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Third offense OWIs in Brookfield, Wisconsin, carry a fine of $600 to $2,000, 45 days to one year in prison and license revocation of 2-3 years. If the third offense OWI involves a minor under 16 years old, the fine ranges $1,200 to $4,000.
In 2020, 27 people were arrested for OWI in Delefield. These arrests account for 2% of all OWI arrests in Waukesha County that year. Third offenders face up to 1 year more of jail time and $1,700 more in fines than those facing a first offense OWI.
A 3rd OWI in Brookfield or Waukesha carries significant penalties if you are convicted. You will face a fine between $600 and $2,000, mandatory jail time of at least 45 days and up to 1 year, revocation of your driver’s license for between 2 to 3 years plus the time you spend in jail, ignition interlock device for 1 to 3 years, mandatory AODA (Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse) assessment and follow through with any recommended treatment, and six points on your license. You will also not be able to drive at all for the first 45 days following your conviction. After that 45-day period, you become eligible for an occupational license in Wisconsin. Additionally, your new lifetime legal alcohol concentration limit is .02. This basically means you have an absolute sobriety order if you intend to drive your vehicle.
A 3rd offense OWI is a misdemeanor, and it is the highest number OWI that remains a misdemeanor. A 4th OWI or above is a felony offense. However, there are still significant additional penalties that you may face if you are charged with an OWI 3rd offense. In addition to the court-ordered costs and fees, you will also face fees owed to the DMV for an occupational license and SR-22 certificate, fees for an IID in your car, increased insurance costs, AODA and treatment fees, among others.
If you are charged with a 3rd offense OWI in Waukesha or Brookfield, you may be eligible to participate in a special treatment court program offered by the county. Treatment court programs offer an opportunity to avoid serving the mandatory minimum 45-day jail sentence in exchange for a longer, more in-depth period of supervision. Admission to these programs is not guaranteed, and you must apply and be accepted. Participation in these treatment court programs is not a decision that should be made lightly. If you begin the program and are unable to successfully complete it, you may face a significant amount of additional jail time. Additionally, there are significant requirements you must meet during your time in the program that will require a much larger time commitment than other options you may have to resolve your case. Keep in mind as well that participation in these programs requires that you admit to your 3rd offense OWI.
Although the court is required by law to sentence you to a mandatory minimum of 45 days in jail, a jail sentence can be served in many different ways. The court may make you eligible to serve your sentence with Huber release privileges. If you are granted Huber release, you are able to continue to go to work but must spend your non-working hours as well as your weekends at the Huber facility. This allows you to continue working even if you are convicted of a third offense OWI in Waukesha or Brookfield. Keep in mind, Huber release is a privilege that can be revoked if the jail believes you are not following the rules. There is also a fee for Huber release that you will have to pay while you are serving your sentence.
A 3rd OWI in Waukesha or Brookfield remains on your record forever. There is no timeline after which a 3rd OWI is removed from your record or from public view of your record. This means that if you are convicted, you will always be required to report the conviction on job applications, housing applications, and applications for other licenses. Additionally, your conviction will remain on CCAP. This means that any person who types your name into Wisconsin’s Circuit Court Access Program for public records will be able to see your prior record as well as your sentence.
There are also many websites that gather data on people who are charged with and convicted of OWI charges. Your face and name, as well as other personally identifying information, may be posted on these websites. Convincing private actors to remove information from the internet is a difficult, if not impossible, task.
The only way to avoid the penalties for a 3rd offense OWI in Waukesha or Brookfield is to avoid a conviction. Beating a 3rd OWI charge requires an in-depth review of the actions the police took, the evidence in your case, and an application of those factors to the law. In order for the state to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a 3rd OWI, they must have the evidence that you were operating a motor vehicle on a public highway while under the influence of an intoxicant such that it rendered you unsafe to operate the motor vehicle. In order to beat a third OWI, we have to review the evidence the state intends to use against you and look for ways to challenge that evidence.
Challenging evidence in a 3rd OWI case can be very difficult but can lead to great results if you have an attorney who knows the specifics of the law and how to apply that law to your specific situation. The police must meet specific legal standards during every step of their investigation. If they do not do so, an experienced attorney can challenge the evidence the state intends to use against you, if the court agrees that the evidence was not obtained properly it can be ruled inadmissible. If the state cannot use the evidence that they believe they have against you, it can be difficult or impossible to prove the OWI offense
