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Bail: When there isnt any get-of-jail-free card
The day that you are arrested for a criminal activity, your focus becomes getting out of jail. Most people don't want to have to sit in the local jail or county lockup while their case is moving through the criminal justice system.
In many cases, the criminal court will issue bail for a person who was arrested. This is a financial assurance that the person will report back to court at the appointed times. There are several things that people should know about bail.
Bail vs. bond
The court issues a bail amount. You have two options for this -- you can pay the court the entire bail amount or you can contact a bail bondsman. In some cases, you can get out of jail by going through a bail bondsman to pay a portion of that bail to get out of jail. In exchange for money, the bondsman writes a bond that covers the remainder of the bail amount. This enables you to get out of jail without having to fork over the entire bail amount.
Sharing your prescription drugs at work is a bad idea
It's difficult to watch a co-worker suffer through a workday in pain. You might be tempted to alleviate his or her discomfort by giving your co-worker one of the pain medications you take for your bum knee; however, it would be a very bad idea and it could get you in serious trouble with the law.
Imagine your co-worker got stopped by the police on the way home from work -- perhaps because he or she took too many of the Vicodin you gave him or her. The police might decide to arrest him or her for intoxicated driving, and if they find your Vicodin, they'll want to know who gave them to him or her. Furthermore, if your friend gets into a serious car accident, gets injured or causes injury to others, you could be financially and criminally responsible for the crash.
There are more reasons -- aside from criminal and civil liabilities -- that should dissuade the average Wisconsin resident from sharing drugs with co-workers. Most importantly, it could result in you getting fired from your job. Most employers do not look favorably on employees who share drugs with co-workers at work, and for obvious reasons. Any pharmaceutical drugs possessed by someone who doesn't have a prescription is a violation of federal law.
Were you arrested for boating under the influence?
Boating under the influence charges happen frequently in Wisconsin's waterways. In fact, some Wisconsin boaters may have been arrested and charged with BUI even though they are innocent. This is partly because the very nature of being on a boat with friends can result in an inappropriate arrest.
Unlike a car, boat drivers can switch off with passengers very easily. One minute you might be driving the boat, and the next minute your friend is driving the boat. Because it's easy for boat passengers to move around and switch positions with the driver, police might be confused about who was actually driving the boat.
Let's say your good friend was driving your boat, and he was a responsible boater, a great boat driver and also stone-cold sober. You, on the other hand, were not entirely sober because you just finished drinking four beers over the last couple hours. Because you are technically the owner of the boat, however, police got confused and mistakenly fell under the impression that you were operating your boat while intoxicated.
In Wisconsin, you must begin fighting drug charges immediately
In Wisconsin, drug charges are a very serious matter. Even as lawmakers are slowly introducing medical marijuana legislation that aims to loosen the restrictions against the drug, the penalties for possessing or dealing drugs or drug paraphernalia are still quite stiff.
If you received drug charges of any kind recently, you must begin building a strong, aggressive defense as soon as possible. The longer than you wait to build a defense and take action for your future, the longer that the state has to build its case against you.
Penalties for drug charges can completely derail your entire life, even if you avoid jail time. Depending on the severity of the charges, you may face thousands of dollars in fines, suspension of your license, increases in insurance premiums, and difficulty finding work or housing.
Many employers do not hire applicants with drug convictions on their record, even if the rest of the resume is impressive. Likewise, many property rental companies have policies against leasing to individuals with drug convictions.
37-year-old mother allows her 8-year-old to drive
A 37-year-old mother from Milwaukee has been accused of allowing her 8-year-old son to drive on Highway 145. Police pulled the woman and her son over, after allegedly spotting the woman driving with her young child on her lap in the front seat.
Police said allege they saw the boy steering his mother's vehicle as they drove down the highway. After spotting the pair, police pulled them over, and upon reaching the vehicle, they say that the boy was emotionally distraught.
Police further claim that the 37-year-old mother would not cooperate with them. They say she failed her field sobriety tests and showed signs of being intoxicated. Authorities arrested her, charged her with DUI 3rd offense and DUI with a young child in the car. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office also plans to seek charges of Interlock Ignition Device Violation, Operating After Revocation, and 2nd Degree Reckless Endangering Safety.
Following the arrest, police gave the child over to Child Protective Services. They say that during the arrest and interrogation of his mother, the boy was crying. Allegedly, the boy was afraid that he was in trouble with the law and he asked them not to take him to jail.
Did you get charged with a federal drug paraphernalia crime?
