A felony conviction impacts your voting rights.  Our criminal defense attorneys explain how this happens: Voting rights vary throughout the United States.  In some states, a felony conviction renders you ineligible to vote for the rest of your life.  While this is certainly voter manipulation, thankfully Wisconsin felons maintain their eligibility to vote.  This blog…

Fourth Amendment searches Searches are one of the ways criminal cases involve the 4th Amendment. Initially, 4th Amendment case law revolved around a citizen’s property rights.  A citizen’s property rights become involved when the government physically intruded on “houses, papers, or effects” for the purpose of finding information (a search).  Early 4th cases focused on…

Wis. Stat. sec. 939.62 – increased penalty for habitual criminality Section 939.62 of the Wisconsin Statutes deals with increased penalties for habitual criminals.  But subsection (2m) deals with Wisconsin’s three strikes law. Section 939.62(2m)(a) describes the charges that fall under Wisconsin’s three strikes law: Sexual assault of a child, engaging in repeated acts of sexual…

Grand Jury The Fifth Amendment says “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger…”…

Potential state charge: forgery Firstly, state prosecutors could start off with forgery charges.  Forgery is a Class A misdemeanor, meaning the maximum penalty is 9 months jail, $10,000.00 in fines, or both.  A Class A misdemeanor is only a misdemeanor, but it’s the most serious one.  9 months in jail is certainly a long time,…

The most likely charge: disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a Class B misdemeanor in Wisconsin.  That means the charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail, a $1,000.00 fine, or both.  Even though this is a lower-level charge, it’s still serious.  And a conviction for it will remain with you for the rest…

What is road rage? Aggressive driving takes many forms.  Tailgating, weaving in and out of lanes, and speeding are all certainly forms of aggressive driving.  An unfortunately it happens a lot.  A AAA survey found that nearly 80% of drivers expressed significant anger or aggression while behind the wheel at least once over the course…

Why does the weather matter for an OWI stop? After police stop you for suspected drunk driving, frequently they require you to complete a battery of field sobriety tests.  The purpose of those tests is to determine whether or not you appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  That conclusion, along with…

Potential charges for running from police Firstly, if you run from police in your vehicle: Section 340.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes prohibits fleeing/eluding an officer.  Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 2630 prohibits “operating a vehicle to flee or in an attempt to elude an officer.”  Both pieces of literature describe the same crime. If you face…