Eau Claire Criminal Defense Blog

You were driving home from an important office dinner when you saw flashing lights in your rearview mirror. You knew it was an officer trying to pull you over; you'd crossed the center line when you looked away from the road for a moment. You quickly corrected yourself, but it was clear even to you that you'd made an error that could make the officer question your ability to drive safely.

Pulling over, you spoke to the officer and gave him what he needed from you. Moments later, you found him asking you to get out of your vehicle for field sobriety tests. He thinks you're intoxicated. You take the field sobriety tests and then he asks you to take a Breathalyzer. The Breathalyzer finds that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .06 percent; it's low enough not to lead to a OWI, but the officer is still arresting you for drinking and driving.

When a driver enters the highway from the wrong direction, it puts him or her, along with anyone else on the roads, in danger. It's more likely that a head-on crash could take place, which could lead to serious injuries or deaths.

Usually, those who enter the highway incorrectly quickly attempt to correct their mistakes. Sometimes, due to inebriation, people may not know that they've done something wrong. That's allegedly what happened in this case.

Ask 1,000 people in Wisconsin how they feel about marijuana decriminalization and you're likely to get hundreds of different answers in return. You may also notice commonalities among your survey participants, however. For instance, some may tell you they think medical use of marijuana should always be legal. Others may hold more traditional opinions, adamantly stating that marijuana possession or use should always be punishable as a crime.

Your thoughts may fall somewhere in between, or you might be among many who think the government should make recreational use of marijuana fully legal. The issue is quite complicated because federal law continues to treat any and all possession or use of marijuana as illegal; however, many states have enacted laws that conflict with those statutes. If you use marijuana, grow it, sell it or buy it, you'll want to seek clarification of state laws ahead of time and know how to protect your rights if a problem arises.

As someone accused of a crime, something you may worry about is ending up in prison. The prison population is growing too dense in Wisconsin, though, and that puts pressure on everyone, from those inside to those paying taxes to support them.

A March 2 report describes how other states have reduced their prison populations and even began shutting down prisons. Data has shown no downturn in public safety, either. Despite that, politicians in Wisconsin want to build a new prison with another 2,000 beds. It would cost $350 million.