What should I do if I’m charged with OWI in Wisconsin?

After a drunk driving stop, you should understand this right away: you need an experienced OWI defense attorney on your side as soon as possible, so contact a capable attorney immediately. That attorney should be someone with a long record of success in Wisconsin OWI cases.

Not only do you need to start building a strategic defense right away; there is also a brief window of time — usually 10 days — to challenge the revocation or suspension of your driver’s license. You should choose a defense lawyer with experience in both OWI defense cases and administrative hearings pertaining to Wisconsin driver’s licenses. The OWI case and the driver’s license case are related, but they are separate. It’s important to meet deadlines in both types of cases, and an experienced OWI defense lawyer can help you do that.

2 Other Crucial Things To Do If You Are Pulled Over For OWI

• Exercise your right to remain silent. You don’t have to be rude. Just respectfully assert your right to remain silent. Remember: the police and prosecution will try to use everything you say against you. Even if you’re only trying to be helpful to the arresting officer, the police are very good at twisting people’s words to support an OWI conviction. Rather than giving the police something to use against you, just calmly exercise your right to remain silent.
• Make notes while the traffic stop is fresh on your mind. If you can write down details about the traffic stop — where and under what circumstances it happened — your OWI defense lawyer may be able to use those details in your defense. Writing these details down soon after the stop can also support the veracity of the details if they need to be brought up in court.

If you have further questions about OWI charges in Wisconsin, our Drunk Driving Defense FAQ is an excellent resource. You can also learn more about these matters at our OWI Defense Overview.