Legal Question in DUI Law in Wisconsin

Failing to appear for a scheduled hearing on a drunken driving 2nd or any other criminal charge would generally be a very bad idea. If you have signed any sort of a bond, you could face an additional charge of violating that bond (bail jumping) which could create a second problem which is equally serious (if not more serious) than the original drunk driving and which could more than double your potential jail exposure. The second issue is whether or not you could ever get a driver's license again, in any state which has reciprocity with Wisconsin (which includes most states). If you fail to complete a DMV approved driver's safety plan, WI will likely put a hold on reinstatement of your DL for life, until you complete it. Coming back here from CA to complete this mandatory treatment might be far more expensive than simply doing it here before you leave. Finally, an arrest warrant will be issued against you which will potentially remain active for life and which will appear on the teletype viewed by any law enforcement officers with whom you have contact for the rest of your life in CA or any other state. If you ever appear in court again anywhere, the judge deciding your bail will be informed that you have violated your bail in the past, making it less likely that you would even receive bail. If you ever return to WI, you are likely to receive a much harsher sentence if you flee the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution. Additionally, fleeing in this fashion may violate totally unrelated federal laws which could also be far more serious charges than the original OWI 2nd. A far better plan would be for you to at least retain a lawyer here who could try to appear by authorization for you and plead for time for you to complete rehab prior to dealing with this charge if that is what you need. WI also has many fine AA organizations to support you if that is what you need. Unless your WI OWI 2nd case is far worse than most, your sentence if you are convicted on a second offense is likely to be somewhere between ten and thirty days in jail (six months maximum, five days minimum) if you have good legal representation. Such a sentence is hardly enough to make fleeing worthwhile as opposed to just getting it over with. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and not as legal advice for you. You therefore should retain your own attorney as soon as possible, since time limits can apply to many different types of legal matters which could severely harm your case if they expire without receiving proper attention in a timely fashion. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and not as legal advice for you. You therefore should retain your own attorney as soon as possible. However, you are welcome to contact me at my office in Racine if you wish to discuss this matter further.