10 OWIs? TEN?

Should we thank our legal system for this?

Cash bail was set and Timothy Burkhalter was ordered Monday not to drink and not to drive by Dane County Court Commissioner Todd Meurer, although it remains to be seen if those provisions will be followed.

Burkhalter, 47, of Black Earth, was in court facing his 10th charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. He has compiled that record since his first arrest in 1989 and has been picked up nine other times since in Dane and Sauk counties.

The last two times he was arrested, he wound up serving prison time for the offenses. He was sent to prison for 18 months on charge No. 9 and did a year in prison on charge No. 8. Both sentences were handed down by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stuart Schwartz.

If convicted this time around, Burkhalter, who was arrested in Mount Horeb on July 31, faces a maximum sentence of 12 years and six months in prison, and up to three years of having his driver's license revoked. Once a defendant has five or more convictions, the law also calls for a minimum fine of $600 and not less than six months in jail. But along with maximum of 12 years and six months, Burkhalter could be fined up to $25,000.

Let's sentence him to some freakin' rehab, how 'bout?