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

Representing Yourself In A Criminal Case In Wisconsin


Tracey Wood & Associates
Wisconsin Criminal Defense Lawyers


Representing Yourself In A Criminal Case


Pro Se Representation


You can represent yourself, but you should read this before choosing to do so. Keep in mind that a famous person once said, “A person who chooses to represent himself has a fool for a lawyer and a damn fool for a client.” When you choose represent yourself in a criminal case, you do so at your own peril, and at the risk of being treated less than evenhandedly in the event you are dealing with an unscrupulous or unhappy prosecutor or court official.

Constitution Right To Represent Yourself


The Constitution of the United States of America protects your right to represent yourself in a court of law. Self-representation (called Pro Se) is one of the cornerstones of our legal system providing people with the right and the opportunity to 'have their day in court.' And yet, that same Constitution affords a person an absolute right to be represented by an attorney, even if you cannot afford one. You may have represented yourself at some point in time, perhaps in a Small Claims Court case. But all you can lose in a small claims court is money. In a criminal case, you can lose you liberty and your reputation unnecessarily and unbeknowst to you through complex criminal proceedings that differ greatly from simple civil proceedings.

Wisconsin Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedures


In addition to an immense body of Wisconsin and Federal criminal laws, courts operate according to a complex set of rules designed to maintain a strict order in the judicial process and a trial's procedural process. Without these rules, every trial could operate in its own fashion. Such havoc would deny people charged of a crime with the very element that the United States of America's system ensures: due process under the law with a speedy trial.

Pro Se Defendants Must Act As Their Own Attorney


By acting as your own lawyer, you will be responsible for knowing and abiding by the court's standard operating procedures, just the same as is any attorney. Despite the fact that the judge may ask you repeatedly if you understand the process that is taking place, as is customarily done, a simple 'yes' to a direct question may have a tremendous and unintentional impact, such as was the case with Eller.

Attorney Tracey Wood gets Self Represented Client Out of Prison


Eller had waived her right to a jury trial. When the court explained to her that she would be held to same standards and expected to possess the same knowledge that an attorney would be in a case, she reconsidered and asked for a Public Defender. The court proceeded on her waiver of a jury trial and found her guilty of a third offense of drunk driving. She then consulted with Attorney Tracey Wood, who argued to the Court of Appeals that her case was not tried fairly. The Court of Appeals agreed, reversed the trial court's decision, and instructed the trial court to hold a new trial. [State of Wisconsin vs. Eller]

Performing Your own Surgery


Representing yourself in a criminal trial is much like a surgeon having a patient perform the surgery. You would not do it, period. Just as a doctor assesses your medical situation by investigation and testing, so too, criminal attorneys review and analyze your legal and criminal situation. Prior to a criminal defense attorney's assessment of your case, remember that the state and its investigators have been hard a work conducting an in-depth investigation to prove you guilty, not to exonerate or clear you. Those investigators are usually experienced, seasoned criminal law professionals in their own regard who have been investigating cases for many years. The prosecutor has likely tried hundreds of cases like yours and won many of them. Some of those cases were lost on the mere fact that the defendant was unable to represent him or herself against such experience.

Life & Liberty


It has been said that American's value and prize nothing more precious than their liberties and freedoms second to their health. Law books are full of laws protecting a person's right to choose. People don't place their health in jeopardy by self-surgery for a serious medical condition. Does it make any more sense to jeopardize your freedom and your liberty by self-representation in a serious legal situation? Most people would say no upon any careful reflection.

Experienced Prosecutors Await You


The criminal justice system is comprised of people with years of experience in prosecuting cases just like yours, regardless of the charges. Those prosecutors have seen many cases, heard all of the excuses, and often become cynical and unable to believe a person's cries of innocence even when they truly are innocent.

Public Defenders


Even an attempt to understand the immense body of criminal law, case law, and courtroom procedures would be a daunting and overwhelming undertaking. People often turn to the system to protect their right to representation by asking for a public defender. Each state provides a means by which the courts may assign a lawyer to a case, sometimes at a reduced rate, and sometimes free (when the defendant is indigent). Typically, those honorable public defenders represent numerous people. Because they have so many clients, they often must forego conducting as extensive of an investigation as the police conducted before arresting you. Meanwhile, the prosecuting attorney has a police force serving the district attorney's office, as well as years of experience in preparing cases for trial and arguing cases with one main goal: to prove you guilty, not innocent. You might think that merely by reading and understanding the criminal justice system, courtroom procedures, and prosecurial system that you are able to take on the dangerous task of self-representation. However, the laws are not that straightforward, presumptions exists that not written into statutes, and rebuttals are made but remain a part of unpublished case law. Often times, a person can be too close to the situation to see the facts in the same light that they may be viewed by a prosecutor, or even worse, by a judge or a jury. If you are facing criminal charges, you owe it to yourself and your family that depends upon you to hire the best possible criminal defense attorney. Regardless of the type of criminal defense that you think you might be able to afford, an acquittal is priceless.

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