Badger Lawyer's OWI Law Section

OWI Law Information

OWI is the most common place for a law abiding person to find themselves in trouble with the criminal law. It’s easy to see how it happens. You’re out with friends. You have a few drinks. You don’t feel particularly intoxicated, so you drive. You get pulled over for something else (and the later it gets at night, the more likely that is to happen), and the officer smells the alcohol on your breath. Or on your passengers’ breath. Or just in the car. He asks you to step out, and before you know it, you’re doing a heel to toe walk and having lights shined in your eyes. Then, the cuffs go on.

True, the first time isn’t a criminal offense, but it’s also unlike any other traffic ticket you’ve ever received.

Use these pages to educate yourself about the law, the penalties and the ins and outs of this deceptively simple offense. What starts as just two easy facts – drinking and driving – becomes a labyrinth of rules, conditions, and unexpected outcomes. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to use our contact form to send it to us. We’ll answer as many as we can.

But whatever you do, hurry! Many rights associated with OWI cases have deadlines – some as short as ten days after arrest. If you don’t demand your rights in time, you lose them. So don’t delay.

Wisconsin Law and OWI News