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Recent Blog Posts
What Happens if I Refused DUI Testing in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has what are called implied consent laws. By getting a driver’s license in our state, you implicitly agree to cooperate with chemical testing following a DUI test. This rule does not apply to field sobriety testing, however. Drivers are free to refuse to perform field sobriety testing, however, doing so may not protect you from getting arrested for DUI anyway. It is important to understand how refusing field sobriety testing and refusing chemical testing could impact your case and your driver’s license. If you were arrested on suspicion of DUI, it is important to find an experienced attorney who handles this type of case.
What Happens if I Refuse to Perform Field Sobriety Tests?
You should know that you are not legally obligated to perform field sobriety tests. In some cases, refusing field sobriety testing can actually help your case. Field sobriety tests are essentially an effort by police to gather evidence against you. By performing the tests, you could inadvertently incriminate yourself should you appear intoxicated during them.
5 Traffic Offenses That Could Lead to Jail Time
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:
What Do Wisconsin's Open Container Laws Mean?
Everyone knows that driving drunk is illegal. However, there is some confusion about the legality of driving with alcoholic beverages in the car. Some of Wisconsin’s laws regarding open containers in vehicles are not so easy to interpret. Quite a few people end up getting a citation for an open container violation without even realizing that they were doing something wrong. While an open container citation is much less serious than an OWI, it can still be problematic to have on your record. A traffic attorney may be able to help if you have received this citation. In some cases, it may be better to contest the citation with a lawyer’s help than to simply pay the fine and move on.
What Does “Open Container” Mean?
The definition of an open container in Wisconsin is broader than you may realize. A container of alcohol is open if the seal is broken or the contents have been partially removed. Therefore, you cannot re-cork a wine bottle or replace the cap on a bottle of liquor and consider it closed. Alcohol in a flask is an open container as well.
What Am I Legally Required to Do After a Car Accident?
Getting into a car accident can at the least, majorly disrupt your day. You are not going to get where you were going anytime soon, even if you had an important meeting or appointment. At the worst, a car accident can disrupt your entire life if you face criminal charges as a result. It might be tempting to get out of there rather than stick around and identify yourself when you have caused an accident, but doing so will only make things worse. Your safest bet is to comply with Wisconsin law regarding what you can and cannot do immediately after a car accident. Then, you need to call a lawyer as soon as possible.
If I Have Caused a Car Accident, What Do I Need to Do Next?
Right after an accident, you might be experiencing a flood of emotions, ranging from panic to guilt, especially if someone got hurt. It is important to remain calm and comply with the legal steps you are required to take. After a car accident, Wisconsin law requires you to:
What Is Statutory Rape in Wisconsin?
Simply put, statutory rape is any sexual activity between an adult 18 years old or older and a minor who is younger than 19 years old. The idea behind this sex offense is that minors are not capable of consenting to sexual activity, so adults should avoid engaging in it with them even if the minor does in fact give consent. That means that in order to get a conviction, the prosecution need not prove any type of force or coercion. Under Wisconsin state law, several distinct crimes fall under the umbrella of statutory rape. A conviction could leave you on the sex offenders’ list, so if you are facing any of these charges, it is very important that you do not wait to find an attorney.
What Offenses Are Considered Types of Statutory Rape?
In Wisconsin, statutory rape is the name given to several different offenses based on the respective ages of the offender and the minor involved. It might be called “Sexual Assault of a Child” or “Sexual Assault of a Minor,” even if there was no real assault involved and the minor agreed to the act. Categories of statutory rape in Wisconsin include:
3 Wisconsin Laws About Sharing the Road with a School Bus
Yellow school buses were absent from Wisconsin’s roads for quite some time during the height of the pandemic. While schools were largely closed and relying on distance learning, drivers did not need to worry about sharing the road with these important vehicles. Now that schools have been reopened and school buses are back on the road, it may be a good time to review the state laws that apply when you encounter one. These laws are designed to keep both child passengers and everyone else on the road safe. Aside from being dangerous, violating a law about school bus safety could lead to serious fines or even a loss of license. If you have been issued a ticket after violating a school bus law, it is important to take it seriously - the state certainly does.
