Posted on August 25,2020 in Personal Injury

You may not always think of distracted driving as being dangerous in the same way as drunk driving, but it can often be just as deadly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that over 400,000 people are injured and almost 3,000 are killed each year in accidents involving distracted drivers. If you are a Wisconsin motorist who has been involved in a distracted driving accident, you need to know your options for pursuing compensation from the liable party through a personal injury claim.

Causes of Distracted Driving in Wisconsin

Cell phone use, especially texting, is perhaps the most prominent example of a distraction that leads to unsafe driving, but many other behaviors can also cause drivers to remove their eyes and attention from the road for several seconds or more, during which time an accident may occur. Some examples of these negligent actions include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 19,2020 in DUI/OWI

Drunk driving is a threat to everyone on Wisconsin’s roads, resulting in over 5,000 car accidents each year and over 30 percent of the state’s annual car accident fatalities. For this reason, Wisconsin treats operating while intoxicated (OWI) as a serious criminal offense, with possible penalties including 10 years or more in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. However, first-time offenders in Wisconsin usually do not face criminal charges, and are therefore unlikely to see the full extent of these penalties. With the help of a skilled criminal defense attorney, you can work to ensure a fair outcome for your case, allowing you to reform your behavior without an excessive negative impact on your life.

How Does Wisconsin Define Operating While Intoxicated?

A person over the age of 21 can be arrested for OWI if he or she is found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08 percent, as determined by a blood or breath test at the time of the traffic stop. However, even if your BAC is below 0.08, an officer may arrest you if he or she has reason to believe that alcohol or any other drug is impairing your ability to drive safely.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 12,2020 in Gun Violations

The topic of gun control in the United States is often debated between those people who want stricter legislation and those citizens who want to protect their constitutional rights. In Wisconsin, legal gun owners are allowed to openly carry a loaded firearm in most public places without a special license. However, anyone exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms should be aware that there are certain public areas in which Wisconsin does not permit the open carry of guns. It is important to be aware of the laws in order to avoid weapons violations that may lead to criminal charges.

Exceptions to Wisconsin’s Open Carry Law

In the interest of public safety, Wisconsin law specifies some public locations in which the open carry of a firearm is not permitted. These places include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 23,2020 in DUI/OWI

Wisconsin has long been criticized for being the last state in the country to not criminalize a person’s first offense for operating a vehicle while they are intoxicated (OWI). While efforts are continuously being made to strengthen penalties for first-time OWI convictions, existing punishments for multiple OWI convictions can be strict, especially if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is relatively high when you are pulled over. Being convicted of an OWI not only means that you could face immense fines and other penalties but depending on your circumstances, this could also mean you now have a criminal record that could affect you for the rest of your life. If you have been charged with an OWI, you should speak with a Wisconsin OWI criminal defense attorney right away to protect your rights and driving privileges. 

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 09,2020 in Gun Violations

Guns can be dangerous and downright deadly weapons in the hands of some people. Even if you do not mean any harm, firearms are capable of serious injuries. Just recently, two separate firearm-related incidents resulted in non-life-threatening injuries to two Wisconsin residents. One woman accidentally shot herself in the leg after illegally carrying her firearm inside of a waterpark and attempting to store it in the trunk of her car. Police state she may be facing charges for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The other incident occurred when a man tried to shoot a woodchuck that was on his property, but missed and ended up hitting a nearby 80-year-old golfer. That is why it is imperative that Wisconsin gun owners understand the laws pertaining to the possession and carry of firearms in order to avoid serious criminal charges. 

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 25,2020 in Personal Injury

There are very few crimes in the United States that could be accurately described as victimless. Most of the time, crimes that are committed will affect someone in some way, shape, or form. When it comes to a crime such as driving while under the influence of alcohol, also known in Wisconsin as OWI, there often are personal injury victims. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 10,500 alcohol-related traffic deaths across the country in 2018 and many more alcohol-related injury- or damage-only crashes. Accidents involving drunk drivers are often traumatic for the victim, which is why the victim has the right to pursue compensation from the offender.

Pursuing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

When you get into a car accident with another person, you have a right to pursue compensation for damages that you may have sustained. This is true in Wisconsin, especially if you were in a collision with an intoxicated driver. Wisconsin operates on a system of comparative negligence when it comes to motor vehicle crashes. This means all parties involved have the potential to be partially at fault for the accident. As long as you were not found to be more than 50 percent responsible for the accident, you can pursue damages.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 20,2020 in Gun Violations

In recent years, the number of gun-related injuries and accidents reported has increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were nearly 40,000 firearm-related deaths in 2018. In Wisconsin alone, there were nearly 600 firearm-related deaths, or approximately 10 deaths for every 100,000 Wisconsin citizens. Because of this, lawmakers across the country have introduced laws that would create extreme risk protection orders for individuals who are likely to commit a crime with their firearms. These laws, also known as “red flag” laws, have been thought to reduce gun crime, but many citizens have objected to these laws, citing an interference of their constitutional rights. It is important to understand what constitutes these violations if you or someone you know is facing any criminal charges.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 04,2020 in Gun Violations

Wisconsin is a state that has relatively lenient gun laws, especially when compared to other states. In Wisconsin, you do not need to have a permit to own or possess a firearm. As long as you are not prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, and you pass a background check, you can legally carry your firearm in public, as long as it is not hidden from plain view. Once you hide the firearm from plain view, you are considered to be carrying a concealed handgun, which requires a concealed carry weapons (CCW) license.

When it comes to transporting firearms, the rules can become a little vague. Is the interior of a vehicle considered “concealed?” Do you need a permit to transport a firearm? There are certain rules that you must follow to legally transport a firearm in Wisconsin. The rules do vary, however, depending on whether or not you have a CCW. By remaining aware of how the laws apply to you, you can avoid any potential weapons charges.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 28,2020 in Criminal Defense

The time spent in the criminal justice system begins when a person is arrested. After an arrest, an individual will be charged with a crime if the prosecution finds that there is enough evidence to do so. Next, the alleged offender and his or her attorney may be able to reach a plea bargain with the prosecution, or the case may proceed to trial. Once everything is said and done, a judge will deliver a sentence for the crime if the defendant is convicted or pleads guilty. In Wisconsin, each crime has a different classification, which typically depends on the seriousness and nature of the offense. In some cases, the prosecution can push to have a sentence increased if there are aggravating factors present. That is why it is important to understand what circumstances can lead to harsher sentencing.

Examples of Aggravating Factors

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 07,2020 in Criminal Defense

Sometimes, the only thing people know about the criminal justice system is what they have seen in movies and on television. In many of those fictional cases, the offender ends up going to trial, and the defendant’s attorney fights to get him or her free. What most people do not know is that the majority of real-life criminal cases actually do not go to trial. Most of the time, the defense and the prosecution are able to work out some sort of deal for the defendant to plead guilty, who then receives a lesser punishment in exchange for the guilty plea. Similar to a settlement in a civil case, this is called a plea bargain, and it is regularly used in the criminal justice system. 

What Is a Plea Bargain?

A plea bargain is an agreement that is made between the defendant’s lawyer and the prosecutor to settle a criminal case, rather than taking that case to trial. Most of the time, the plea agreement involves the defendant pleading guilty in order to receive a less severe sentence. There are three main types of plea bargains:

Continue Reading ››