An OWI arrest in Kenosha starts two separate problems on the same day, and both come with deadlines. One is your driver’s license: if you refused the test or your reading came back over the limit, you generally have just 10 days from your notice to request a hearing or administrative review — miss it, and the suspension or revocation takes effect on its own 30 days after that notice is issued, whether you fight the case or not. The other is the charge itself. Mays Law Office defends OWI — the offense most people type into a search as DUI or DWI, though Wisconsin’s statute calls it operating while intoxicated — along with drugged-driving allegations, throughout Kenosha and Kenosha County. We work from our Middleton office and appear where Kenosha cases are decided, at the Kenosha County Courthouse downtown. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you talk to anyone else about your arrest.

OWI Attorneys in Kenosha, 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. Kenosha sits at the bottom of the state on the Interstate 94 corridor, the high-traffic route running between Milwaukee and Chicago, and an OWI stop can come from any agency working these roads — city police, sheriff’s deputies, or the Wisconsin State Patrol. Which agency ran the stop, and where the charge is filed, shapes how the case is built — and those are the questions a case needs answered from the start.

An OWI lawyer earns the fee in the details: whether the stop was justified, whether the field sobriety tests actually show impairment or just nerves, whether the chemical evidence survives a Fourth Amendment challenge, and whether every deadline protecting your license was met. All of that needs to start early — not weeks later.

When to Call Our Kenosha, WI OWI Lawyers

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

• You were handed a “Notice of Intent to Revoke” after refusing a breath or blood test. You have 10 days to request a refusal hearing in writing — let that window close and the revocation runs automatically 30 days after the notice, and you give up 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 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 fell 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 single 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 personal vehicle — disqualifies your commercial privileges for a year, and a second lifetime conviction ends them permanently.
• You were at 0.15 or above. On a first offense, that reading carries a mandatory one-year ignition interlock order.

What an OWI Conviction 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 Kenosha County Courts

Where your Kenosha OWI is heard depends on what it is charged as. A standard first offense is not a crime in Wisconsin — it is a civil forfeiture — so it is handled either in the Kenosha City Municipal Court or in the Kenosha County Circuit Court, depending on which agency wrote the citation and under what authority. At that civil level the State does not have to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt; the standard is “clear, satisfactory and convincing” evidence. It is a lower bar, but it is still a bar, and a weak stop or an unreliable test can fall short of it.

Every criminal OWI — a repeat offense, or a first offense involving a minor passenger or an injury — is filed in the Kenosha County Circuit Court at the Kenosha County Courthouse, 912 56th Street in Kenosha, and prosecuted there by the District Attorney’s Office. The courthouse runs eight circuit court branches. Because the city sits on the I-94 corridor — the busiest route in this corner of the state, with the interstate running along the city’s western edge near the Illinois line — an OWI stop here may come from Kenosha city police, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, or a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper working the interstate. Which agency stopped you can shape the reports, the squad video, and how the case is put together, which is one of the first things our Wisconsin OWI defense practice sorts out.

On the criminal track the path is fairly set. The arresting agency forwards its file to the District Attorney, who issues a criminal complaint; you make an initial appearance; contested legal issues are 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

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 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.

Kenosha OWI Questions We Hear Most

Can I still drive to work after a Kenosha OWI?

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.

Where will my Kenosha OWI case actually be heard?

That depends on the charge. A standard civil first offense is handled at the non-criminal level — either the Kenosha City Municipal Court or the Kenosha County Circuit Court, depending on which agency cited you — where the burden is “clear, satisfactory and convincing” evidence rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Any criminal OWI — a repeat offense, or a first offense with a minor passenger or an injury — is filed in the Kenosha County Circuit Court at 912 56th Street in Kenosha and prosecuted by the District Attorney. That courthouse runs eight circuit court branches, so exactly which courtroom hears your case depends on how it is assigned. Whether your stop came from Kenosha police, the county sheriff, or a State Patrol trooper on I-94, the criminal case lands in the same downtown courthouse.

I have a CDL. What does an OWI do to my commercial license?

A first OWI conviction disqualifies your commercial driving privileges for 1 year — even if you were driving your personal vehicle at the time — and for 3 years if you were hauling placarded hazardous materials. A second lifetime OWI conviction means lifetime CDL disqualification. Commercial drivers also operate under a stricter 0.04 limit in a commercial vehicle, and any detectable alcohol triggers an immediate 24-hour out-of-service order.

I wasn’t impaired — can they still charge me for drugs in my system?

Yes. Wisconsin’s restricted-controlled-substance law is zero-tolerance: operating with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or Delta-9-THC in your blood supports a charge regardless of whether you showed any actual impairment — the one narrow statutory exception is Delta-9-THC below one nanogram per milliliter of blood. And because Wisconsin does not recognize recreational or medical marijuana, a prescription or legal purchase in another state is not a defense.

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 is issued. 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.

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 Kenosha 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.