Drunk Driving Attorney: OWI, DUI, & OUI West Bend office (near the Museum of Wisconsin Art)

Being convicted of an OWI in Ozaukee or Washington County has mandatory penalties. Your driver’s license will be revoked, you will owe fines, you will be required to take Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse assessments and follow through with any recommended treatment, and 6 points will be added to your license. In most cases, an OWI conviction will also have mandatory jail time and an ignition interlock device requirement. If you are charged with an OWI in Wisconsin you could be facing anything from a non-criminal citation to a significant felony offense with mandatory prison time.

1st Offense OWI

In Wisconsin, a first offense OWI conviction is a non-criminal citation. Absent a couple of exceptions, an injurious accident or a minor being present, you will not be charged with a criminal offense and cannot be sentenced to jail. However, penalties on an OWI first offense are not as simple as a normal ticket with a fine and points assigned to your license. In addition to the fine and points, your driver’s license will be revoked. To reinstate your license or get an occupational license you must complete mandatory treatment and you may be required to have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle.

2nd Offense OWI

If you are being charged with an OWI second offense, you are facing a criminal misdemeanor with a mandatory jail sentence, anywhere from at least 5 days up to 6 months.  To be charged with an OWI second offense your prior conviction must have been within the last 10 years, otherwise, you will be charged with a second-first offense OWI which does not result in a jail sentence.  If you have more than one OWI conviction after 1989, Wisconsin will count each offense to determine your appropriate charge.

3rd Offense OWI

An OWI third conviction is the highest misdemeanor OWI offense.  You are now facing up to 12 months in jail, longer license revocations and larger fines and other penalties.  

4th Offense OWI

Any OWI fourth or greater is a felony offense, for which you could be sentenced to prison.  An OWI 4th offense carries with it a maximum prison sentence of 6 years.  Additionally, if your previous OWI conviction was within 15 years you are facing a lifetime driver’s license revocation.  Unlike every other license revocation, you are not eligible for an occupational license and you must wait at least 10 years before applying to reinstate your license.

Additional Penalties 

Beyond the incarceration, court-issued monetary costs, revocations, ignition interlock device requirements and mandatory treatment, there are many other ways an OWI conviction can impact your life:

• you will be required to carry high-risk insurance, SR-22, for a duration determined by the Department of Transportation
• Canada and some European Union countries will deny you entrance
• renting a car or landing a job that requires a clean driving record may not be possible
• if you are a CDL holder, your CDL license may be either temporarily or permanently lost

If you fail to follow your restrictions and court orders following your conviction you could end up with additional criminal charges. Driving during a time other than what is listed on your occupational license or borrowing a car that does not have an ignition interlock device installed on it are just two examples of additional criminal charges that you can face following an OWI conviction; both are punishable by up to 12 months in jail.

If you've been charged with an OWI in Ozaukee or Washington County, contact the award-winning team of drunk driving attorneys at Grieve Law LLC.