An OWI arrest in Kaukauna starts two clocks at once. One runs on your license. If you refused the test, you have 10 days from the Notice of Intent to Revoke to request a refusal hearing; if you failed it, you have 10 days from the Notice of Intent to Suspend to request administrative review. Let either window close and the license consequence takes effect on its own — a suspension begins 30 days after the Notice of Intent to Suspend is issued. The other clock runs on your case in court. Mays Law Office defends OWI charges — the offense most people search as DUI or DWI; Wisconsin’s statutory charge is OWI — along with drugged-driving allegations, throughout Kaukauna and the Fox Valley. We work from our Middleton office and appear where Kaukauna cases are handled, including the Outagamie County Circuit Court in Appleton. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you say anything to anyone else about your arrest.

OWI Attorneys in Kaukauna, 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. Kaukauna — the old “Electric City” on the Fox River, a manufacturing town at the heart of the Fox Valley — sits primarily in Outagamie County, with a small portion extending into Calumet County. Venue follows where the offense occurred: a criminal OWI is heard in the circuit court for that county, and the Outagamie County seat is Appleton. Knowing where the charge will be handled, and how it will be classified, 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 Kaukauna, 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 the revocation takes effect automatically, and you forfeit the statutory chance to contest it.
• You took the test and the result was over the limit. That 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 of Intent to Suspend 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. 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? 10 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)? 10 days from the Notice of Intent to Suspend to request administrative review.

Miss a deadline and the license consequences run on autopilot.

One more feature of Wisconsin law worth knowing early: once you take the agency’s primary chemical test, the law lets you request the agency’s alternative test free of charge — or arrange a test of your own choosing at your own expense. And an under-21 “absolute sobriety” citation under § 346.63(2m) is not a countable prior under § 343.307, so it does not by itself elevate a later OWI to a second offense.

The citation shows one number. The real bill has several: the mandatory $435 OWI surcharge on every conviction; the required alcohol and drug assessment, typically $165 to $500 depending on the county; ignition interlock at roughly $50 to $150 to install and $60 to $100 a month if one is ordered; a $200 license reinstatement fee; and years of SR-22 high-risk insurance premiums stacked on top. Add it together and a typical first offense totals $4,000 to over $10,000 all-in. Every figure there is a typical range — your county, your vendor, and your insurer set the actual numbers, so treat these as planning estimates, not a quote.

How OWI Cases Move Through Outagamie County Courts

Kaukauna sits primarily in Outagamie County, with a small portion extending into Calumet County. Venue follows where the offense occurred. A criminal OWI arising in the Outagamie County portion of the city is heard in the Outagamie County Circuit Court at the county seat in Appleton — 320 S. Walnut Street — which runs seven branches. An offense on the Calumet County side of the line is heard in Calumet’s circuit court, which sits at 206 Court Street in Chilton.

How a case is routed there depends on what it is. A standard first-offense OWI is a civil forfeiture, not a crime, and depending on which agency issued the citation it may be handled in a municipal court or in the circuit court — in a municipal proceeding the burden of proof is “clear, satisfactory and convincing” evidence under Wis. Stat. § 800.08(3). A second offense within the 10-year window is generally criminal, and a third or subsequent offense is criminal as well; those cases are heard in the Outagamie County Circuit Court. 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 goes to 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 hearing from the Notice of Intent to Revoke, the administrative review 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.

Kaukauna 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 Kaukauna OWI case actually be heard?

Venue follows where the offense occurred. Criminal OWI cases arising from the Outagamie County portion of the city are heard at the Outagamie County Circuit Court in Appleton, the county seat, at 320 S. Walnut Street. A civil first offense may be handled in municipal or circuit court depending on the citing agency. Because Kaukauna sits primarily in Outagamie County with a small portion extending into Calumet County, an offense on the Calumet side is heard in Calumet’s circuit court in Chilton.

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 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.

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 Kaukauna OWI arrest are the ones that matter most. Mays Law Office represents clients across Wisconsin from our office in Middleton — including Kaukauna and the Fox Valley. 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.