Walk It Through: The Stop After the Reception
A drift over the center line after a wedding, a screening test, a chemical test, a form with a deadline, and the drive to work.
Leaving a wedding reception, a driver drifts over the center line and is stopped. The officer smells alcohol and asks for a preliminary breath test.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first arrest after a reception, with no crash and no one hurt. The criminal OWI case, its jail terms and fines, and a second offense are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Deemed to have consentedA driver is treated as having agreed to a chemical test of blood, breath or urine when there are reasonable grounds and a listed condition, such as an OWI arrest, a crash with injury, or a refused screening test.
- Operating while intoxicatedDriving while under the influence of alcohol or another drug, with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or with any amount of a controlled substance in the blood or urine.
- Preliminary screening testA breath test an officer may ask for at the roadside, with reasonable grounds, to help decide whether to arrest or to request a chemical test.
- Serious misdemeanorThe middle level of misdemeanor, with a fine of $430 to $2,560 and up to one year in jail.
- Temporary restricted licenseA license the department may issue to a person revoked under the OWI chapter, allowing driving as a class C license allows, once an approved ignition interlock is on every vehicle the person drives.