Distracted-driving citations in Wisconsin turn on subjective observation. What the officer thought they saw versus what actually happened. Wis. Stat. § 346.89(3)(a) prohibits composing or sending an electronic text message or email while driving, and § 346.89(1) separately bars any activity that interferes or reasonably appears to interfere with safe driving. Both elements are fact-specific, and both are defensible.
Why observation-based tickets are defensible
Officers typically write these tickets based on a glance. Downward-angled eyes, a hand near a mounted phone, a delayed reaction at a light. The statute requires the activity to reasonably appear to interfere with safe driving, which is a fact question rather than a bright-line rule. Cross-examination of the officer and recovery of phone-carrier records routinely undercut the observation.
Preserving your phone’s activity log (screenshots of messages, call history, and app-usage data in a five-minute window around the stop) is the single most important step a driver can take. Carrier records rotate off after 30-90 days; once gone, they’re gone.
What Wisconsin law actually prohibits
Wisconsin has no general hand-held ban on phone use by adults. Unlike Illinois, Minnesota, or Michigan. Adult drivers are permitted to use hands-free calls and mounted navigation or music outside work zones. Wis. Stat. § 346.89(4m) bans hand-held phone use, including use for a purpose other than communication, where workers are at risk in a highway maintenance, construction, utility or emergency response area, except to report an emergency. A separate ban at § 346.89(4) applies at all times to probationary-license and instruction-permit holders. Both carry a $20 to $40 forfeiture for a first offense and $50 to $100 for a 2nd or subsequent conviction within a year under § 346.95(1).
Inattentive driving under § 346.89(1) carries 4 demerit points under Wis. Admin. Code Trans 101.02(2)(h) and can create insurance consequences that depend on the carrier, policy, driving history, and final conviction. Probationary-license and instruction-permit holders should be especially careful: under Wis. Stat. § 343.32(2)(bc), once such a driver has any prior point conviction, the points for each later conviction are doubled, so a second 4-point ticket posts as 8.
How we fight these citations
Our approach: pin down the officer’s actual vantage point, recover your phone-carrier log before it rotates, contest the in-motion and electronic message statutory elements, and negotiate reductions to inattentive driving (§ 346.89(1)) or a non-moving ordinance violation when the record supports it.
In most Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth County cases we appear in court for you. Our goal is always the same. Preserve your driving record and your insurance rate, not just reduce the one-time fine.
Should you talk to a lawyer before paying this ticket?
Usually, yes. Paying the ticket closes the case as a guilty plea. Before that happens, we can check whether the ticket can be reduced, amended, or fought in a way that protects points, insurance, license status, and court appearances.
- The citation carries points or could push you near 12 points in 12 months.
- You drive for work, hold a CDL, or need a clean driving record.
- You want to prevent a moving violation from raising insurance premiums.
What a texting & driving conviction costs in Wisconsin
- Demerit points
- 4 Inattentive driving under § 346.89(1), per Wis. Admin. Code Trans 101.02(2)(h); texting under § 346.89(3) is not separately listed in the point schedule
- Forfeiture
- $20 - $400 Wis. Stat. § 346.95(2) for a violation of § 346.89(1) or (3)(a); court costs and surcharges added on top
- Insurance increase
- Carrier-specific; depends on policy and record Carrier-specific; depends on policy and record
- Probationary license
- Points doubled Wis. Stat. § 343.32(2)(bc) doubles the points for a probationary or instruction-permit holder who already has a point conviction, so a 4-point ticket posts as 8 and a 6-point ticket posts as 12, an immediate suspension
- CDL impact
- Serious violation Hand-held phone use in a CMV is a federal violation (49 CFR § 392.82); 2 serious violations in 3 years = 60-day DQ
- Record duration
- 5 years WisDOT retains most traffic convictions on the driving record for 5 years from the conviction date; OWI and certain commercial convictions are kept for life
Our texting & driving defense playbook
Preserve phone-carrier and device records
The first step on any distracted-driving case is preserving your phone-carrier log, app-usage history, and device screenshots for a five-minute window around the stop. Carrier records rotate off in 30-90 days. Losing them before we subpoena them is the most common irreversible error.
Challenge the officer's vantage and observation
Officers typically cite from a glance. Head angle, hand position, eyes down. We map the officer's actual vantage point against your vehicle's geometry, cross-check dashcam and bodycam against the ticket narrative, and surface discrepancies that defeat the observation-based element.
Contest the statutory elements
§ 346.89 requires the device use to constitute an electronic message and the vehicle to be in motion. Mounted navigation, hands-free calls, and music selection have been successfully argued as outside the statute, as has phone use while stopped at a red light where dashcam confirms the vehicle was stationary.
Negotiate to inattentive driving or non-moving
Because the observation element is subjective, prosecutors in Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth County routinely accept reductions to inattentive driving (§ 346.89(1)) or a non-moving ordinance violation (zero points, no MVR entry). Note that inattentive driving is itself a 4-point offense under Wis. Admin. Code Trans 101.02(2)(h), so a non-moving reduction is the cleanest outcome short of dismissal.
Protect the probationary license
For drivers in their first two years or under 18, Wis. Stat. § 343.32(2)(bc) doubles the demerit points for every conviction after the first one that carries points, which makes any reduction that still carries points dangerous when stacked with other citations. We build the plea around points management, not just the fine, because losing the probationary license is a much bigger problem than the ticket itself.
Racine, Kenosha & Walworth county courts
Distracted-driving citations are civil forfeitures, so your case is heard in the court of the citing jurisdiction (typically a municipal court (for city or village police stops) or a county circuit court (for sheriff or Wisconsin State Patrol citations).
