For those with multiple traffic violations in Wisconsin, you run the risk of penalties beyond the normal accumulation of fines and license suspensions. Drivers who have racked up a qualifying number of violations over a five-year period will be declared a Habitual Traffic Offender and automatically lose their license for five years. The road to getting your license back is not easy, but working with the right attorney can help when you are facing this situation.

Wisconsin’s Tough Habitual Traffic Offender Law

To ensure public safety and protect other drivers and residents from those with a history of repeated traffic violations, Wisconsin has instituted a Habitual Traffic Offender law. Violations are tracked by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles, and the law applies to traffic offenses by Wisconsin drivers both in the state and out of state. It also keeps track of residents of other states who have convictions in Wisconsin. To qualify as a Habitual Traffic Offender, a driver will have accumulated the following within a five-year period:

• Convictions for 12 or more moving violations committed in Wisconsin. These can include speeding, failure to obey traffic signals, and similar offenses.

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With warmer weather slowly returning to Wisconsin, more bicyclists and pedestrians will be out on local roads. Some drivers may not know the rights and responsibilities that bicyclists have as they are sharing the road with motor vehicles or the proper behavior for drivers around bicycles. Bicycles are considered vehicles and belong on the road. Here are some tips for safe driving when bikes are present and to avoid risking severe accidents and traffic violations.  

Wisconsin Rules of the Road for Bicycles and Motor Vehicles

• Bicyclists should generally ride on the right side of the road or traffic lane, except when passing slower traffic, going around objects such as parked cars or other hazards, preparing to make a left-hand turn, or when the road is too narrow to move farther to the right.

• Motor vehicles passing a bicyclist must maintain at least three feet of space between them and the bicycle. You are permitted to cross a double yellow line in order to keep this distance while passing a bike.  

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If you have been charged with any type of sex offense, your situation is incredibly serious. Having a sex offense on your record will impact almost every area of your life. Being on the sex offender registry closes a lot of doors. Opportunities that otherwise would have been available to you can disappear. Your reputation can be destroyed very quickly. You are also likely facing prison time - judges typically do not go easy on those being sentenced for sex crimes. Even after any judicial consequences are over with, being a sex offender can permanently alter the course of your life. The best thing you can do for yourself right now is to find an experienced criminal defense attorney. There are steps a lawyer can take to help you.

How Can Becoming a Sex Offender Affect My Life?

There are a lot of legal requirements that sex offenders have to abide by. There are also a lot of collateral consequences from a social perspective. Some ways that becoming a sex offender may affect you include:

• Housing - Unless you can buy a house, it can be extremely difficult for a sex offender to find housing. Most landlords and property management companies will not even consider an application from a sex offender. The housing available to sex offenders is generally not desirable. You may also be required to live a certain distance from schools, playgrounds, and other areas where children tend to congregate.
• Career - If you work in any type of career that involves professional licensing - like teaching, nursing, or social work - you are likely going to lose your license. You are likely to be fired from your current job. Finding a desirable job can be very difficult for sex offenders.
• Publicity - The sex offender registry is public. Your name, address, photo, offense, and more will always be available to anyone who cares to check it - and a lot of people do keep an eye out to see whether any sex offenders are living near them. Do not expect a warm welcome when you move to a new location.
• Social relationships - Most people who have had to register as sex offenders have experienced the loss of personal and social relationships. Not many people are willing to stand by a friend or even romantic partner who gets convicted of a serious sex offense. It can be difficult to form new social relationships, as many people do not want to be associated with a sex offender.

These are just a few of the problems people on the sex offender registry face. It is important to work with a skilled lawyer when you are facing this type of accusation.

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When operating a car or any motor vehicle, you are in control of what can be a very dangerous object. While basic traffic violations are unlikely to harm others, driving recklessly can have deadly consequences for yourself and other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists on the road. If you strike and kill another person with a vehicle in Wisconsin, you can be charged with vehicular homicide.

Types of Vehicular Homicide and Penalties in Wisconsin

There are two different types of vehicular homicide charges in Wisconsin:

• Homicide by Negligent Operation – A driver is charged with Homicide by Negligent Operation when they cause the death of an individual by their criminally negligent operation or handling of a vehicle. Criminal negligence means that a person should know that their action creates a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or great bodily harm to another individual. Homicide by Negligent Operation is a class G felony and can carry a penalty if convicted of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum of $25,000 in fines.
• Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle – This charge is used when a driver kills another person while driving a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Intoxicated means a driver has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or more or has a detectable amount of a controlled substance in their blood. The penalties for Homicide by Intoxicated Operation are even more severe. It is usually a class D felony, and a driver convicted of this charge can face up to 25 years in prison and a maximum of $100,000 in fines. If the driver has one or more prior DWI convictions or license suspensions, they could be charged with a Class C felony and face up to 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.

Both charges result in the driver’s license being revoked for at least one year. If you were intoxicated, you must have an ignition interlock device (IID) installed on your vehicle. . The penalties for convictions on either count can depend on the specific circumstances of the case, so it is essential that you hire a criminal defense attorney who knows Wisconsin DUI and criminal laws and can fight for your future.

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We all know that driving while intoxicated is illegal. However, DUI is not the only traffic offense for which you could be arrested or even sentenced to additional jail time. Wisconsin takes the rules of the road fairly seriously. Even getting too many regular traffic tickets can ultimately lead to criminal charges or a revoked license. If your traffic stop led to more than just a ticket you can pay and forget about, you should strongly consider working with an attorney. These more serious traffic offenses can leave you with a criminal record that will follow you for the rest of your life or even result in jail time.

Which Traffic Offenses Are Treated as Crimes?

Mild speeding or failing to stop completely at a stop sign is likely to get you ticketed and released. The ticket becomes part of your driving record, but you are unlikely to end up in jail or get stuck with a criminal record - unless you keep doing it repeatedly. However, these traffic offenses are considered criminal offenses:

• Hit-and-run - After a car accident - however minor - you are legally obligated to stop and exchange information at the least. In all but very minor accidents, you are also legally required to remain on the scene and wait for the police to take a report. Fleeing the scene after an accident can lead to hit-and-run charges.
• Suspended license - If you knew your license was suspended and drove anyway, you can be criminally charged. Revoked licenses are usually revoked because the state had safety concerns about a driver.
• Unauthorized borrowing - Even if you were not actually trying to steal a vehicle, it is still a criminal offense to drive a car without getting permission from its owner. You can be charged with this crime even if the car belonged to your family or household member.
• Not pulling over - If a police officer is trying to pull you over and you do not stop, or clearly establish a plan to pull over at a safer point, you could be charged with fleeing or eluding.
• Reckless driving - This catch-all charge encompasses any type of driving that reflects complete carelessness when it comes to safety, like excessive speeding or weaving in and out of traffic dangerously.

If you have been charged with any of these offenses, you should take it very seriously. Depending on the circumstances and the specific crime you are charged with, you could be at risk of being sent to jail.

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