Home ||||| OWI Charges ||||| Criminal Defense ||||| Michele Tjader ||||| Contact Us
  return to home page
criminal defense overview
OWI & Drunk Driving Defense, Madison, WI
OWI Drunk Driving Common Questions
drunk driving charges in wisconsin
sexual assault charges lawyer madison
Michele Tjader Madison, Wisconsin Lawyer
OWI and criminal defense resources and articlescontact OWI and Criminal Defense Lawyer
  

OWI / DUI / DWI Drunk Driving Laws in Wisconsin

Understanding the charges against you

It is illegal in Wisconsin for a driver over the age of 21 to operate a motor vehicle:

  • With a Blood/Breath Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or greater;
  • While under the influence of an intoxicant;
  • With a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood; or
  • While under the influence of a controlled substance or any other drug.
For drivers with three or more prior Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) convictions, the limit is lower: they cannot operate a motor vehicle if their BAC is greater than 0.02

Drivers under 21 years of age are required by law to maintain "absolute sobriety," and, for them, driving with any amount of alcohol in their system is illegal.

A driver is "under the influence" when his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired. A person's ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired if he or she is less able to safely control the vehicle because of the consumption of alcohol or controlled substances.

This means that if a police officer pulls you over and determines that you are impaired by alcohol and/or any other drug, you could be arrested and prosecuted, regardless of your BAC.

Penalties for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated range from a forfeiture and license revocation for a first offense, to up to 6 years imprisonment, 3 year license revocation and possible seizure of vehicles for subsequent offenses. Additionally, more severe penalties apply if injury or death results.

Drunk Driving: Elements of the Offense

While the names of the offense may vary from state to state, Wisconsin's OWI law is made of the same two basic elements of all other states. The first basic element is that you have control over the motor vehilce. That means that you can be charged with OWI even if you are not driving the vehicle. The second element is being under the influence of a chemical subsance or over the blood alcohol limit of 0.08%.

Michele Tjader
Madison, Wisconsin
Criminal Defense
& OWI Attorney		 7 North Pinckney St, Suite 50D
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-835-6390
Fax: 608-835-6358		 Map & Directions
E-Mail 
At Tjader Law, Inc., we represent clients throughout Wisconsin, including Madison, DeForest, Fitchburg, Middleton, Monona, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Appleton, Baraboo, Beloit, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Janesville, La Crosse, Neenah, Oshkosh, Racine, Sheboygan, Wausau, and West Bend and the Counties of  Dane, Columbia, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk.  We defend clients in the Fox River Valley, Western Wisconsin, and in the Wisconsin Dells.
 
     
 
 
 
  
Home | Michele Tjader | Contact Us
Criminal Defense Overview | OWI / Drunk Driving | Criminal Defense Lawyer - Madison, WI
Wisconsin Drunk Driving Law | OWI Common Questions
 
Website design, build and upkeep by
Swell-Sites.com | Minnesota Web Consultant
Swell-Sites Logo
click here to contact attorney Tjader via email