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

Settlement Offers: Plea Bargains & Plea Agreements


Tracey Wood & Associates
Wisconsin Criminal Defense Lawyers


Settlement Offers: Plea Bargains & Plea Agreements


A settlement offer (often called a "plea bargain" or "plea agreement") is an offer between the prosecuting attorney and your criminal defense lawyer regarding the formal charges alleged against you. The offer usually seeks reduced charges (and sometimes seeks probation), rather than the stiff penalties (jail time, fines, or both) that would otherwise be available to and might be imposed by the court at a sentencing.

Plea Bargains Are Not Guaranteed


A plea offer is never guaranteed. Plea bargaining is negotiation between the prosecutor and the defense attorney; it is neither an admission of guilt, nor an adjudication (a matter tried by a court). The Supreme Court has held that a prosecutor can withdraw a plea offer at any time including on the courthouse steps, in the courtroom, during a recess of the court before the matter has been adjudicated, and even after the defendant has accepted the offer.

Plea Bargains Are Contractual Offers


Plea bargains are not governed by criminal law, rather they are governed by contract law. As such, plea bargains are contractual offers between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. They are unilateral offers made to a defendant and can be withdrawn at any time before performance. Performance is completed when the court accepts the offer (not when the prosecutor or the defendant accepts it).

Even if a defendant has a criminal defense attorney, a prosecutor can still withdraw an offer. However, it has been the previous experience of the attorneys at Tracey Wood & Associates that prosecutors have not withdrawn offers that were made to their clients, perhaps in an effort to avoid a trial at which Tracey Wood & Associates attorneys might prevail.

Plea Bargains Without A Lawyer


Prosecutors rarely will negotiate a plea on criminal charges with a person who is not represented by an attorney. There are several reasons why prosecutors refrain from "private negotiations" on criminal charges, but perhaps the most obvious rests in an understanding of the law and how the law might affect that person. A prosecutor may lead a defendant to believe that the prosecution has a very strong case, meanwhile knowing that they are hoping for a confession. A defendant may be unjustly wronged and his rights may be violated through the advantages that the prosecutor has over the defendant in both knowledge of the law and the very particular details of the case.

Reliance On Plea Bargains - Promissory Estoppel


If a defendant relies upon the offer made by the prosecutor, and even if the defendant accepts that offer, promissory estoppel is not available. Promissory estoppel is a legal fiction created by common law to prevent and stop unjust enrichment. In the situation of plea bargains, particularly when the defendant relies upon the bargain and performs some other act, such as turning state's evidence, one might be led to conclude that the prosecution or the state received a benefit at the defendant's cost. If the plea bargain is withdrawn, then the state received a benefit for which it did not reciprocate a thing of value - in the instance of criminal charges, it would be the reduction or eliminate of a charge or a lesser penalty. However, plea bargains are not required by law to protect the rights of the wrongly accused, the falsely accused, or the justly accused. Rather, they are a unilateral contractual offer, to which the defendant has an alternative required by law: to stand trial. Hence, the doctrine of promissory estoppel does not apply to plea bargains.

Do Tracey Wood & Associates Attorneys Plea Bargain?


Every good criminal defense attorney knows the power of a strong trial record and a reputation for being intelligent and tenacious, as well as the ability and experience to win at trial. And every good criminal defense attorney wields that power to the best of its ability and use with a astute knowledge of the criminal law, the charges against the defendant, the prosecuting attorneys involved in the case, the judge hearing the case, and the probability of winning given all of those factors and the evidence against you. Of course, Tracey Wood & Associates attorneys will plea bargain, but the distinguishing difference that sets "plea bargain mills" apart from trial and litigation experts is the trial record.

The winning record and stellar reputation of the attorneys at Tracey Wood & Associates often causes prosecuting attorneys to make very favorable offers or in some situations to drop the charges against their clients. Prosecuting attorneys throughout the state are familiar with the more than thirty years of criminal trial experience and expert trial skills of Tracey Wood & Associates attorneys. Those attorneys will seek the best possible outcome for you at all times given all of the factors.

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