An OWI arrest in Baraboo starts a clock most people don’t know is running. Whether you refused the test or failed it, you may have as little as 10 days from your notice to protect your license before the consequences kick in on their own. Mays Law Office handles OWI charges — the offense most people call DUI or DWI, though Wisconsin law uses one name for all of it — and drugged-driving cases throughout Baraboo and Sauk County, working from our Middleton office. Baraboo is the Sauk County seat, so this is where the county’s criminal OWI cases are decided. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you say anything about your case to anyone.

OWI Attorneys in Baraboo, WI

Attorney Stephen E. Mays has practiced law in Wisconsin since 1995 and was named a 2025 Wisconsin Super Lawyer in DUI/DWI defense. He belongs to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Dane County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. A Baraboo OWI is investigated by local police or the county sheriff, prosecuted by the city or the county, and answered to in Sauk County’s own courtrooms — and how those courtrooms actually run is often what separates one outcome from another.

The work of an OWI lawyer lives in the questions most people never think to ask: Was there a lawful reason to stop the car? Do the roadside tests actually show what the officer wrote down? Was the blood draw done the way the Constitution requires? Were the deadlines that decide your license met on time? We start pressing on those the first time we talk.

When to Call Our Baraboo, WI OWI Lawyers

Reach out right away if any of this describes your situation:

• You were handed a “Notice of Intent to Revoke” after declining a breath or blood test. You have 10 days to file a written request for a refusal hearing — let that window close and your license is revoked automatically 30 days after the notice, with no chance left to contest it.
• You took the test and failed. A prohibited alcohol concentration triggers a Notice of Intent to Suspend, and you have 10 days from that notice to request administrative review — otherwise a 6-month administrative suspension begins 30 days after the notice.
• You have a prior OWI. If it was within the last 10 years, a second offense is a criminal misdemeanor carrying 5 days to 6 months in jail. A third brings 45 days to a year. A fourth is a Class H felony.
• A child under 16 was in the vehicle. That one fact turns even a first offense into a criminal misdemeanor — a $350 to $1,100 fine and a mandatory 5 days to 6 months in jail.
• Someone was hurt. Causing bodily injury to another person while intoxicated criminalizes a first offense, and great bodily harm or death brings separate felony charges with substantially higher prison exposure.
• You hold a CDL. A first OWI conviction — even in your personal vehicle — disqualifies your commercial privileges for a year. A second lifetime conviction is a lifetime disqualification.
• You blew 0.15 or higher. On a first offense, that BAC triggers a mandatory ignition interlock order.

What an OWI Conviction Actually Costs in Wisconsin

What actually happens if you’re convicted of OWI in Wisconsin? (And yes — if you searched “DUI” or “DWI,” this is your answer; Wisconsin’s statute calls the offense OWI, whichever name you typed.) It depends on which offense number this is. First time, with no aggravating facts? You’re facing a civil forfeiture — $150 to $300 plus the $435 mandatory surcharge — a 6-to-9-month license revocation, and no jail. Second time? If the prior was within 10 years, it’s now a crime, with 5 days to 6 months in jail. Third? 45 days to a year — and from the third offense onward, every prior you’ve ever had counts, with no time limit. Fourth? That’s a Class H felony: 60 days to 6 years of imprisonment. Was a child under 16 riding with you? Then even a first offense is a criminal misdemeanor — a $350–$1,100 fine plus mandatory jail of 5 days to 6 months. Will you need an ignition interlock? Only in defined situations: a refusal, a first offense at a BAC of 0.15 or higher, or a repeat offense. Can you keep driving to work? Possibly, on an occupational license — but don’t assume it; eligibility turns on your suspension type, any interlock requirement, the rest of your record, and DMV sign-off. And how long do you have to act? Ten days — to request a refusal hearing if you declined the test, or administrative review if you failed the evidentiary chemical test.

What does an OWI really cost? More than the fine — usually much more. Every OWI conviction carries a mandatory $435 surcharge. The required alcohol and drug assessment typically costs $165 to $500. If the court orders an ignition interlock, expect around $50 to $150 to install it and $60 to $100 per month to keep it running. Reinstating your license adds another $200. Then SR-22 high-risk insurance inflates your premiums for years. Where does that leave a typical first offense? Somewhere between $4,000 and beyond $10,000 all told — and those are typical ranges that shift with your county, your vendor, and your insurer. Measured against that total, a serious defense review is inexpensive, and ours is free: 608-305-4518.

How OWI Cases Move Through Baraboo and Sauk County Courts

Where your case is heard depends on what you’re charged with. Baraboo established its own City of Baraboo Municipal Court in early 2024, at 101 South Blvd. A standard civil first offense charged by the Baraboo Police Department is handled there. Every criminal OWI — repeat offenses charged as crimes, plus any first offense involving a minor passenger or injury — moves to the Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo, the county seat, prosecuted by the county on behalf of the State.

