We all make mistakes, but not all of us make profound and positive contributions to our communities. But what happens if you make lots of big mistakes and lots of big contributions to the community? Perhaps, community leaders will come to your aid and support you by speaking in favor of your good name and past good works.

Normally, when someone gets arrested on a sixth offense DUI charge, the person is described by news media and public officials as if he or she were the dirge of the community. However, that's not what happened in the case of a 56-year-old bar owner who was arrested and later convicted of a sixth operating while intoxicated charge in August.

Officers said that they received reports of the drunk man trying to get into his truck at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. When police arrived, they found him urinating on his feet and on the ground, and they told him not to drive. Next, police saw the man get in his truck and drive away, so they pulled him over and arrested him on intoxicated driving charges after he failed his Breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. He pleaded "no contest" in court and accepted the felony sixth OWI offense conviction.

Police arrested two men in Madison, Wisconsin last week on drug and weapons-related charges. Allegedly, the apprehended men were associated with a north Madison home, where authorities seized thousands of dollars of cash, narcotics and firearms.

The arrests happened in the wake of a long-term drug investigation that resulted in three searches of two north Madison residences and a storage locker last Tuesday. Police claim that they seized cocaine, heroin, $12,500 in cash and five guns as a result of their searches. Allegedly, the guns that police found during the search included an AR-15, an SKS 7.62 rifle, two .44-caliber handguns and a .22-caliber assault rifle.

The men were not in either of the residences at the time of the search and seizure operations. However, police later found the men and arrested them after chasing each on foot. The arrested men included a 38-year-old man from Madison and a 34-year-old man from Chicago. The 38-year-old was charged with cocaine delivery, heroin delivery and resisting arrest. The 34-year-old was charged with party to the crime of heroin delivery and resisting arrest.

In the state of Wisconsin, if you're a gun owner, it's important that you understand the legal distinction between various terms, like "carry" and "possession," for example. Understanding the meaning of these and other gun law terminology is important for deciding whether a particular defendant has broken Wisconsin gun laws.

Here are some important terms you should know:

Carry: The terms "carry" and "carrying" in the context of firearms in Wisconsin means "to go armed with," which -- in turn -- means that the firearm is on the person's body, being carried by the person or within his or her reach. It also means that the person is aware that the firearm is there.

A robbery charge is a serious criminal accusation, and the punishments associated with a conviction for this offense become even more severe when a firearm was involved. That said, all individuals accused of this crime will have the opportunity to defend themselves against the allegations.

In all criminal cases, including robbery crimes, the burden of proof lies on the prosecution. If the prosecution cannot prove the following facts are true beyond a reasonable doubt in a robbery case, then a conviction cannot occur:

• The accused person took or stole property.
• The stolen property belonged to someone.
• The property was stolen from the owner's person or it was stolen while in the presence of the owner.
• The property was taken against the owner's will.
• The accused person committed the unlawful taking through intimidation, violence or brute force.

The final point above -- the element of force, violence or threat -- is essential to the crime of robbery, which is a more serious offense than theft or larceny. In cases where violence happened while the accused person was trying to escape after committing a theft, the matter would probably be viewed as theft or larceny as opposed to robbery.

When things look grim based on the factual scenario in a criminal defendant's lawsuit, and a conviction is likely, the defendant may elect to negotiate a plea deal. Negotiating the plea, or plea bargaining, is a useful defense tactic that benefits both the defendant and the prosecution.

Let's take a look at how plea bargaining benefits both sides of the criminal defense equation:

How plea bargains help defendants