An OWI arrest in Franklin sets two clocks running at once, and neither waits for the other. One clock is on your license. If you refused the test, the 10-day window to demand a refusal hearing runs from the Notice of Intent to Revoke; if you failed it, the 10-day window to request administrative review runs from the Notice of Intent to Suspend — each clock anchored to its own notice. Let the administrative-review window close and the suspension takes effect on its own, 30 days after the Notice of Intent to Suspend is issued — and for a refusal, missing the 10-day hearing window leads to a revocation instead. The second clock is on your case in court. Mays Law Office defends OWI charges — the offense most people type into a search bar as DUI or DWI, though Wisconsin’s statutory charge is OWI — along with drugged-driving allegations. Mays Law Office represents clients across Wisconsin from our office in Middleton — including Franklin. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you say anything to anyone else about your arrest.

OWI Attorneys in Franklin, 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. Franklin is a Milwaukee County city, and an OWI charge here can begin as a routine stop and end as a criminal case, depending on the facts. Knowing which agency made the stop, and where the charge will be filed, shapes the defense from the first day.

An OWI lawyer earns their fee in the specifics — whether the stop was lawful, whether the field sobriety tests actually show what the officer claims, whether the blood draw held up under the Fourth Amendment, and whether every deadline that protects your license was met. Those are the questions a case needs answered from the start.

When to Call Our Franklin, WI OWI Lawyers

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

• You were handed a “Notice of Intent to Revoke” after refusing a breath or blood test. You have 10 days from that notice to request a refusal hearing in writing — let the window close and you forfeit the statutory chance to contest the revocation.
• You took the test and the result was over the limit. That produces a Notice of Intent to Suspend, and you have 10 days from that notice to request administrative review — otherwise a 6-month administrative suspension takes effect 30 days after the notice is issued.
• You already have an OWI on your record. A second offense is a criminal misdemeanor carrying 5 days to 6 months in jail if the prior was within the last 10 years. A third runs 45 days to a year, and every lifetime prior counts from that point on. A fourth is a Class H felony.
• A child under 16 was riding with you. 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 injury to another person while intoxicated makes even a first offense a crime, and great bodily harm or death brings separate felony charges.
• You hold a CDL. A single OWI conviction — even in your own car — disqualifies your commercial privileges for a year, and a second lifetime conviction ends them for good.
• You were at 0.15 or above. On a first offense, that reading brings a mandatory one-year ignition interlock order.

What an OWI Conviction Costs in Wisconsin

Wisconsin prosecutes drunk driving as OWI — DUI and DWI are the search terms, not separate charges. (A single stop can also produce a companion PAC count for the alcohol concentration itself; a driver found guilty of both is sentenced on one conviction.) Penalties climb with each prior:

• First offense. Civil forfeiture, not a crime. $150–$300, plus the mandatory $435 surcharge. No jail. License revoked 6–9 months.
• Second offense. Criminal misdemeanor if the prior happened within 10 years. Jail: 5 days to 6 months.
• Third offense. Jail: 45 days to 1 year. From here on, priors count for life — earlier OWIs, refusal revocations, OWI-related injury convictions, and qualifying out-of-state convictions all come back into play.
• Fourth offense. Class H felony. 60 days to 6 years of imprisonment.
• Minor under 16 in the car. Even a first offense becomes a criminal misdemeanor: a $350–$1,100 fine and 5 days–6 months in jail.
• Ignition interlock. Required in three situations only: a test refusal, a first offense with a BAC of 0.15 or higher, or a repeat offense.
• Your license. Revocation accompanies every conviction. An occupational license can cover work, school, and treatment driving — but eligibility is not automatic. It depends on your suspension type, interlock status, the rest of your driving record, and DMV approval.
• Deadlines. Refused the evidentiary test? Ten days from the Notice of Intent to Revoke to request a refusal hearing. Failed it (the station breath or blood test, not the roadside PBT)? Ten days from the Notice of Intent to Suspend to request administrative review.

Miss a deadline and the license consequences run on autopilot.

What an OWI Actually Costs in Dollars

The citation shows one number. The real bill has several:

• $435 — mandatory OWI surcharge on every conviction.
• $165–$500 — the required alcohol and drug assessment (varies by county).
• $50–$150 to install, $60–$100 per month — ignition interlock, if one is ordered.
• $200 — license reinstatement fee.
• Years of SR-22 high-risk insurance premiums stacked on top.

A typical first offense totals $4,000 to over $10,000 all-in. Every figure above is a typical range — your county, your vendor, and your insurer set the actual numbers, so treat these as planning estimates rather than a quote. Weigh the cost of a defense against that full total before deciding to simply pay and plead through. A free consultation costs nothing: 608-305-4518.

How OWI Cases Move Through Franklin and Milwaukee County Courts

Where a Franklin OWI is heard depends on how it is charged. A standard civil first offense is a non-criminal forfeiture, and whether it lands in a municipal court or in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court depends on the agency that issued the citation — that first-offense forfeiture is decided on the “clear, satisfactory and convincing” evidence standard when it is tried in municipal court under Wis. Stat. § 800.08(3). It is worth knowing which court your citation points to before your first appearance, because the procedure and the paperwork differ.

