Posted on March 11, 2018 in OWI/DUI

If you were arrested for drunk driving, at some point during your arrest process, police probably administered a Breathalyzer test. The results of this test may have even produced a key piece of evidence in your criminal defense lawsuit, and the prosecution may try to use this evidence against you to convict you of drunk driving. As such, you might want to understand a little more about how Breathalyzer tests work.

The Breathalyzer test machine comes in numerous forms and variety. "Breathalyzer" is a brand name, but other companies may offer breath testing devices as well. Generally, all of these devices work the same, and they are all subject to rending completely inaccurate test results. As such, even if your breath test showed you had a high blood alcohol content (BAC), it doesn't necessarily mean that you will ultimately be convicted.

Breathalyzers analyze the percentage concentration of alcohol in your blood by registering how much alcohol is dissolved into your breath. A scientific testing methodology known as infrared spectroscopic analysis is used to analyze your breath like this. The captured alcohol within your breath is detected because it absorbs light waves that belong to a specific frequency. The more of these lightwaves the are captured, the higher score of drunkenness the Breathalyzer will give you.

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 Posted on February 23, 2018 in Drug Charges

Due to the differences between drugs and their potential punishments, defendants accused of drug possession will need to tailor their defense strategies to the unique facts and circumstances that apply to their cases. For example, if you've been accused of possessing a kilo of cocaine, your defense strategy will probably be very different from the strategy employed by someone accused of possessing half an ounce of marijuana.

That said, there are certain drug possession defense strategies that -- depending on the circumstances -- could apply to any kind of drug crime accusation.

Here are several common defenses against drug possession

What follows are some of the most common defense strategies employed by those accused of drug possession:

Unlawful search and seizure: The police cannot perform a search and seizure randomly on anyone. The need to have a reasonable cause of action to suspect that the person is in possession of a drug in order to perform a search. For example, maybe the police saw drugs in the backseat of the defendant's car. This would be sufficient reason for them to perform a search. If police perform a search and seizure operation without sufficient cause, then any resulting charges could be thrown out in court.

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 Posted on February 23, 2018 in Criminal Defense

It's important for any gun or weapon owner to understand the restrictions that prohibit the carrying of certain firearms onto federal property -- especially if the weapon owner frequently carries weapons on his or her person. Failing to understand these restrictions could result in falling into serious legal trouble with the federal criminal law system.

Here is a complete list of firearm items -- and other weapons -- that you are prohibited from carrying onto a federal facility:

• Anything that could be considered a dangerous weapon.
• Explosives and destructive devices, including their individual parts and components that could be converted into a dangerous weapon that would cause death, serious injury or property damage.
• Projectile weapons and firearms, including airguns, BB and pellet guns, antique firearms, flare guns, replica guns, toy guns, spearguns, starter pistols, stun guns and cattle prods, ammunition and slingshots.

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 Posted on February 20, 2018 in OWI/DUI

It might have happened while you were driving home from a party late at night. It might have happened while you were driving your children to school in the morning. In fact, a drunk driving arrest can happen at any time you're operating your vehicle. However, just because you get arrested and accused of this crime does not mean that a criminal court will find you guilty. Until the prosecution can prove you were drunk behind the wheel beyond a reasonable doubt, you will have every opportunity to defend yourself.

Although every drunk driving defense strategy will be different depending on the circumstances of how the arrest occurred, here are a two ways that DUI defendants might try to fight their charges:

Defenses related to police procedure: There are many things that can go wrong in the moments preceding a driver's arrest. Police have rules and procedures they need to follow, and failure to follow these rules could invalidate an arrest. Important questions to ask in this regard include: Did the police have a viable reason to pull over the driver? Did police administer the field sobriety or breathalyzer test in a lawful way? If the answer to these questions is "no," then it could reveal a strategy to defend against the charges.

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 Posted on February 18, 2018 in Criminal Defense

When police accuse suspects of theft crimes, the accused faces serious offenses that could come with stiff penalties in the event of a conviction. However, a theft crime is nothing compared to the crime of murder in terms of potential consequences.

As such, if prosecutors have included a murder charge with your theft charges, you will want to take your criminal defense process very seriously. There are numerous legal strategies that might be available to a murder defendant.

Consider the potential of an insanity defense. If an individual kills another person, and he or she was insane at the time, or if he or she was not cognitively able to understand what he or she was doing or that it was wrong, then the defense of insanity could be suitable. The insanity defense is often supported by psychological expert witnesses who render their opinion as to the psychological state of the accused individual.

