Being arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) is a serious offense. Although Wisconsin is known for having relatively lax OWI laws, you can still face significant consequences if you are convicted. Even if you do not face jail time, you can expect to pay a good amount in fines and surcharges, and you also face a six- to nine-month driver’s license revocation. In some cases, such as those involving multiple OWIs, penalties may include jail time, which could amount to months or even years behind bars. Hiring a skilled Wisconsin OWI defense attorney is one way you can increase your chances of obtaining a favorable outcome in your OWI case. Your attorney will look at your case as a whole and be able to tell you which defense strategy is the most appropriate for your situation. Below are a few common ways in which you can defend yourself against OWI charges.

You Were Pulled Over Unlawfully

One possible defense to an OWI charge is that you were not pulled over legally in the first place. Before law enforcement can initiate a traffic stop, they must have probable cause to do so. This means they must have reason to believe you were breaking the law before they stopped you. A police officer typically gains probable cause by witnessing a driver swerving or driving erratically, but if you did not do anything out of the ordinary, the officer may not have actually had a legitimate reason to pull you over.

Compared to many other states, Wisconsin has relatively lenient laws when it comes to firearms. While some states require all firearm owners to obtain a permit or license to legally purchase and possess firearms, Wisconsin does not. If you are legally permitted to own a firearm under federal law, you must pass a background check, and then you will be permitted to purchase a firearm. Even though Wisconsin’s gun laws may not seem as strict as other states’ laws, Wisconsin does take weapons violations seriously. Being convicted of a gun law violation could result in serious criminal penalties that could affect you for the rest of your life. If you are a firearm owner in Wisconsin, it is important that you understand the laws regarding carrying your gun in public.

Open Carry

Wisconsin is an open-carry state. This means that anyone who is legally permitted to possess or own a firearm is also permitted to carry his or her firearm on his or her person, as long as it is not concealed. There are certain exceptions to this rule, however. In Wisconsin, you are not permitted to openly carry a firearm:

Child-related issues are perhaps the most difficult aspects of a divorce. When you have a child, you must take into consideration how your divorce proceedings and the decisions about issues such as property division and spousal support will affect his or her life as well as yours. It can be difficult to balance your own needs with your child’s best interests when making decisions about various issues. Child custody can be a contentious topic in a divorce, which is why the state of Wisconsin has set forth specific guidelines for settling these types of issues.

Mediation Requirements

Like many other states across the country, Wisconsin believes that a judge making a decision about child custody should be a last resort. If you and your spouse are having a hard time agreeing on child custody issues, you both will be ordered to attend at least one mediation session to help you reach a decision. If you and your spouse use mediation to your advantage and come to a mutual decision on legal and physical custody, your agreement will be written up by the mediator, reviewed by your attorney, and given to the judge in your final custody proceeding.

Determining Physical Placement

If mediation is not appropriate for your situation, or if you and your spouse have been unable to come to an agreement, the court will appoint a guardian ad litem for your child to represent his or her best interests. You will then attend a hearing for a judge to allocate physical placement. The judge will create a schedule that allows the child to spend time with both parents, unless it is found to be harmful to the child for both parents to have visitation.

Being accused of operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol (known as operating while intoxicated, or OWI) can have significant consequences. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in the state of Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, there were nearly 30,000 OWI arrests in the state in 2015, with nearly 24,000 people receiving a conviction. Unlike most other states, Wisconsin’s penalties for a first-time OWI offense are somewhat lenient, but that does not mean the charge is not serious. What you do after your OWI arrest can affect the outcome of your case and many aspects of your life. Below are a few things you should avoid doing after you have been arrested for OWI in Wisconsin.

Ignoring Your OWI Charge

Believe it or not, some people think that ignoring an OWI charge will make it go away. While this is not true at all, it can also affect the outcome of your case. If you do not take any action in your OWI case, such as failing to show up to your court date, you could face additional charges and fines, in addition to the penalties for your OWI charge. 

You may know someone who is disabled or read about it in the news, but you probably do not think it could happen to you. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), around one in four adults will be disabled by the time they reach the age of 67. Becoming disabled can be an extremely scary experience, especially if you do not have a financial safety net to rely on. Fortunately, the SSA can provide individuals with that assurance. Each year, millions of disabled Americans apply for Social Security disability benefits, but only about one-third of all applications are approved. Each situation and application is different, but here are a few common reasons why your Social Security disability application may be denied:

You Do Not Meet Basic Eligibility Requirements

Social Security disability benefits are considered to be a public welfare program. This means that you must meet income requirements in order to be a recipient. Part of the definition of being disabled means your earnings are limited and generally not enough to support yourself. According to the SSA, if your earnings are more than $1,260 each month, you generally cannot be considered disabled.