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The penalty for a third offense OWI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, could reach $2,000 in fines, up to 1 year in prison and more than 3 years of license revocation.
West Milwaukee police arrested 44 people for OWI in 2020, accounting for only 1.8% of all OWI arrests in Milwaukee County that year. Those facing their third OWI arrest face up to 365 more days in jail than first offenders.
As the number of offenses increases for an OWI in Milwaukee, so do the penalties. For a third offense OWI in Milwaukee, the minimum possible jail time is 45 days and the maximum possible jail time is one year. Different from a second offense, courts will require that the offender go into jail immediately at the time of their sentencing. This means that you would not have time to report to the jail on your own, but would be required to go in forthwith. It is incredibly important, then, to have your affairs in order prior to your plea and sentencing hearing. As with the second offense, it is very common that offenders receive Huber release so that they can keep their jobs and continue working.
The fines for an OWI third offense range anywhere from $600 to $2000 before any fine enhancers. If your blood alcohol concentration is above a .17, your fines can either double, triple, or quadruple. This means that you could be facing fines of up to $8000 for an OWI third offense, and this does not include court costs, surcharges, and other fees. Driver’s license revocation is a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years. The ignition interlock device would be required installed for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years.
Similar to the second offense, these time periods will not always line up to finish at the same time. In the instance of a second or third offense, the first 45 days you would not be eligible for an occupational license. If on the 46th day you obtain that occupational license and have the ignition interlock device installed, that is when the clock would begin for the ignition interlock device time. It is also important to take into consideration installing the ignition interlock device in your vehicle prior to going into custody. Once you are in custody, the jail will require that you install the ignition interlock device on your vehicle within 14 days.
If you have a minor passenger in the vehicle at the time of the offense, the penalties will double, so you could be facing minimum jail times of 90 days, and a maximum of two years.
More programs are available for repeat offenders. If you look into the state statutes or the Department of transportation's list of penalties for these types of offenses, they will list what is called the safe streets program. Counties have funding for various programs to enroll defendants in intensive court programs to help them address underlying issues. In exchange for completion of these programs, they could be facing less penalties. Milwaukee County, for example, has a Veterans Treatment Court program for veterans who are convicted of a second or third OWI offense. If they successfully complete the program, they are facing less jail time. If they do not complete it successfully, then they are subject to higher penalties. In other counties, there are programs for people who are not veterans, but the funding can be specific to a number defense or blood alcohol concentration.
One important aspect of the defense of a third offense OWI in Milwaukee is the idea of collateral attack. In any criminal offense you have the right to be represented by an attorney, and if you were not afforded that right and you didn't completely understand what was going on, there may be the possibility to reduce your third offense to a second. In this instance, you would be subject to different penalties that would be much lower.
In Milwaukee, an OWI offense can never be removed from your criminal record nor your driving record. It is imperative to know that it cannot be expunged and it will not fall off after a certain period of time. The penalties will come and go, but that record will remain.
There are so many issues to address in a third offense OWI in Milwaukee, as well as the second and first. Possible defenses range from constitutional violations to collateral attacks and so much in between. It is important to have an attorney by your side who knows all of these different things to look at when defending you in this type of case. You are only guilty if you are convicted.
