A second OWI in Wisconsin

Wisconsin is the outlier: a first OWI is not a crime there at all, it is a forfeiture of $150 to $300 — a civil penalty, closer to a parking ticket in law than to a conviction. The second offence is where the criminal law starts. The fine rises to between $350 and $1,100 and imprisonment of not less than five days nor more than six months becomes mandatory. What counts toward the second is broader than convictions: the statute adds up convictions, suspensions and revocations within a ten-year period, and events arising from the same incident count once. So a driver who thinks of the first one as "only a ticket" can arrive at the second without ever having been convicted of a crime, and find that this one is.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 5 days nor more than 6 months. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.

Criminal misdemeanor: not less than 5 days nor more than 6 months, and a fine of $350 to $1,100. The range is set by Wis. Stat. § 346.65(2)(am)1., (am)2.; § 343.307(1), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

Wisconsin does not order an interlock for every first offense — it kicks in at 0.15% BAC, on a refusal to give a sample, or on any repeat OWI. What catches people out is the clock: your term does not start until the DMV actually issues you a license, so you cannot sit it out. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by The convicting court, with the order enforced by Wisconsin DOT / DMV.