False imprisonment defense attorneys

Van Severen Law Office fights false imprisonment charges.  Contact us at (414) 270-0202 for help.

False imprisonment is a serious felony criminal charge in Wisconsin.  Classified as a Class H felony, this charge carries with it the potential for 6 years in prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both.  Class H felonies break down into a maximum penalty of 3 years initial confinement followed by 3 years extended supervision.  Initial confinement is time in prison.  Extended supervision is time on supervision, similar to probation or parole.  There is no minimum penalty for a Wisconsin false imprisonment charge.

The criminal defense attorneys at Van Severen Law Office, S.C. regularly defend individuals facing false imprisonment charges.  Unfortunately, police and prosecutors frequently charge this offense for conduct that doesn’t seem harmful as it’s happening.  We’ve encountered individuals simply trying to have a conversation with their partner.  When they step in front of a door and temporarily block the exit, suddenly they’re exposed to felony-level criminal liability.  (And when it’s a partner that you have a child with, or you live with, prosecutors will tack on a domestic violence modifier.)

Van Severen Law Office, S.C. is a criminal defense law firm with offices throughout Wisconsin.  A significant portion of the individuals we defend are facing felony charges.  Contact us at (414) 270-0202 to discuss your case or to set up a free initial consultation.  We’re available 24/7.

Section 940.30 of the Wisconsin Statutes – False imprisonment

Section 940.30 of the Wisconsin Statues provides the definition of false imprisonment.  According to the statute, the defendant commits false imprisonment when:

The defendant intentionally confines or restrains another without the person’s consent and with knowledge that he or she has no lawful authority to do so is guilty of a Class H felony.

The statute uses the words “confined or restrained” in defining the illegal conduct.  Words, acts, or both constrain the victim.  The reason for this is that “mere words could be sufficient if they actually impose a restraint upon the person to whom they are directed.”  R. Perkings and R. Boyce, Criminal Law, 225 (3rd ed. 1982).  In the situation where the defendant says “If you leave, I will kill you,” the government may attempt to charge false imprisonment.  Physical restraint is not necessary.  Certainly physically restraining the victim is enough for the government to allege the crime has been committed.

Genuine restraint or confinement is necessary to sustain a conviction, but that restraint or confinement need not occur in a jail, prison, locked room, or anything along those lines.  We point this out because the charge includes the word “imprisonment.”  The actions could have happened anywhere the defendant was able to confine or restrain the victim.  As we previously explained, the use of physical locking the victim in a room is not necessary.  False imprisonment can occur in the victim’s home, the defendant’s home, and without doubt anywhere else in Wisconsin.

What are the elements of the offense? Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1275

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1275 provides the elements of false imprisonment.  Elements are important, as they define the parts of the crime the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.  If they cannot do that, the defendant cannot be convicted.  The elements are as follows:

1. Firstly, the defendant confined or restrained the victim;
2. Secondly, the defendant confined or restrained the victim intentionally (requiring the mental purpose to confine or restrain);
3. Thirdly, the victim was confined or restrained without her consent;
4. Fourthly, the defendant had no lawful authority to confine or restrain the victim;
5. Finally, the defendant knew that the victim did not consent and knew that he did not have lawful authority to confine or restrain the victim.

The instruction goes on to provide us important definitions of the words confined or restrained.  Specifically, if the defendant deprived the victim of freedom of movement, or compelled her to remain where she did not wish to remain, then the victim was confined or restrained.  Again, as we discussed earlier, physical force isn’t required, and words are enough to satisfy this definition.  “If you leave I am going to kill you” arguably compels the victim to be confined or restrained.

How do we win my case?

We think that the first important step when fighting a criminal case is to hire a top Wisconsin criminal defense attorney.  This is absolutely not a necessity, and you’re free to defend yourself.  But we’ve seen this strategy end in disaster.  Every single day our firm represents individuals fighting criminal cases.  It’s all we do.  We’re familiar with the issues, the strategies, and things to avoid doing.  We’re criminal defense experts.

Every criminal case is different, and defending each one is different.  But in cases involving false imprisonment, one of the first things we’ll want to consider is victim credibility.  What was your relationship with the individual you allegedly falsely imprisoned?  Do they have a history of lying or telling stories to get people in trouble?  Has the alleged victim in your case accused you of something like this before?  We’re familiar with the lies alleged victims tell, and we’re prepared to attack them.

Pre-trial motions, challenging things like statements you made to police could also be important.  Sometimes in cases involving physical evidence we’ll challenge consent searches and search warrants.  While that’s unlikely going to be relevant in a false imprisonment case, we remain open to all potential strategies for winning your case.

Are you simply looking to take a plea?  Or are you not guilty of the charges you’re facing and interested in trial?  Obviously all of these questions are important, and they’re different for every defendant and every case.  Typically, we discuss these issues and ideas for approaching them at an initial consultation with any of our criminal defense lawyers.

Van Severen Law Office provides aggressive false imprisonment defense

Van Severen Law Office, S.C. is a Wisconsin criminal defense law firm with offices in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Ozaukee counties.  We represent individuals facing criminal charges in all corners of the state.  Frequently, those charges involve things like false imprisonment and domestic violence.  Some of the first criminal cases we ever defended were for these very issues, so we have decades of experience addressing them.

Finally, we offer free consultations to potential clients.  Contact us.  Let’s figure out if we’re a match, and let’s start fighting your case.  You can reach us 24/7 at (414) 270-0202.