Supreme Court to hear Walworth County OWI case

By GAZETTE STAFF Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MADISON — The state Supreme Court will review whether out-of-state offenses should be counted for sentence enhancement purposes in Wisconsin.

The court has accepted the case of Gerard W. Carter, who was charged in Walworth County with operating while intoxicated.

Carter was arrested August 2007 and charged with second-offense OWI and operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration. The charges were later amended to fourth-offense OWI based on the discovery that Carter had two prior zero-tolerance suspensions on his Illinois driving record.

Walworth County Judge Michael Gibbs sentenced Carter for fourth-offense OWI. Gibbs concluded the Illinois convictions counted as prior convictions because they were made under the law of another jurisdiction that prohibits a person from refusing chemical testing or using a motor vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration.

Carted appealed, arguing that his two prior zero-tolerance suspensions in Illinois cannot be counted for sentence enhancement purposes in Wisconsin. The 2nd District Court of Appeals reversed Gibbs’ decision.

The Supreme Court has yet to schedule a date to hear the case.

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