previous OWI law in Wisconsin included special consideration
for convicted people who were already financially challenged, the law
expanded its financial considerations providing that a judge may impose
lower fines for those who cannot pay the higher fine amounts and require
the convicted person to pay for treatment (assessment, driver safety plan,
etc.) with the funds that would have otherwise been used to pay the fine.
changes in counting prior drunk driving convictions
Wisconsin's OWI law slightly changed the method by which
prior convictions are counted: a conviction for great bodily harm or homicide
by use of a motor vehicle counts for a lifetime in calculating which offense
the current conviction is counted as, i.e. First, Second, Third, etc.
(This provision originated as A.B. 665).
Huber work release prohibited with consideration
Wisconsin’s drunk driving law prohibits Huber Law,
commonly known as work release privileges, for those serving jail or prison
time for a drunk driving conviction, if the convicted person is not in
compliance with the court’s orders and the alcohol assessment or
treatment plan, if such was ordered, unless the convicted person does
not have sufficient funds to make any payments necessary to obtain the
assessment or to comply with the driver safety plan.
Mandatory forfeiture of motor vehicle removed
Previously, seizure and forfeiture of a vehicle were options
a judge could order in the third offense and were mandatory that a judge
order them in the fourth and subsequent convictions for drunk driving
or test refusal. Under the law now, forfeiture is no longer mandatory
for any conviction, but rather remains an option to interlocking and immobilization
orders for fourth and subsequent convictions.
wisconsin law for ignition interlocks changed
An Ignition Interlock is a testing device that is installed
into a vehicle. The device requires the driver submit an alcohol-free
breath sample before the vehicle can be started, then at intervals while
the vehicle is in operation to keep it running. Devices are installed
at the convicted person’s expense and only in non-commercial vehicles.
Wisconsin’s OWI statute provides judges with the option to order
anyone convicted of a second offense drunk driving or a second offense
test refusal to install an ignition interlock device in his or her vehicle,
so long as the convicted person owns the vehicle and was using that vehicle
when the violation or improper refusal was committed. If the judge orders
an ignition interlock, the order must be for at least one year and cannot
exceed the maximum length of driver revocation allowed by law for the
offense or refusal.
immobilization - booting
Immobilization refers to the many means by which a vehicle
may be legally prevented from being driven, including “booting”.
As with ignition interlocking, immobilization orders are
at the judge’s discretion. A judge may order either, or neither.
If immobilization is ordered, the order must immobilize the vehicle for
at least one year, but no longer than the maximum period of revocation
allowed for the second drunk driving offense or second offense for test
refusal. As with interlocking, the convicted person must own the vehicle
that is ordered to be immobilized and that vehicle must have been the
vehicle the person was driving when the offense or improper refusal was
committed.
title transfer on other motor vehicles allowed
Wisconsin’s OWI law has also modified the required
stop placed on all vehicle title transfers that previously existed for
those convicted of a third or subsequent offense to a requirement to stop
title transfers only on the vehicle both owned by the convicted person
and used to commit the third or subsequent drunk driving or test refusal offense.
wisconsin department of transportation safe ride program
Wisconsin’s OWI law required the Wisconsin Department
of Transportation to create rules governing the installation and use of
ignition interlocks, as well as regulations to be followed by interlock
providers governing their installation methods, reporting requirements
and fees. While the DOT has always maintained records relevant to drunk
driving arrests, the new law in 2001 codified this practice.
The OWI law created a “safe-ride” program allowing
the Wisconsin Department
of Transportation to grant funds to counties and municipalities for the purpose
of giving people a “safe ride” home from the bar.
municipal court rules change for drunk driving
Wisconsin’s drunk driving law also changed to affect
Municipal court practice slightly. Wis. Stat. sec. 800.03(4) changed to
provide that an appearance "may be" -- rather than 'is' -- required
by a "municipality" (not 'municipal court or judge') in a drunk
driving case.
what wisconsin drunk driving law does do for oWI convictions
Wisconsin’s drunk driving law does not require a judge
to order seizure for forfeiture of a convicted person’s vehicle in
a fourth or subsequent drunk driving or test refusal offense. Rather than
being mandatory, vehicle forfeitures are optional; they may be ordered,
but judges were given discretionary power in 2001 allowing them to order
ignition interlocking device installation, immobilization, or forfeiture.
Wisconsin's OWI law does not change the mandatory requirement that either
an ignition interlocking device or immobilization must be ordered by the
judge in any third drunk driving or test refusal case.
Wisconsin's drunk driving law does not remove the previous
exception to high fine amounts when the convicted person cannot afford
to pay them, conversely, it expands upon this area (see Financial Considerations
above).
Wisconsin Drunk Driving Attorney - Free Consultation
Chris Van Wagner and Tracey Wood of Van Wagner & Wood,
devote themselves exclusively to helping people accused of or convicted
of a crime or a drunken driving offense. Those lawyers strive to provide
people with an aggressive, successful defense, through their more than
30 years of combined legal experience, as well as their stellar reputation
with judges, prosecutors, other defense lawyers and the legal community
in general. To the left is a list of some of the types of cases in which
we defend people. You can click on those topics for further information,
or click here for a composite explanation.
If you are under investigation for a crime or drunk driving
offense, if you have already been charged with a crime or drunk driving
violation, or if you have already been convicted but believe your conviction
or your sentence were wrong, please call (608-284-1200) or click here
to e-mail the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood right away. We will
give you a brief but professional “first-impression” analysis
of your case and your situation, which will allow you to take an important
first step in defending the case against you.
About Attorney Tracey Wood
National College for DUI Defense Board of Regents member,
Attorney Tracey Wood, is nationally known for her successful defense of
individuals accused of drunk driving. She is called upon often to both
mentor new attorneys and consult with experienced attorneys. Attorney
Wood presents her successful defense strategies at criminal defense seminars
throughout Wisconsin. Tracey is a State Delegate for the National College
of DUI Defense and the only attorney in Wisconsin to serve as a standardized
field sobriety test instructor. Her history of relentless public review
of Wisconsin drunk driving law and justice procedures along with her record
of successful defense gives the clients of Van Wagner & Wood a very
important advantage: this record often causes prosecutors to make very
a favorable settlement offer (sometimes called a "plea bargain"
or "plea agreement") to avoid a trial or hearing at which a
Van Wagner & Wood lawyer might well prevail. Van Wagner & Wood
is a criminal defense firm located in Madison Wisconsin.
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