Enforcement in and around Baraboo is concentrated on the region’s main arteries — US Highway 12 and State Highway 33 — where Baraboo police and the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office run high-visibility saturation patrols. Wisconsin also invests heavily in specialized impairment training: thousands of officers statewide are certified in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and the state fields hundreds of Drug Recognition Experts. In practice, the officer who stops you on one of these corridors may hold credentials specifically built to support a drug- or alcohol-impaired-driving charge — which is exactly why the details of the stop and the testing deserve a hard, early look.

If you’re arrested, booking runs through the Sauk County Jail at the Law Enforcement Center on Lange Court in Baraboo, where intake and bond conditions — which for OWI can include cash bail or absolute-sobriety terms — are handled before an initial appearance. From there the criminal track follows a predictable path: the arresting agency forwards its file for a formal charge, you make an initial appearance, contested issues like an unlawful stop or a defective blood draw get litigated at motion hearings, and if nothing resolves the case, it goes to trial, where the State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether to fight, negotiate, or pursue treatment-related mitigation is exactly the kind of judgment our Wisconsin OWI defense practice exists to make.

How We Defend OWI Charges

Is there any point in fighting an OWI charge? Often, yes — because the State’s case has to survive five separate questions. Was the stop legal? Police need reasonable suspicion before pulling you over and probable cause before arresting you; a defect in either can suppress what followed. Do the field tests prove impairment? Not reliably — the standardized battery was validated on limited populations, and medical conditions, age, weight, injuries, weather, and footwear routinely mimic intoxication in sober people. Is the breath result airtight? A reading near the applicable limit — 0.08 for most drivers — is worth pressing: the reliability of chemical testing is a recognized battleground, and once you take the agency’s primary test, you’re entitled to its alternative test at no cost — or a test of your own choosing at your own expense. Was the blood draw constitutional? Taking blood is a Fourth Amendment search, and after State v. Prado (2021) — which struck down the presumption that an incapacitated driver consents — a warrantless draw without valid consent faces genuine challenge (though the State can invoke exceptions like exigent circumstances, so the analysis is fact-specific). Did you even “operate” the vehicle? Wisconsin defines operation as physically manipulating or activating the controls needed to put the car in motion, and whether that happened is a factual question the State must prove. None of these defenses is guaranteed to win, and not all of them will apply to you. The point of a case review is finding out which ones do. That review is free — 608-305-4518.

We also handle the license side of the case — refusal hearings and occupational license applications. An occupational license is never automatic; eligibility depends on the type of suspension, any interlock requirement, other suspensions on your record, and DMV approval, so the paperwork is worth getting right the first time.

Baraboo OWI Questions We Hear Most

I refused the test. What happens now?

Refusal is its own separate violation with its own penalties: a first refusal means a 1-year license revocation, a mandatory alcohol assessment, and a 1-year ignition interlock requirement. You have 10 days from the Notice of Intent to Revoke to request a refusal hearing. Requesting one does two concrete things: it pauses the revocation until a judge rules, and it can put the arresting officer under oath early — sworn testimony your defense can measure the case against before the OWI charge itself is decided. The hearing’s scope is narrow, but those benefits make it one of the first things we evaluate in every refusal case.

Is a lawyer really worth it for a civil first offense?

The first offense is where the record starts. It cannot be expunged, it raises your insurance for years, it disqualifies commercial driving privileges for a year if you hold a CDL, and it sets the counting clock — a second OWI within 10 years is a crime, and it counts forever once you reach a third. Challenging a weak stop or an unreliable test is often the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.

How much will an OWI cost me in total?

Plan on thousands, not hundreds. Once surcharges, assessment, interlock, reinstatement, and insurance are counted, a typical first offense runs $4,000 to over $10,000 all-in — see the breakdown above. Your exact figures depend on the county, the vendor, and your insurer.

How long will my OWI case take?

The license deadlines come first and fast — 10 days to request a hearing or review, with the suspension or revocation otherwise starting 30 days after your notice. The court case itself moves on a slower track: from arrest through the initial appearance, pretrial negotiation, and any motion hearings, a case typically spans one to six months or more, with contested cases that involve suppression motions or a trial running at the longer end.

My case is in Baraboo but I don’t live there. Do I still have to appear here?

Generally, yes. OWI cases are handled where the alleged offense happened, not where you live. A civil first offense charged by Baraboo police goes to the City of Baraboo Municipal Court; a criminal OWI in Sauk County is heard at the Sauk County Circuit Court in Baraboo, the county seat. If you were passing through on US-12 or State Highway 33 when you were stopped, your case still belongs to Baraboo and Sauk County — and we handle it there for you from our Middleton office.

Get a Free Consultation

Se Habla Español — Call 608-305-4518

Whether this is a civil first offense or a felony repeat charge, the first days after a Baraboo OWI arrest are the ones that matter most. Call 608-305-4518 or contact Mays Law Office online for a free consultation. Mays Law Office, LLC — 6405 Century Ave STE 103, Middleton, WI 53562.