DUI 1st in Wisconsin Driving Not Observed by Officer

 

 

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/will-i-get-charged--5355000.html?

Will I get charged?

Last night a had a few drinks with friends. Someone called the police saying I was driving recklessly but by the time the cops came I was talking to my friend in the middle of the street and I wasn’t moving. They asked me questions and I complied with what they asked I did the test I guess I failed because I was arrested. I was always told that the cops have to read you your write while putting you in the vehicle but they didn’t they did it at the station. At the station they did the breath test the first test came out at .00 then they did it again and it said .15 so I’m guessing is high. It’s my first offense and I’m super scared I got my fingerprints taken and my pictures as well. Sat in the station till 5am after going in at 12:33 am. I just got two tickets and the cop stated that I would be ok because it’s my first offense. On my breathalyzer test my name was spelled incorrectly would that make a difference. I have a court date on Jan 20th does that mean I was charged? I’m so confused.

 

You don’t sound confused to me at all, although the situation is always confusing to the inexperienced.   The .00 test result was probably what they call the "room air blank," where the machine tests the air in the room, which should read zero, followed by a test which should match the lab prepared sample containing a known alcohol content from the WI State Laboratory of Hygiene, in order to make sure that the machine test matches the known sample.   Only after all of that, if the machine passes both of those tests, would they would first test you, and then they would normally test your breath two times, a few minutes apart.  You really need a lawyer to evaluate this evidence and recommend whether you should fight it or negotiate.   Even if you don't fight it, working you through to a resolution with minimal impact upon your long-term driving privileges is a challenge in itself, to the extent that many unrepresented folks never manage to get their licenses back for the rest of their lives.  The  police are not required to observe you driving, whether recklessly or not, if they can also prove cause to stop and the fact that you are legally drunk by other means, such as testimony or admissions by others (most frequently, admissions by the driver himself of driving the car to the location of the arrest).  Regrettably, 1^st offense, civil prosecutions do not implicate the Miranda rule, since even if you confessed or are otherwise convicted, you cannot be jailed for the first OWI in WI (other than for nonpayment of the fine, eventually, after all the time extensions to pay expire).  Either way, we all wish you the very best of luck, but good luck is far more likely with help from seasoned defense counsel.