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First OWI Offense Appleton office near city hall

A first offense OWI conviction in Appleton could result in 6-9 months of license revocation and fines ranging from $150 to $300 with a $435 surcharge. If you receive your first OWI with a minor 16 years or younger in the vehicle with you, fines could grow up to $1,100.

There was a total of 645 OWI arrest in Outagamie County in 2020.

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First Offense OWI Penalties in Appleton

If you’ve been convicted of your first OWI in Appleton, Wisconsin, your penalties are likely to include:

  • Driver‘s license revocation for 6 to 9 months
  • Up to $350 in fines
  • An alcohol abuse assessment

Fines associated with an OWI offense do not include any court costs, blood draw fees (if applicable), or any other surcharges. 

It Could be Worse

If you’re accompanied by a minor, 16 years old or younger, at the time of the crime, you will be facing the same penalties associated with a second offense OWI charge. This could result in up to 6 months in jail, fines up to $1,100, an ignition interlock device in your car, AODA, and a driver’s license revocation up to 18 months.

In addition to the immediate penalties associated with an OWI charge, you are likely to spend upwards of $30,000 in other expenses throughout your life through increases in car insurance and other expenses. You may also lose your ability to travel internationally because many countries (such as Canada) will not let you cross the border if you’ve received an OWI.

Get a Lawyer for Your First OWI Offense in Appleton

Your first OWI charges are the most important ones to beat. If you can beat your first OWI case, you will never have to face the harsh penalties of a second. Hiring an experienced OWI criminal defense attorney is your best option for omitting or reducing the charges associated with your first OWI. The aggressive attorneys at Grieve Law will go down every path necessary to achieve the best possible outcome for your case. We will do everything we can to make sure your bad day doesn’t turn into a bad life.

Before making a commitment, we offer FREE no-obligation consultations with our award-winning attorneys to discuss the details of your case.

How long does an OWI 1st stay on your record in Appleton?

Your first OWI will stay on your record for the rest of your life and impact your insurance rates for up to 5 years. Hiring an experienced OWI criminal defense attorney is the best way to help make sure your charges don’t stay on your record forever. 

How to beat an OWI 1st offense in Wisconsin

There are a few things criminal defense attorneys will look at to help beat a first offense OWI charge in Appleton. 

  1. They will determine if an illegal traffic stop occurred. Questioning the motivation of the arresting officer’s stop is a tactic a good criminal defense attorney will use. If an officer made an illegal stop, then you have grounds to fight your OWI charge. 
  2. Question the timing of the BAC test. Your BAC goes up after you stop drinking as the alcohol makes its way into the bloodstream. The criminal defense attorneys at Grieve Law have proven drivers were not actually drunk at the time of the arrest but were over the legal limit only at the time of the BAC test. 
  3. Fight the accuracy of the field sobriety test. Appleton and the rest of Wisconsin have strict standards for field sobriety tests. If the equipment wasn’t properly calibrated, or the arresting officer didn’t follow protocol, you have a case for fighting your DUI charges.   

The best way to beat a first OWI is to hire a criminal defense attorney that has experience in beating OWI cases. They will be able to apply the law to the facts of your case in order to achieve the best possible result. 

 

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