Every criminal OWI — a repeat offense, or a first offense involving a minor passenger or injury — is filed in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court at 901 N. 9th Street in Milwaukee, a large circuit with 47 branches, and prosecuted there. A second offense is generally criminal when the prior falls inside the 10-year window; a third or subsequent offense is criminal regardless of age. Which agency stopped you can affect the reports, the video, and how the case is built, which is one of the first things our Wisconsin OWI defense practice sorts out.

The criminal track follows a set path. The arresting agency forwards its file to the prosecutor, who issues a criminal complaint; you make an initial appearance; contested issues get litigated at motion hearings; and if a pretrial conference produces no resolution, the case moves toward trial, where the State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

How We Defend OWI Charges

Prosecutors must build an OWI case in layers. Defending one means testing every layer:

• The stop. Reasonable suspicion is required to stop you. Probable cause is required to arrest you. A defect in either may support a motion to suppress the resulting evidence.
• Field sobriety tests. The three standardized tests are error-prone. The validation research excluded people 65 and older and those 50 or more pounds overweight. Arthritis, inner-ear problems, leg injuries, cold, wind, wet pavement, footwear — each can produce false “clues.”
• The breath number. For most drivers 0.08 is the line — drivers behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, under-21 drivers, drivers under an interlock order, and anyone with three or more priors face stricter limits — and close readings invite challenge. Chemical-test reliability is a core defense front, and after you take the agency’s primary test you can request its alternative test free of charge, or arrange your own testing at your own expense.
• The blood draw. Drawing blood is a Fourth Amendment search. In State v. Prado (2021), the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the presumption that an incapacitated driver consents. Exceptions like exigent circumstances can still justify a draw, but a warrantless draw without valid consent faces serious scrutiny.
• The operation element. The State must prove you operated the vehicle — physically manipulated or activated the controls needed to put it in motion. Parked-car and sleeping-driver cases often turn on this element.
• The license track. Refusal hearings and administrative reviews run parallel to the main case. Both carry 10-day request windows — the refusal clock running from the Notice of Intent to Revoke, the administrative-review clock from the Notice of Intent to Suspend.

No single defense fits every arrest. The right one comes out of your reports, your video, and your facts — call 608-305-4518 before those details go cold.

We also handle the license side of the case — refusal hearings and occupational license applications. An occupational license is not 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.

Franklin OWI Questions We Hear Most

Will I go to jail for a first-offense OWI in Wisconsin?

For a standard first offense, no. Wisconsin is the only state that treats a first OWI as a non-criminal civil forfeiture — a fine and license revocation, but no jail. That changes fast if a child under 16 was in the car — a criminal misdemeanor with a mandatory 5 days to 6 months in jail — or if anyone else was injured, which also criminalizes the charge.

Where will my Franklin OWI case actually be heard?

It depends on how the charge is written. A standard civil first offense is a non-criminal forfeiture, and whether it is handled in a municipal court or in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court depends on the agency that issued your citation — in municipal court, a first-offense forfeiture is decided on the “clear, satisfactory and convincing” evidence standard. Any criminal OWI — a repeat offense, or a first offense with a minor passenger or injury — is filed in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court at 901 N. 9th Street in Milwaukee, a 47-branch circuit. Confirming which court your citation points to is one of the first things we do, because it changes the procedure and the deadlines you are working against.

Can I still drive to work?

Often, yes — but it is not automatic. An occupational license permits up to 12 hours of driving per day and 60 hours per week for work, school, medical appointments, treatment, and essential household duties — never recreation. Eligibility depends on the type of suspension or revocation, any interlock requirement, other suspensions on your record, and DMV approval — and the timing rules differ by situation, so we confirm your exact eligibility window before filing. The application runs through WisDOT paperwork, an SR-22 filing from your insurer, and proof of interlock installation where ordered — we can help prepare and review the application and supporting filings.

Is refusing the test better than failing it?

They are two different problems, not a loophole and a trap. Refusal is a stand-alone violation: a first refusal brings a 1-year license revocation, a mandatory alcohol assessment, and a mandatory 1-year ignition interlock — and the refusal itself can be used as evidence against you in the OWI case. Failing the evidentiary chemical test — the breath, blood, or urine test after arrest, not the roadside preliminary breath test — instead triggers a 6-month administrative suspension. The clocks run from different notices: the 10-day refusal window from the Notice of Intent to Revoke, the 10-day administrative-review window from the Notice of Intent to Suspend, with the suspension otherwise taking effect on its own 30 days after that notice is issued. Which situation you are in changes the strategy — it does not change the urgency.

Get a Free Consultation

Se Habla Español — Call 608-305-4518

Whether this is a civil first offense or a felony repeat charge, the days right after a Franklin OWI arrest are the ones that matter most. Mays Law Office represents clients across Wisconsin from our office in Middleton — including Franklin and Milwaukee County. 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.