A DUI arrest does not have to mean a conviction. Wisconsin OWI law is complex — and there are more ways to fight these charges than most people realize.
Request a Free ConsultationWisconsin takes OWI — Operating While Intoxicated — charges seriously, and the consequences of a conviction escalate sharply with each offense. A first offense OWI can result in fines, license suspension, and mandatory alcohol assessment. A second or third offense can mean jail time, extended license revocation, and ignition interlock requirements. A fourth offense is a felony. Beyond the legal penalties, an OWI conviction affects your employment, your professional licenses, your insurance rates, and your reputation.
At Mitnick & Draper we approach every OWI case by looking for vulnerabilities in the prosecution's evidence — because there are almost always vulnerabilities if you know where to look. Was the traffic stop legally justified? Did the officer follow proper protocol for field sobriety tests? Was the breathalyzer device properly calibrated and maintained? Was a blood test properly collected and handled through an unbroken chain of custody? Each of these questions represents a potential avenue for evidence suppression, charge reduction, or outright dismissal.
John Draper has personally challenged breathalyzer results, field sobriety procedures, and traffic stop legality in over 150 OWI cases in Milwaukee and surrounding counties, achieving dismissals or significant charge reductions in the majority of those cases.
We also understand that for many clients the most important immediate concern is protecting their driving privileges. Wisconsin's administrative license suspension process runs parallel to and separately from the criminal case — and you have a very short window to request a hearing to challenge it.
If you have been arrested for OWI call us immediately. The actions taken in the first 10 days after your arrest can significantly affect both your criminal case and your ability to keep driving.
Was the traffic stop legal? If the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to pull you over the entire case may be dismissed.
Breathalyzer calibration records, field sobriety test procedures, and blood test chain of custody are all challengeable with the right preparation.
We fight for charge reduction, alternative sentencing, and occupational licenses to keep your life moving forward while your case is resolved.
In Wisconsin the legal blood alcohol concentration limit is 0.08% for drivers 21 and older. Commercial drivers have a lower limit of 0.04% and drivers under 21 have a limit of 0.02%. However you can be charged with OWI even below these limits if law enforcement believes your ability to drive was impaired.
In Wisconsin an OWI conviction stays on your driving record permanently and is counted against you for life for purposes of determining whether a subsequent offense is a first, second, or third offense. This is different from many other states and makes fighting even a first offense critically important.
Wisconsin has implied consent laws meaning that by driving on Wisconsin roads you have implicitly agreed to submit to chemical testing if lawfully arrested for OWI. Refusing a test results in automatic license revocation and the refusal can be used against you in court. However the circumstances of the arrest and the request for testing can still be challenged by an experienced attorney.
An OWI arrest triggers an automatic administrative suspension of your license separate from any criminal penalties. You have 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a hearing to challenge this suspension. Missing this deadline means the suspension goes into effect automatically. This is one of the most important reasons to contact an attorney immediately after an arrest.
Wisconsin uses the term OWI — Operating While Intoxicated — rather than DUI. The key distinction is the word operating — in Wisconsin you can be charged with OWI even if you were not actually driving, simply for being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated. This includes situations like sitting in a parked car with the engine running.
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