Should OWI Convictions 'Expire'?
An Oak Creek man arrested for drunk driving last week has six prior convictions, but only one since 1996. How much should that time span factor into what punishment he faces now, if at all?
Should the time between drunk driving arrests have an impact on how those people are handled in the courts? An Oak Creek man was arrested for operating while intoxicated last week near Mitchell International Airport. The 51-year-old man has six prior convictions, but only one in the last 16 years. If a person’s second OWI comes at least 10 years after the first, then it is generally treated like a “first offense” in Wisconsin. But if it happens a third time — no matter when any of them occurred — then the person is considered to have two first-offense convictions and a third-offense conviction. In the case of the Oak Creek man, he was given a two-year prison sentence for his sixth offense, in 2002, but it was “stayed,” essentially turning …
In this Article:
Mike Mitchell
2:50 pm on Sunday, December 23, 2012
The way the law is set, owi will be on you record forever. There's no point to debate if it should or should not be, because its not going to change. Perhaps there should be other ways to solve the problem, such as using alcohol sensers in vehicles or tagging the persons identification as someone who should not be served alcohol in a bar. There's so much hypocritical behavior regarding drinking … more ›