An OWI arrest in Reedsburg does not wait for you to catch your breath. Whether you refused the officer’s test or took it and failed, you may have only 10 days from your notice to request the hearing or review that preserves your right to challenge the license action — let that window close, and the suspension or revocation begins on its own 30 days after the notice. Mays Law Office defends OWI charges — the offense most people call DUI or DWI, one and the same in Wisconsin — along with drugged-driving allegations, for drivers in Reedsburg and throughout Sauk County. We practice statewide from our office in Middleton. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you say anything more about your case to anyone.

OWI Attorneys in Reedsburg, 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 civil first-offense OWI cited in Reedsburg is handled locally at the joint municipal court, while any criminal OWI runs through the Sauk County Circuit Court in Baraboo — and understanding how each track actually works is a real part of the defense.

The value of an OWI attorney is in the pieces most people never think to question. Was there a lawful reason to stop your vehicle in the first place? 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 honored to the day? We start pulling on those threads from the first call.

When to Call Our Reedsburg, WI OWI Lawyers

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

• You were given a “Notice of Intent to Revoke” after declining the post-arrest evidentiary chemical test. Under Wis. Stat. 343.305(9)(am), you have 10 days from that notice to request a refusal hearing in writing — miss the deadline and the revocation takes effect on its own 30 days after the notice, and you lose the statutory chance to contest it.
• You took the evidentiary test and failed. A prohibited alcohol concentration brings a Notice of Intent to Suspend — 10 days from that notice to request administrative review, or a 6-month administrative suspension begins 30 days after the notice.
• You have a prior OWI. If that prior falls within the last 10 years, this charge is a criminal second offense — 5 days to 6 months in jail. A third carries 45 days to a year; a fourth is a Class H felony, 60 days to 6 years of imprisonment.
• 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 plus mandatory jail of 5 days to 6 months.
• Someone was hurt. Causing bodily injury to another person while intoxicated makes even a first offense criminal, and causing great bodily harm or death brings separate felony charges with substantially higher prison exposure.
• You hold a CDL. A single OWI conviction — even in your own personal car — disqualifies your commercial privileges for a year. A second lifetime conviction ends them for life.
• Your reading was 0.15 or higher. On a first offense, that BAC triggers a mandatory ignition interlock order for one year.

What Actually Happens If You’re Convicted

Wisconsin writes its drunk-driving law under one name — operating while intoxicated. If you searched “DUI” or “DWI,” this is still your answer; those are the everyday labels, not separate charges. What a conviction costs turns first on your history:

• First offense, no aggravating facts: a civil forfeiture, not a crime — $150 to $300 plus the mandatory $435 surcharge, a 6-to-9-month license revocation, and no jail.
• Second offense: if the prior falls within 10 years, it becomes a crime — 5 days to 6 months in jail.
• Third offense: 45 days to a year in jail, and from the third offense on, every prior you have ever had counts, with no time limit.
• Fourth offense: a Class H felony — 60 days to 6 years of imprisonment.
• Child under 16 in the vehicle: even a first offense becomes a criminal misdemeanor — a $350 to $1,100 fine plus mandatory jail of 5 days to 6 months.

An ignition interlock is required in three defined situations only: a test refusal, a first offense at a BAC of 0.15 or higher, or any repeat offense. An occupational license may keep you driving to work — but never assume it. Eligibility turns on your suspension type, any interlock requirement, the rest of your record, and DMV sign-off. And whichever way your case starts, you generally have just 10 days from your notice to request a refusal hearing or administrative review before the license consequence runs on its own.

What an OWI Really Costs

The number printed on the citation is the smallest part of the bill. Every OWI conviction in Wisconsin carries a mandatory $435 surcharge. The court-ordered alcohol and drug assessment typically runs $165 to $500 depending on the county. If an interlock is ordered, expect roughly $50 to $150 to install it and $60 to $100 a month to keep it running. Getting your license reinstated costs another $200. Then SR-22 high-risk insurance drives your premiums up for years afterward. Put it all together and a typical first offense lands somewhere between $4,000 and well over $10,000 all-in — and those are typical ranges that move with your county, your vendor, and your insurer, not a quote. Measured against that full total, a serious defense review is inexpensive, and ours is free: 608-305-4518.