What Laws Do I Need to Follow When I See a School Bus on the Road?
School bus laws may feel very restrictive, but keep in mind that these laws are in place to protect children. Unlike adults, children cannot be expected to exercise great judgment when it comes to road safety. Younger kids can be quite unpredictable, and hard to spot around another vehicle. Wisconsin state laws other drivers must follow when they see a school bus include:
Wisconsin Bill: Assaulting a Healthcare Worker May Be a Felony
Healthcare workers have had a particularly difficult time these last two years or so. As if the constant threat of COVID exposure were not enough, assaults against healthcare workers have been on the rise. Wait times in the ER have been extremely long, with some patients waiting upwards of 12 hours to be seen. Many have been unable to visit their loved ones who were hospitalized with the virus. Disinformation about “alternative” treatments has led to disputes between patients, families, and care teams. On far too many occasions, this has led to violence in hospitals and doctors' offices. A new bill, which recently passed the state assembly, would make any violence against a healthcare worker a felony criminal offense.
Was Attacking a Healthcare Worker Not Already a Felony?
A preexisting law made it a felony to batter a nurse or emergency care worker, such as Emergency Room doctors and paramedics. Nurses and emergency health care staff have typically been the most common targets of violence in health care settings. Emotions can run very high in emergency settings, sometimes even escalating to violence. In an effort to keep these critical workers safe in their workplaces, even minor violence against them can be treated as a felony battery.
Could I Get Arrested For Carrying a Gun - if I Have a Permit?
The Second Amendment protects the rights of Americans to own and use firearms - however, this right is not absolute. There are limits as to who can or cannot own or carry a gun. There are restrictions related to age, criminal history, and even mental health. Even for those who lawfully own a gun and possess a valid concealed carry license, there are still restrictions about where concealed carry is or is not permitted. It is easier than you may think to inadvertently cross onto the wrong side of the law and find yourself facing weapons charges. If you have been charged with a weapons offense, it is important to find an attorney who is experienced at protecting the Second Amendment rights of concealed carry permit holders. The consequences of a weapons offense could include the loss of your license.
What Legal Restrictions Are Placed on Concealed Carry License Holders?
What Are the Different Types of Homicide Charges in Wisconsin?
Almost any crime that ultimately causes a death falls under the umbrella of homicide. However, Wisconsin has long recognized that there are different degrees or types of unlawful killings. Some forms are considered much more serious than others and result in much harsher sentencing. Which specific homicide offense you are charged with depends on a number of factors, including the specific facts of your case, whether you were committing another crime, and whether the killing was intentional.
If you have been charged with any type of homicide, you could be looking at a very long term of imprisonment. It is critical that you trust your defense to an experienced, knowledgeable, criminal defense attorney.
Homicide Offenses in Wisconsin Explained
Wisconsin state law recognizes numerous different types and degrees of homicide offenses. They include:
- Felony murder - This applies when someone is killed during the commission of a different dangerous felony, such as an assault, kidnapping, burglary, burglary, or robbery. For example, if you commit arson and someone trapped inside the building you were burning dies, you may be charged with felony murder. Felony murder can be charged if the fatality is caused at any point during the offense, including while fleeing.
4 Reckless Driving Behaviors That Could Land You in Jail
Reckless driving can be taken quite seriously in Wisconsin. Those who are used to driving to and from work or school every day can easily forget how dangerous their vehicles can be when not operated with care. While more minor, less risky, traffic offenses like speeding just a little or making a “rolling stop” will typically lead to just a ticket, more serious, reckless, behaviors could get you arrested. In Wisconsin, a first conviction for reckless driving without aggravating circumstances will most likely lead to fines, but a repeat conviction is a misdemeanor that carries jail time. If you are facing a reckless driving charge, an attorney may be able to help.
What Kinds of Actions Behind the Wheel are Considered Reckless Driving?
In its most basic form, Wisconsin’s reckless driving statute simply defines reckless driving as endangering a person or property by negligently operating a vehicle. For the purposes of the reckless driving law, your driving could be deemed negligent if you knew or really should have known that what you were doing was substantially dangerous. There is no specific list of driving behaviors that meet the definition, but the following actions are generally considered to meet the definition:
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