Police generally need a warrant before entering a private home in Wisconsin. The Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution provide strong protection against unreasonable government intrusion into a residence. There are exceptions. Police may enter without a warrant when an emergency requires immediate action, when someone voluntarily consents, or when…
It is a familiar scenario on Southern Wisconsin roadways: you are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction – such as a burnt-out license plate light, an expired registration sticker, or traveling 7 mph over the speed limit. The officer collects your driver’s license, steps back to their squad car, and then the waiting begins….
As neighboring states like Illinois and Minnesota have legalized recreational cannabis, thousands of drivers travel across Southern Wisconsin highways every day assuming that the legal status of marijuana is shifting uniformly across state lines. However, crossing the state border into Dane, Rock, or Jefferson County places you under a dramatically different constitutional standard. When a…
When a heated argument escalates and law enforcement is dispatched to a residence in Madison, Sun Prairie, or anywhere in Dane County, the outcome is almost always predetermined. Under Wisconsin’s strict mandatory arrest policies, if responding officers observe even minor evidence of physical pain, property damage, or fear, someone is going to jail – regardless…
If you are arrested for an OWI in Southern Wisconsin and refuse to submit to a chemical breath or blood test, you face a double-front legal war. Under Wisconsin’s Implied Consent law, a chemical test refusal triggers a civil revocation case completely separate from the underlying criminal OWI charge. While you have exactly 10 business…
When a domestic dispute boils over and law enforcement is called, the initial police intervention is rarely the end of the story – it is merely the catalyst for an aggressive legal escalation. In Wisconsin, individuals involved in personal or relationship conflicts frequently find themselves facing an unexpected, terrifying reality: what began as a heated…
When someone is charged with a crime, their first instinct is often to look at the evidence the State has stacked against them. A breathalyzer reading of .14, a fifteen-count indictment, an arrest after finding cocaine in your vehicle – on paper, these look like open-and-shut cases. The prosecution wants you to believe that the…
Analysis of Recent Case Successes and the Value of a Litigation Mindset In the world of criminal and OWI defense, you will frequently hear law firms claim they are “trial attorneys.” But there is a massive difference between a lawyer who simply owns a suit and a litigation team that routinely forces the State to…
Analysis of 2025 Wisconsin Act 210 (Senate Bill 248) Wisconsin has enacted a sweeping update to its Ignition Interlock Device (IID) regulations with the passage of 2025 Wisconsin Act 210 (Senate Bill 248). Signed by Governor Evers on April 8, 2026, and published on April 9, 2026, this legislation represents a massive “carrot and stick” approach to drunk…
Analysis of 2025 Wisconsin Act 195 (Assembly Bill 856) Wisconsin has recently enacted 2025 Wisconsin Act 195, a critical legislative update that brings the state’s OWI and implied consent statutes into alignment with landmark rulings from both the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. For years, certain provisions of Wisconsin’s “implied consent” law remained…