Updated on March 24th, 2021 at 05:39 pm

Receiving a Wisconsin DUI can be scary and stressful.  Trying to figure out what to do during the arrest, after being released, what all the paperwork means, and keeping track of deadlines really cranks up the stress.  Many people do not know what to do immediately after an arrest for drunk driving.

Step 1: Do Not Admit to Drinking in Wisconsin

This step does not indicate that you lie to a Wisconsin police officer, rather, respectfully decline answering the questions regarding what you drank, how much you drank, and when you started or stopped drinking.

Step 2: Do not Refuse a Wisconsin Blood or Breath Test

Refusing a WI DUI blood or breath test gives a police officer probable for an arrest for a Wisconsin OWI.  Refusing the chemical testing is an automatic one year suspension for a driver’s license.  This one-year driver’s license suspension is a harsher penalty than a first offense WI DUI, which is 6-9 months.

Step 3: Fight your Driver’s License Suspension

The clock is ticking…once you receive a Wisconsin Notice of Intent to Suspend; you only have 10 days to send in your request for a hearing.  If the Review Hearing is not requested within 10 days, a driver’s license will automatically be suspended after 30 days.  If a Review Hearing is requested, a WI driver’s license may not be automatically suspended at that time.

Step 4: Write Everything Down

Take a moment to make a timeline of the events leading up to and during the stop for a WI DUI while the events are still fresh in your mind.  Initial court hearings can be set a couple weeks to a few months out and memories can be harder to recall.  Writing the details of who you were with, where you went, how much you had to drink and/or eat, and length of time lapsed, etc. can provide helpful information for both you and your attorney.

Step 5:  Hire WI DUI Defense Attorney Nathan J. Dineen

Although a WI DUI is a traffic or criminal matter, a general criminal attorney is not the right choice to aggressively defend you.  The ever changing laws for Wisconsin drunk driving make it necessary to hire an attorney who solely practices DUI Defense in Wisconsin.  Attorney Nathan J. Dineen of Vanden Heuvel & Dineen, S.C. is a certified Field Sobriety Test Instructor and a Drug Recognition Evaluator.  Contact him at 877-384-6800 for a Free Case Review.