Two Republican legislators are continuing their quest to crack down on drunken driving, reintroducing bills Thursday that would make a first offense a crime and impose stiffer penalties on repeat offenders.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling drunken driving Jim Ott

A Republican lawmaker is renewing his fight against drunken driving as the new legislative session begins with bills calling for stiffer penalties and ignition interlock requirements.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling drunken driving Jim Ott

Wisconsin legislators completed their push to get tougher on drunken drivers, passing a bill early Wednesday morning that would create harsher sentences for repeat offenders through the Assembly and on to Gov. Scott Walker.

Tagged with: drunken driving Jim Ott

A proposal to create a mandatory minimum prison sentence for homicide by intoxicated operation of a motor vehicle would put a heavy financial burden on the state, according to reports filed by three state agencies Wednesday.

Tagged with: drunken driving Jim Ott mandatory minimums

Despite plenty of compelling arguments for making first-time drunken driving offenses a crime, Wisconsin won’t be moving in that direction anytime soon, predicts defense attorney Andrew Mishlove.

Tagged with: Andrew Mishlove drunken driving Jim Ott

State Rep. Jim Ott keeps fighting the good fight against Wisconsin's drunken driving scourge.

Tagged with: drunken driving Jim Ott

State lawmakers are moving closer to outlawing 'upskirting' in Wisconsin.

Tagged with: Jim Ott upskirt

Some chronic drunken drivers in Wisconsin spend little time behind bars on felony charges due to lenient sentencing.

Tagged with: Donald Zuidmulder drunken driving Jim Ott OWI

The number of attorneys serving in the Legislature is slated to bottom out again as new lawmakers prepare to be sworn in early next year.

Tagged with: Bakke Norman Bob Gagan Dana Wachs Fred Risser Jim Ott State Bar

A proposed bill would allow those who receive payments from a structured settlement to more easily transfer future payments in exchange for a lump sum.

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A recent change in Wisconsin's drunken driving laws is making it harder for prosecutors to pursue criminal charges for some drunken crashes.

Tagged with: drunken driving Jim Ott Jon Richards Kurt Klomberg

Following a morning of criticism about a proposed criminal code rewrite that would eliminate preliminary hearings, a Wisconsin Judicial Council committee voted to not pursue the change Tuesday.

Tagged with: criminal code Jim Ott Kyle Sargent Wisconsin Judicial Council

The Wisconsin Judicial Council will discuss a proposed rewriting of the state’s criminal code during its meeting Friday.

Tagged with: April Southwick criminal code J.B. Van Hollen Jim Ott Judicial Council Wisconsin District Attorneys Association

In compromising on and even killing some proposed changes to the state’s tort laws, supporters say they have furnished proof they are not mindless puppets controlled by outside interest groups. But plans already are afoot to resurrect some of the tort proposals that did not make it through the Legislature this session.

Tagged with: Dana Wachs Glenn Grothman Jim Ott Torts

The state Senate's public safety committee has approved a bill that would require all first-time drunken driving offenders to appear in court.

Tagged with: drunk driving drunken driving Jim Ott

A bill that would rewrite Wisconsin’s criminal code won’t be passed during the current legislative session, though its sponsor said he will reintroduce it next year.

Tagged with: criminal code J.B. Van Hollen Jim Ott Wisconsin District Attorneys Association Wisconsin Judicial Council

Republican lawmakers are trying to get rid of the unlimited liability that parents are exposed to under Wisconsin statutes if their children cause an automobile accident before turning 18.

Tagged with: Eric Farnsworth Gary Hebl Glenn Grothman Jim Ott

Until 5:05 p.m. Wednesday night, state Rep. Gary Hebl thought there would be an amendment to a bill requiring the installation of devices that prevent someone convicted more than once of drunken driving from starting a car after having a drink.

Tagged with: drunken driving Jim Ott

Dean Collins, Brookfield’s assistant chief of police, will not enforce a number of state statutes. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, he said, but legally, he can’t.

Tagged with: forfeiture Jim Ott Joel Kleefisch underage drinking

The Assembly’s judiciary committee will hold a public hearing in Milwaukee on Friday for a bill that seeks to overhaul the state’s criminal code for the first time since 1969.

Tagged with: criminal code Jim Ott Wisconsin Judicial Council

A proposal to rewrite Wisconsin’s criminal code is drawing ire from some because of a clause that would eliminate preliminary hearings in felony cases.

Tagged with: Adam Gerol Birdsall Law Offices criminal code David Schultz Glenn Grothman Jim Ott John Birdsall State Bar Wisconsin District Attorneys Association Wisconsin Judicial Council

Democrats challenged a pair of Republican lawmakers Thursday to prove measures for tougher drunken driving penalties would actually make a difference, demanding to see statistics and data that would justify the bills' costs.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling drunken driving Evan Goyke Jim Ott

The time has come to admit we are too lax on drunken driving in Wisconsin. That admission alone, however, will do little to alleviate the problem. Action is required.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling drunken driving Jim Ott

Two Republican legislators started moving a package of proposals through the state Assembly on Thursday to toughen Wisconsin's drunken driving penalties.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling drunken driving Jim Ott Julius Kim Kim & LaVoy Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

The state Assembly voted 60-36 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would cap at $30 million the amount of contingency fees lawyers can collect for doing state work.

Tagged with: contingency fees Jim Ott tort reform Torts

Two Wisconsin tort reform proposals received approvals from a legislative judiciary committee Thursday and one more or less died.

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Lawmakers are arguing a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision warrants a change in decades-old law to prevent rises in malpractice suits filed and the practice of “defensive medicine.”

Tagged with: David Prosser informed consent Jim Ott malpractice Wisconsin Supreme Court

Two Republican legislators are gearing up for another try at toughening the notoriously weak drunken driving laws in Wisconsin, where pounding booze is hard-wired into the culture - and drunken driving kills scores every year.

Tagged with: Alberta Darling Department of Corrections drunk driving drunken driving Gov. Scott Walker Jim Ott Scott Fitzgerald

Civil and criminal protections for individuals using deadly force to defend themselves would be increased under a bill passed Thursday by a state Assembly committee.

Tagged with: Gary Hebl Jim Ott Self-defense State Bar State Bar of Wisconsin

A late amendment forced legislators Thursday to postpone debate of a bill that would increase self-defense rights in the state.

Tagged with: Anthony Staskunas Gary Hebl Jim Ott Self-defense