How a DUI Can Drastically Change Your Life – Even a First Offense

You probably know that for an OWI conviction (also known as DUI), unless it is your first offense and you did not have a passenger under age 16 and you did not cause an injury, you face the following:

mandatory incarceration
a fine of $350 to $25,000
license revocation
an Interlock order of indefinite duration
AODA assessment and driver safety plan requirements.

The consequences of a criminal OWI conviction are well known and can be severe but even a first offense OWI conviction can have long-term economic and other significant consequences:

Increase in auto insurance premiums
Conviction remains of record with the DMV for 55 years
A conviction and details regarding the case appear on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for five years if the case was in circuit court. This does not occur for municipal court cases unless there was an appeal by the plaintiff or defendant to circuit court
A conviction for a violation occurring within 10 years after the First Offense OWI violation date is punishable as a Second Offense OWI with criminal penalties including incarceration of up to six months
A conviction for a third violation for all offenses occurring on or after January 1, 1989 results in a Third Offense OWI conviction with criminal penalties including incarceration up to one year
Employment is often jeopardized if your employer has fleet auto insurance coverage with you as a listed insured
CDL disqualification immediately upon administrative suspension and for a period of one year commencing with court conviction for operating under the influence, operating with prohibited BAC, or improperly refusing to submit to a chemical test, followed by general unwillingness of prospective employers to hire a CDL driver for a number of years following conviction
Denial of entry into Canada for a period of time, absent application to the Canadian visa office
Potential difficulty in obtaining or renewing a liquor license or bartender license if a municipal ordinance permits a conviction to be considered
Effect on credit score
Increased likelihood of future traffic stops based on law enforcement doing a DOT check on the license plate which show ownership of the vehicle by a person previously convicted of operating under the influence
Potential complications with licenses in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and teaching

Contact Our Milwaukee DWI Attorney

All of these consequences are possible, which is why you need an attorney immediately when you are charged with OWI-even for an initial charge. The stakes are just too high to go it alone. A reduction in even a small part of your case, or a lowering of just one part of your charges, can save vital aspects of your life from being lost.

Call the Milwaukee DWI attorney at the Law Office of Michael Hayes LLC at 414-405-5678 for any OWI or DWI charge; there is just too much at stake to leave your life to chance.