Updated on February 3rd, 2021 at 10:49 pm
Milwaukee County is the First Judicial District. Each branch (or judge) works together to have consistent sentencing guidelines for Wisconsin DUI offenders, victims and the community. Each branch of Milwaukee County agrees to sentence DUI offenders with mitigating and aggravating factors of each case.
Mitigating v. Aggravating Factors for a Milwaukee County DUI
Milwaukee County determines whether or not a factor is mitigating (meaning it helps lower the sentencing), intermediate (in between/average), or aggravating (which has harsher sentencing guidelines). These factors include ability to pay, blood alcohol level, conduct of defendant since offense, consequences of the offense to the defendant, consequences to victims, cooperation of defendant, defendant’s actual driving for the current offense, and the driving record of the defendant. For example, a person may have a low ability to pay a ticket (mitigating factor) but have a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) over .10 (aggravating factor).
Fines, Jail, and Driver’s Licenses for a Milwaukee County DUI
DUI First Offense: First time DUI offenders must pay a fine with no jail time. Driver’s license will be suspended for 6-9 months.
DUI 2nd Offense: A fine must be paid. A second offense could mean 5 days to 6 months in jail. Driver’s license suspension to last from 12 to 18 months and an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) may be ordered by the Court for the time length of 12 to 18 months.
DUI 3rd Offense: Third time offenders must pay a fine and spend 30 days to 1 year in jail. Driver’s license will be revoked for 24-36 months, with an order for IID for 12 to 36 months.
Each additional offense increases the amount of the fine, the time spent in jail/prison, and license revocation. Fines and sentencing may be doubled if a passenger in the vehicle is under the age of 16 or if the offense occurred in a construction zone.
Milwaukee County Alcohol Assessment and Driver Safety Plans
Milwaukee County requires each DUI offender to undergo an alcohol assessment and attend a driver safety class. The court may order lower court costs, fines or forfeiture if the offender is unable to pay for the assessment and/or class. Community service may be ordered to reduce fine or forfeiture and/or to demonstrate adverse effects of alcohol abuse or the current DUI charge. The court may order that the offender visit a site showing the effects of his/her DUI or for alcohol abuse. Last, the court may order restitution.
Effective Way to Fight a Milwaukee County DUI – Hire the Right Attorney
Receiving a Milwaukee County DUI is no laughing matter, so why hire an amateur or average attorney? Hire Wisconsin DUI Defense Attorney Nathan J. Dineen of Vanden Heuvel & Dineen, S.C. He is a certified Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) Instructor and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE). Call Attorney Dineen at 1-877-DUI-6800 to schedule a Free Case Review.