Tracey Wood & Associates - Criminal Defense and Immigration Law

Defense Attorney Tracey Wood Drunk Driving Attorney Tracey Wood is a Super Lawyer in Wisconsin
(608) 350-1004

     Attorney Tracey A. Wood , owner of Tracey Wood & Associates is an aggressive criminal defense attorney in Madison, Wisconsin.    She focuses her practice on defending the rights of individuals whether they are charged with drunken driving or more severe criminal charges including murder, sex crimes in Wisconsin, federal conspiracy or seeking an expungement of a previous conviction.
   She is known throughout the legal community as the foremost authority on Wisconsin OWI DUI laws and has been hailed for her defenses and successful trial and case record.
   Ms. Wood has been pioneering new frontiers for women in law since she entered practice in 1992. She is the first attorney from Wisconsin ever appointed as a Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor, and first Wisconsin attorney to be appointed to the Board of Regents to the National College for DUI Defense held at Harvard Law School. She chairs the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Strike Force for the state's largest association for criminal defense lawyers and has previously served as the President of that organization. She has authored several articles on defense against drunk driving charges including Challenging Prior Under Influence Convictions, an article discussing U.S. v. Gant in the Wisconsin Law Journal, and she has contributed to the national DUI attorneys' bible by Taylor & Oberman, entitled "Drunk Driving Defense".
   She has also won many appeals in both the Wisconsin Appellate System (most recently City of Beloit v. Steven Herbst) and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago (i.e. U.S. v. Andres Perez).

Super Lawyer Tracey Wood defends people charged with OWI or DUI
Super Lawyer Tracey Wood defends people charged with OWI or DUI
Super Lawyer Tracey Wood defends people charged with OWI or DUI
NCDD National College for DUI Defense: Tracey Wood
(608) 350-1004

Drunk Driving - What To Expect in Wisconsin - Jail Time



Tracey Wood & Associates
Wisconsin Criminal Defense Lawyers


Drunk Driving - What To Expect in Wisconsin


Will I go to jail?


Jail is a mandatory penalty for all drunk driving convictions except the first one. There is no jail penalty in a first offense case. For all other drunk driving convictions, there is a minimum amount of jail time which must be served. The amount of the jail time which you are facing will depend on how many times you've had a conviction for drunk driving in the past, your alcohol concentration, and whether you refused a blood or breath test. The more past convictions, the higher the jail time: a minimum of five days for a second offense, 30 days for a third offense, 60 days for a fourth offense. Fifth and subsequent offenses are felonies and you can be sent to prison, if convicted. Additionally, if there was a child under age 16 in the vehicle at the time of the offense, the minimum and maximum penalties double.

How much jail time am I facing for an OWI?


Probably more than the minimum. All counties use a sentencing guideline system that equates the length of the jail sentence to the alcohol concentration revealed by testing, or to the fact of a refusal to submit to testing. Generally, these guidelines require longer sentences for higher alcohol concentrations and for refusing. There is a considerable variation in the severity of these sentencing guidelines among counties, though the scheme in Milwaukee County is generally regarded as the most harsh. Other factors that may be considered include whether there was an accident or other bad driving and, in some counties, whether there has been affirmative involvement in alcohol dependency treatment.

Are there other penalties for drunk driving offenses?


You can lose your driver's license. You can lose your car. You can be ordered to alcohol treatment. You can be fined a lot of money.

For a first offense drunk driving conviction, you'll lose your license for 6 to 9 months and pay a money penalty of at least $650.00,

In second offense cases, the fines are larger, often over $1,000.00. Third offense cases carry even larger fines, and the State can decide that it wants to keep your car. By the fourth offense, under present law, the State is required to seize your car. A fifth offense is a felony, so there is a serious risk of going to prison, for up to two years.

Anyone convicted of drunk driving or a test refusal is always required to submit to an alcohol assessment, and to comply with whatever "Driver Safety Plan," i.e., Group Dynamics or alcohol treatment, in or out-patient, is recommended by the assessing agency. These services must be paid by the convicted driver.

In addition, depending on the number of prior offenses, the driver may be required to have an ignition interlock installed on his or her vehicle, or may be required to immobilize the vehicle by having it booted. In third and subsequent offense cases, a judge may order a vehicle owned by the driver and used to commit the drunk driving offense seized by the Sheriff, and ultimately forfeited to the State. (That, however, requires a separate lawsuit.)

The statutes allow judges to impose various forms of community service in drunk driving cases, but this authority is seldom exercised.

Free but professional "first-impression" analysis

If you are under investigation or have been arrested for any crime, or if you have already been convicted of a crime and believe your conviction to be wrong or your sentence too harsh, please call (608) 350-1004 or email the Attorneys at Tracey Wood & Associates right away. An Attorney at Tracey Wood & Associates will provide you with a brief but professional free "first-impression" analysis of your appeal based on the facts that you are able to convey. You can also submit your case online or email the attorneys.




OWI DUI Attorney Tracey Wood commonly works in the following Counties: Adams, Ashland,Barron,Bayfield,Brown,Buffalo,Burnett,Calumet,Chippewa,Clark,Columbia,Crawford,Dane,Dodge,Door,Douglas,Dunn,Eau Claire,Florence,Fond du Lac,Forest, Grant,Green,Green Lake,Iowa,Iron,Jackson,Jefferson,Juneau,Kenosha,Kewaunee,La Crosse,Lafayette,Langlade,Lincoln,Manitowoc,Marathon,Marinette,Marquette,Menominee, Milwaukee,Monroe,Oconto,Oneida,Outagamie,Ozaukee,Pepin,Pierce,Polk,Portage,Price,Racine,Richland,Rock,Rusk,Sauk,Sawyer,Shawano,Sheboygan,St. Croix,Taylor,Trempealeau, Vernon,Vilas,Walworth,Washburn,Washington,Waukesha,Waupaca,Waushara,Winnebago,Wood

Please take notice that although the law firm of Tracey Wood & Associates website contains a large amount of accurate and useful legal information about drunk driving, OWI, DUI, Sex Crimes, Expungement and other serious crimes, it is not intended to be used as legal advice. Only an attorney can counsel you on your specific case. Please contact the attorney at Tracey Wood & Associates immediately should you find yourself charged with a Drunk Driving in Wisconsin, a DUI (Driving Under the Influence), OWI (Operating Under the Influence) or any other serious crime in Wisconsin at (608) 350-1004. Even if your researching drunk driving laws or sex crime laws in Wisconsin, Lawyer Tracey Wood can assist you.

Attorney Tracey A. Wood , 6605 University Ave Suite 101 Middleton Wisconsin. (608) 350-1004

OWI DUI Sex Crimes Expungement Defense Lawyer Attorney Tracey Wood