On October 4, 2011, Walworth County joined many other Wisconsin counties in creating a treatment Court for people charged with Drunk Driving, as a third offense. This is a free program designed to limit the amount of jail time a person faces and treat them for alcohol addiction.
While the program is free, a person entering it is expected to be on probation for up to two years, be placed on electronic monitoring, that will constantly test the person for consumption of alcohol. One major downside, is that the Court requires that before a person can be admitted into the program, they must enter a guilty plea within 20 days of their arrest. Which means you have less than 20 days to hire a lawyer, get as much information of your case reviewed and make an informed decision if you want to take advantage of this program. There is no guarantee that the State will agree that a particular driver will be allowed to enter this program. This time line is extremely short, and will require you to hire an attorney who can work under that kind of time constraint as well as have the expertise to advise you of your options. You need look no further than Murphy, Volbrecht & Kuehn for those lawyers. Our firm has three different attorneys who routinely hanlde OWI/DUI/OUI cases.
WHY HIRE A LAWYER WHEN YOU CAN JUST ENTER THE PROGRAM?
First, if you are not guilty of a crime, you should never say that you are. We live in a country where many people have died for very important civil rights, among them is that the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed a crime before it can deprive you of your freedom.
Second, if a person is convicted of an OWI 4th offense within five years of being convicted of the OWI 3rd offense, it becomes a felony. This would expose a person to going to prison, instead of the local jail.
Finally, there are the associated costs with an OUI 3rd Offense, the law requires individuals to equip their vehicles with ignition interlock devices (IIDs) in a variety of situations. IIDs require the subject to submit a breath sample before and during the operation of the vehicle. The device prevents the engine from starting or continuing if the subject's breath-alcohol concentration is more than the device's programmed blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) allowance.
The law makes the installation of IIDs mandatory in all vehicles owned or driven by persons . IID orders impose significant financial burdens, including a $50 surcharge for the installation of each device and monthly maintenance and monitoring costs. A person subject to an IID order will not be eligible for an occupational license until they have submitted proof of the surcharge payment and proof that every vehicle owned by or registered to them has been equipped with an IID. Expect just one vehicle to cost $200 to $300 per month.
The IID restriction period must be at least one year and may not extend beyond the maximum license-revocation period for a particular OWI-related offense or refusal violation. Which for an OWI 3d is three years.
Under this law, the IID restriction period does not commence until an offender obtains an operator's license from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT). The old law allowed the restriction period to commence at the time the judge ordered IID. As a result, certain repeat OWI offenders and persons convicted of implied consent violations will endure IID restriction periods that extend beyond their driving privilege revocations.
The law also created a misdemeanor offense that criminalizes removing, disconnecting, tampering with, or failing to install court-ordered IIDs. The penalties include incarceration of up to six months and fines of $150 to $600 for a first-offense conviction, with fines increasing for each subsequent conviction of this nature. A conviction of this type will extend by six months the period offenders must keep IIDs in their vehicles.
The Other Concern
The law extends the prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC) level of 0.02 to any person who is subject to an IID order for the entire duration of that order. Under the previous law, the PAC level of 0.02 applied only to persons with three or more OWI convictions. As a result, individuals driving under IID orders may receive an additional PAC charge if they are arrested and have a PAC equal to or greater than 0.02, regardless of the offense number. Although they might not be charged with OWI if they are at the 0.02 level, a PAC charge of this type will subject an offender to the same potential penalties that an additional OWI or 0.08 PAC charge carries: an alcohol-related offense conviction with additional jail time and fines.
If this is the scenario that you are facing, you will need quality legal representation. Because you will be charged with 4th offense OWI, which will most likely be a felony, as it is within 5 years of your conviction of OWI 3rd. At Murphy, Volbrecht & Kuehn, we are experienced at handling PAC defense.
Contact a Delavan OWI Court Attorney About the Legal Matters That Affect You
Please contact our Elkhorn law firm with questions about the legal matters that affect you. We are available by calling 262-723-4110 or by completing our online contact form. Our Elkhorn criminal and family law attorneys are available five days a week, as well as evenings and weekends by appointment. Home and hospital visits are available.