How OWI Cases Move Through Reedsburg and Sauk County Courts

Reedsburg sits in western Sauk County, and where your case is heard depends on whether it stays civil or becomes criminal. A standard first-offense civil OWI citation issued locally is handled at the municipal level — Reedsburg is served by the Joint Municipal Court of the City of Reedsburg, Town of LaValle, and Village of Loganville, at 134 South Locust Street in Reedsburg. Municipal court is where a non-criminal first offense — the forfeiture, the license revocation, the assessment — is decided.

Any criminal OWI is a different track entirely. Repeat offenses charged as crimes, along with any first offense involving a minor passenger or an injury, move to the Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo, the county seat. The arrest itself is typically worked by the Reedsburg Police Department or the Sauk County Sheriff, with State Highway 33 through Reedsburg among the corridors those agencies watch most closely for impaired driving.

After a Reedsburg-area OWI arrest, booking generally runs through the Sauk County Jail at the county’s Law Enforcement Center, 1300 Lange Court in Baraboo — identification, screening, and processing before release on bond or holding for an initial appearance. Bond conditions on an OWI can include absolute-sobriety requirements. From there a criminal case follows a familiar sequence: the arresting agency forwards its file to the prosecutor, a complaint issues, you make an initial appearance, contested issues get litigated at motion hearings, and if nothing resolves the case, it proceeds toward trial, where the State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether a given path serves you better than fighting the charge is exactly the kind of call our Wisconsin OWI defense practice is built to make.

How We Defend OWI Charges

Is there any point in fighting an OWI? Often, yes — because the State’s case has to survive several separate questions, and each one is a place it can break down.

The stop. Police need reasonable suspicion to pull you over and probable cause to arrest you. If either is missing, the evidence that came afterward can be suppressed.

The field sobriety tests. The three standardized tests were validated on limited research populations, and age, weight, injuries, medical conditions, weather, and even footwear routinely produce “clues” in perfectly sober drivers. On the balance tests especially, a bad knee or wet pavement can look like impairment to an officer who has already decided what he is seeing.

The chemical test. A breath reading near the applicable limit is a measurement, not a verdict, and the reliability of chemical testing is a recognized battleground. Once you take the agency’s primary test, you are entitled to its alternative test at no charge — or a test of your own choosing at your own expense. Blood draws raise a separate constitutional question: taking blood is a Fourth Amendment search, and in State v. Prado (2021) the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the presumption that an incapacitated driver consents. Not every warrantless draw gets suppressed — the State can point to exceptions like exigent circumstances — but a draw taken without a warrant and without valid consent deserves a hard look.

We also handle the license side — refusal hearings and occupational license applications. An occupational license is never automatic; whether you qualify 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.

Reedsburg OWI Questions We Hear Most

Can I get an OWI expunged later?

No. Wisconsin’s expungement statute excludes OWI convictions entirely, and the civil first offense stays on your WisDOT driving record permanently — and once you reach a third offense, every prior counts, no matter how old.

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.

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.

Will my Reedsburg OWI be heard in Reedsburg or in Baraboo?

It depends on whether the charge is civil or criminal. A standard first-offense civil OWI citation issued locally is handled by the Joint Municipal Court that serves Reedsburg, on South Locust Street in Reedsburg. But any criminal OWI — a repeat offense, or a first offense involving a minor passenger or an injury — is filed in the Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo, the county seat, and prosecuted at the county level. Knowing which court your case belongs in, and what that court expects, is part of building the defense.

Get a Free Consultation

Se Habla Español — Call 608-305-4518

Whether you are facing a civil first offense or a felony repeat charge, the days right after a Reedsburg OWI arrest are the ones that count 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.