Our attorneys appear regularly in Racine County Circuit Court (730 Wisconsin Ave., Racine), Kenosha County Courthouse (912 56th Street, Kenosha), Walworth County Judicial Center (1800 County Road NN, Elkhorn), and the municipal courts of Racine, Mt. Pleasant, Caledonia, Sturtevant, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Lake Geneva, Delavan, Burlington, Union Grove, and surrounding jurisdictions. In the overwhelming majority of these cases you do not have to appear) we enter a not-guilty plea on your behalf at the first court date, set the matter for trial, and handle every subsequent appearance.
Traffic-ticket outcomes depend on what we can protect
For texting & driving cases, the defense target is usually one of four things: points, insurance premiums, license status, or a criminal/CDL consequence hidden behind the citation.
See the traffic-ticket case-results hub for anonymized examples and related service links. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome on any individual case.
The municipal-court judges who hear most texting & driving cases
Most ordinance-level traffic citations are heard at the municipal-court level, not circuit court. Below are the currently sitting municipal court judges across our 3-county service area, verified against each municipality's own court page or the county's official roster. The list omits 3 municipalities (Caledonia, Whitewater, Sturtevant) where we are still re-verifying the current judge by phone before publishing.
Racine County municipal courts
- City of Racine Hon. Rob Weber City of Racine notice identifies Judge Rob Weber as the sole, uncontested municipal-judge candidate on the April 7, 2026 ballot. The City court page does not separately name the sitting judge. verify source →
- Village of Mount Pleasant Hon. Michael R. Phegley verify source →
- City of Burlington Hon. Kelly Iselin City Directory lists Kelly Iselin as Municipal Judge; confirmed again in the City of Burlington Spring 2026 newsletter. verify source →
- Village of Caledonia Hon. Robert Keller Village of Caledonia court page lists Robert Keller as Municipal Court Judge. verify source →
- Village of Sturtevant Hon. Robert Niemiec Village of Sturtevant court page lists Robert Niemiec as Judge. verify source →
- Village of Union Grove Hon. Scott Kasprowicz Term 2025-2027 (special election after Judge Reichert retired Dec 2024). verify source →
- Village of Waterford Hon. Robert J. Jones Village court; the Town of Waterford has a separate court with a different judge. verify source →
Kenosha County municipal courts
- City of Kenosha Hon. Michael Easton City Municipal Court records form lists Judge Michael Easton and the court contact information. The form is undated, so this entry rests on thinner support than the rest of the roster. verify source →
- Village of Pleasant Prairie Hon. Richard Alan Ginkowski Village court page lists Richard Alan Ginkowski as Municipal Judge. verify source →
- Village of Twin Lakes Hon. Bruce Goodnough Shared court covering Village of Twin Lakes + Town of Randall Village court page: "Judge Bruce Goodnough was first elected as Municipal Judge in 1989." verify source →
- Village of Salem Lakes Hon. Patrick Dunn verify source →
- Village and Town of Somers Hon. Edward Antaramian Consolidated court serving both the Village and the Town of Somers. Somers states that Judge Antaramian was appointed interim municipal judge in March 2026 over the consolidated Municipal Courts of the Village and Town of Somers, and will serve until April 2027. Published as interim rather than elected because that is what the Village says. verify source →
Walworth County municipal courts
- City of Lake Geneva Hon. Henry A. Sibbing City of Lake Geneva court page lists Henry A. Sibbing as Municipal Judge. verify source →
- City of Elkhorn Hon. Lori Domino City of Elkhorn court page lists Municipal Judge Lori Domino. verify source →
- City of Delavan Hon. Mike Rhyner City court. The Town of Delavan runs a separate municipal court with its own judge; confirm which court is named on your citation. verify source →
- Village of Fontana Hon. Thomas Sullivan verify source →
- Village of East Troy Hon. Michael P. Cotter Confirmed on the village court page and on the Walworth County municipal-judges roster. The Town of East Troy runs a separate municipal court. verify source →
Who hears texting & driving cases in our service area
Texting & Driving cases prosecuted at the criminal level (not municipal-court ordinance) are heard at the county circuit court level. Below are the currently sitting circuit court judges and elected District Attorneys for each of the three counties we serve. Source metadata now feeds a monthly re-check so the roster on this page stays accurate without adding duplicate date stamps.
Racine County
District Attorney: Tricia Hanson DA source →
Sitting circuit court judges (9):
- Hon. Wynne P. Laufenberg · Branch 1 · Chief Judge
- Hon. Eugene A. Gasiorkiewicz · Branch 2
- Hon. Jessica E.H. Lynott · Branch 3
- Hon. Scott P. Craig · Branch 4
- Hon. David W. Paulson · Branch 6
- Hon. Jamie M. McClendon · Branch 7
- Hon. Faye M. Flancher · Branch 8
- Hon. Robert S. Repischak · Branch 9
- Hon. Timothy D. Boyle · Branch 10
Kenosha County
District Attorney: Xavier Solis DA source →
Sitting circuit court judges (8):
- Hon. Gerad T. Dougvillo · Branch 1
- Hon. Jason A. Rossell · Branch 2
- Hon. Heather Iverson · Branch 3
- Hon. David O. Hughes · Branch 4
- Hon. David P. Wilk · Branch 5
- Hon. Angelina Gabriele · Branch 6
- Hon. Jodi L. Meier · Branch 7
- Hon. Chad G. Kerkman · Branch 8
Walworth County
District Attorney: Zeke Wiedenfeld DA source →
Sitting circuit court judges (4):
- Hon. Estee E. Scholtz · Branch 1
- Hon. Daniel S. Johnson · Branch 2
- Hon. Kristine E. Drettwan · Branch 3
- Hon. Samuel T. Berg · Branch 4
Texting & Driving enforcement and traffic-stop volume by county
Verified statistics from official Wisconsin and county sources.