It's hard to imagine, but even the most seemingly innocuous items could lead to a federal drug paraphernalia charge if police find you in possession of them at the time of a drug-related arrest. For example, a box of small plastic baggies would be perfectly innocent in any other context, but if police find you in possession of a large bag of cocaine, they may assume that you're going to use the baggies to traffic and sell the drug.
Let's take a look at what constitutes a federal drug paraphernalia crime under the law:
-- Offering to sell or selling any kind of drug paraphernalia.
-- Mailing or transporting drug paraphernalia through any kind of interstate postal or transportation system.
-- Exporting or importing drug paraphernalia to and from outside the country.
The determination, however, of whether something is "drug paraphernalia" is often a decision based on context. Let's consider a pipe or a bong, which could be used to smoke marijuana or another illegal substance but could also be used to smoke tobacco. For the drug paraphernalia conviction to occur, police will need to connect the pipe to drugs -- for example, by detecting a drug-caused residue on the pipe. If the only residue is related to tobacco, or if the otherwise innocent item was not found where drugs were present, then a paraphernalia charge may not stick.
Why your Ignition Interlock Device is a friend, not an enemy
At Bucher, Wolff & Sonderhouse, LLP, we know that nobody wants to have an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in their vehicle. These devices require you to blow into them, and if you have the smallest amount of alcohol on your breath, the device will render your car undrivable. You will also have to intermittently blow into the device while operating your vehicle.
Like it or not, if you've been convicted of drunk driving, you IID device could become a faithful companion for many months. You need to make sure you understand all the rules that apply to your IID to avoid getting into further trouble. You'll also want to know how it works so that you don't make a mistake that results in a legal violation.
How your IID is helping you
In the past, a drunk driving conviction could prevent you from driving an automobile for months. Losing your driving privileges is a significant problem in the modern world -- such a problem that many people with DUI convictions would continue driving. Lawmakers soon realized, after numerous repeat DUI offenses, that they needed a new strategy to prevent drunk driving.
Were you accused of arson in Wisconsin?
When a house or business burns down, police will investigate the incident to determine what went wrong. Even if it was a complete accident, police will sometimes accuse a homeowner or business owner of setting a piece of property on fire just to collect the insurance money. In criminal law, this crime is not only referred to as insurance fraud, but it's also called "arson."
Arson is the deliberate act of setting property on fire. In many cases, arson is a part of insurance fraud allegations. However, it can also be committed as a part of a hate crime, or it could involve the setting on fire of forest lands. Arson is classified as a felony due to its capacity to hurt someone.
Arson crimes become more serious depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, setting fire to an occupied building versus setting fire to an unoccupied building represents starkly different severity levels.
Since fires result in so much destruction, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause and/or origin of a fire. For this reason, forensic investigators can spend months and years getting to the bottom of a particular arson case.
Milwaukee man accused of 8th drunk driving offense
A DUI charge can happen to any Wisconsin resident who takes the risk of driving after drinking alcohol. However, in some cases, a Wisconsin driver will find him or herself facing drunk driving charges again and again. Drivers need to be very careful after being charged with multiple DUI offenses because the punishments will get more severe with each consecutive conviction.
In one such case, a Milwaukee man with seven drunk driving convictions on his criminal record has been arrested and accused of drunk driving for the 8th time. Police arrested the man after his van collided with a trailer, according to the sheriff's office.
The collision happened a little before 6 p.m. last Tuesday on Interstate 43. The man was driving northbound on the highway when he allegedly collided with the trailer. Police say that the man admitted to drinking a martini and taking Adderal before getting into the crash. When authorities tested his blood alcohol content, he allegedly tested with a BAC of 0.18 percent, which is more than double the legal limit.
How To Deal With A Drunk Driving Charge In Waukesha, Wisconsin
In Wisconsin's Waukesha County, a drunk driving charge is formally referred to as Operating While Intoxicated (OWI). There are various ways to be charged with an OWI offense, including driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher; driving under the influence of an illegal drug or other controlled substance; driving with a noticeable measure of restricted or controlled substance in the blood; or driving under the influence of any intoxicant such as alcohol, prescription or over the counter medication, or an illegal or controlled drug.
When pulled over by the police, most people's first inclination is to volunteer information. Although it is generally not wise to refuse to speak with an officer asking routine questions, it would be wise to avoid embellishing or providing extra information. This is because the probability of incriminating yourself or providing more facts that support your guilt increases the more you speak. Rather, you should be polite, calm, and cooperative with the police.
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