Carrying a concealed weapon criminal defense attorneys

Contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202 to discuss your carrying a concealed weapon case.

Many firearms charges in Wisconsin are felonies, but carrying a concealed weapon is one exception.  A Class A misdemeanor, carrying a concealed weapon carries a maximum penalty of 9 months in jail, $10,000.00 in fines, or both.  No mandatory minimum penalty applies to this charge.  Due to the fact that this charge is a misdemeanor, you cannot be sent to prison for this offense, on its own, without modifiers or other charges.

Our criminal defense attorneys have fought these charges in many circumstances and social environments.  During the 2010s, prosecutors in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office requested that every defendant charged with this offense be sent to jail.  We fought hard for all of our clients facing this unjust policy.  Eventually, through the hard work of criminal defense attorneys in the area, prosecutors abandoned this policy.  But firearm charges are still obviously serious, and the work isn’t simply over after that victory.  It’s still important that we present your case in an intelligent, aggressive, measured fashion.

We think it’s important to hire a top Wisconsin criminal defense attorney when facing serious criminal charges.  Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. at (414) 270-0202 to discuss what you’re facing, how we can help, and what you’re looking for in a criminal defense lawyer.  We offer free consultations and our answering service ensures you’ll reach a real human at our firm 24/7/365.

A few preliminary matters: What is a dangerous weapon?  And when is it concealed?

Carrying a concealed weapon charges focus on the carrying of a “dangerous weapon.”  A dangerous weapon includes any firearm, whether that firearm is loaded or unloaded, any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or serious bodily injury, any device/instrumentality designed and intended to produce death or great bodily harm, or any electric weapon.  While we traditionally think of CCW charges as ones involving firearms, this definition makes clear that all sorts of weapons fall within the statute.

Often the issue criminal defense attorneys face at trial is whether the dangerous weapon is “concealed.”  Concealed means the weapon is hidden from ordinary observation.  You’ll quickly notice that this language doesn’t say anything about total concealment.  This opens up CCW charges to the possibility of including things like holsters for knives and guns, or carrying a weapon in your waistband.  You can see the holster and you can see the outline of a weapon in the waistband, but these things are “hidden from ordinary observation.”

Carrying a firearm in the glove box of your vehicle is another way individuals are frequently charged with this crime.  Many people think that this kind of transportation of a firearm is legal.  We’ve heard incorrect information that proposes that an unloaded firearm somehow passes the test.  But this is also false.  Unless you have a carrying a concealed weapon permit, you’re committing a crime.

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What is carrying a concealed weapon?  Section 941.23(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes.

Section 941.23(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes prohibits carrying a concealed weapon and provides us the language of the law:

“Any person, other than one of the following, who carries a concealed and dangerous weapon is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.”

The statute mentions that certain individuals aren’t subject to the CCW statute.  Section 941.23(2)(a) – (e) describes who can legally carry a concealed weapon.  Those individuals include:

• Firstly, a peace officer (not including a non-state-certified commission warden); or
• A qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer; or
• A former officer; or
• A licensee, or qualified out-of-state licensee; or
• An individual who carries a concealed weapon in his or her own dwelling, business, or owned land.

A few important points: A CCW permit exempts you from this law.  Additionally, concealing a weapon in your own home, dwelling, business, or other owned land is not illegal under this statute.

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1335A – Carrying a concealed weapon.

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1335A provides us the elements of carrying a concealed weapon.  In order to sustain a conviction against the defendant, the government must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• Firstly, the defendant carried a dangerous weapon; and
• Secondly, the defendant was aware of the presence of a weapon; and
• Thirdly, the weapon was concealed.

“Carried” is another important definition.  It means that the weapon involved was either on the defendant’s body or was within the defendant’s reach.

If the government cannot prove the three elements beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant cannot be found guilty of the crime.

Is CCW law constitutional?

In 2004 the Supreme Court of Wisconsin decided this question.  The court held that section 941.23 is constitutional on its face, despite the adoption of a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing “the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or other lawful purpose.”  Wis. Const. art. I, § 25.  However, the court determined that the constitutionality needed to be determined, as applied, on a case by case basis: “… only if the public benefit in this exercise of the police power is substantially outweighed by an individual’s need to conceal a weapon in the exercise of the right to bear arms will an otherwise valid restriction on that right be unconstitutional as applied.”  State v. Hamden, 2003 WI 113, ¶46.

What if I didn’t have the gun on me?

The first element requires that the defendant “carried a dangerous weapon.”  As you’ll recall, carried means went armed with.  And, went armed with means the weapon must have been either on the defendant’s person or within the defendant’s reach.  The courts have clarified this law significantly.

Mularkey v. State, 201 Wis. 429, 230 N.W. 76 (1930) established the “within reach” test.  The court in that case affirmed a conviction where the driver of an automobile had a revolver within his reach.  It was on a shelf of the back seat of his vehicle.  The Mularkey “within his reach” test State v. Fry, 131 Wis.2d 153, 388 N.W.2d 565 (1986).

Van Severen Law Office provides carrying a concealed weapon defense.

The criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office, S.C. have defended hundreds of individuals facing criminal charges in Wisconsin.  Frequently, those charges involved firearms.

Whether you’re facing a felony-level firearms charge, or a Class A misdemeanor, we take your defense very seriously.  We recognize that a criminal conviction will change the rest of your life, and we take that very seriously.  Whether you’re looking to fight your case at trial, you’d like to file motions regarding illegal police conduct, or you’d simply like to resolve your case with the best possible plea deal, we can help.

Contact us at (414) 270-0202 at your earliest convenience.  Let’s talk about your case, figure out how we can help, and set up a time for a free initial consultation.