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 Posted on February 10, 2018 in OWI/DUI

The law in Wisconsin is exceedingly clear. Individuals who have a blood alcohol content beyond .08 percent cannot legally operate an automobile on the road. In fact, they can't even sit in the driver's seat while drunk with the vehicle pulled over on the side of the road without running the risk of getting arrested for a DUI. All that said, many drivers are surprised to hear that there are certain exceedingly rare circumstances in which it is actually legal to driver while intoxicated.

Before we discuss some examples of these circumstances -- when it's legal to drive drunk -- readers should be warned: This is not something to do on purpose, and it only applies to rare and emergency situations.

Here are two situations in which a driver could theoretically drive drunk and get away with it:

The driver is being threatened: Imagine someone was threatening a driver's life and forcing him or her to drive drunk. Maybe it's a husband, boyfriend, wife, girlfriend or lover. Maybe it's an abusive boss. Whatever the situation, the driver is fearful of his or her life or safety because someone is threatening and coercing the driver to operate a vehicle while intoxicated.

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 Posted on January 29, 2018 in Gun & Weapons Crimes

Under the Second Amendment, the United States Constitution states that American men and women have the right to bear arms. More specifically, the constitution states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." The Second Amendment cites the need for a militia in order to secure the freedom of the state as the reason for this amendment.

By virtue of the second amendment, gun owners in Wisconsin and other states cannot have their firearms forcibly taken away from them in most cases. Furthermore, gun owners will often cite their Second Amendment rights when they speak up about gun restrictions, which many gun owners feel are unfair and unlawful. That said, the Second Amendment does not prevent Americans from getting into trouble with gun laws. For example, gun collectors, gun dealers and gun owners all need to adhere to federal and estate laws when possessing and handling their weapons.

With specific regard to federal gun laws, let's take a look at the most relevant restrictions against owning or possessing a gun under federal laws:

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 Posted on January 28, 2018 in OWI/DUI

Police use a variety of methodologies to spot potentially drunk drivers. Learning what police look for might help you avoid an inappropriate DUI. In fact, many drivers in Wisconsin have been arrested and charged with DUI because they made some simple and relatively harmless mistake on the road. If you're sober, and you know what to avoid, it should be fairly easy to prevent making the following errors by mistake:

• Driving in an unpredictable and or erratic way: Drivers who are intoxicated tend to operate their vehicles erratically. They might cross the centerline suddenly without warning. They might speed up and slow down for no reason at all. They could be piloting their vehicles in other strange ways that call attention to the vehicle and driver. As long as you're driving close to the speed limit, and you're maintaining your speed and your lane in a steady way, you should be able to avoid the risk of getting falsely accused of a DUI.
• Being overly nervous during a field sobriety test: Stay calm and respectful during your field sobriety test, and remember to breathe. It's easy to get nervous when police are administering a field sobriety test. However, that nervousness -- if it's extreme enough -- could cause police to think you're intoxicated, so be sure to stay as calm as you can.

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 Posted on January 24, 2018 in Theft

Not all theft accusations are appropriate. Sometimes, people are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or it just appears as if they stole something when they really did not. Regardless of how your theft charges came about, one of the following four theft defense strategies might apply to your circumstances.

Claim that the property belonged to you

Imagine you and a friend have a disagreement about who owns a specific piece of property. You decide to take the property home with you even though there's a disagreement, and your friend calls the police. If you can offer evidence that the property was yours -- perhaps by showing a receipt of purchase -- you will have an excellent criminal defense.

Explain that you were drunk

Imagine you are at a bar and on your way out, you grab someone's cellphone and put it in your pocket because the cellphone looked just like yours. The next thing you know, the police are knocking on your door. If you can explain that you were so drunk that you grabbed the phone by mistake, you might be able to get your charges dropped.

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 Posted on January 23, 2018 in Drug Charges

The police in Wisconsin use a lot of clever tactics to track down, gather evidence and charge individuals with drug crimes. Sometimes, police and prosecutors build very strong cases against the people they accuse. Other times, the cases aren't that strong. In fact, it's not uncommon for police to arrest and charge a completely innocent person with a drug crime that he or she never committed.

Here are the three most common drug crimes that a Wisconsin resident might face in this regard:

Possession: This involves actually having real drugs on your person or in a location that's under your control, like a storage unit, apartment, vehicle or simply stuffed in your clothing. Small quantities of controlled substances could lead to simple possession charges, while larger quantities could lead to the more serious drug offenses that follow.

Manufacturing: If police barge into a home or backyard to find a drug production operation -- be it a farm, chemistry lab or some other kind of processing facility -- they will likely charge the person in control of the operation with drug manufacturing.

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