Interfering with fire fighting defense attorneys - Wis. Stat. 941.12
Charged with interfering with fire fighting? Consider hiring Wisconsin’s premier criminal defense law firm: Van Severen Law Office
Interfering with fire fighting is an incredibly serious crime. Charges involving directly interfering with fire fighters or a fire alarm system are a Class I felony. That means if if you’re convicted of this offense, you face a maximum penalty of 3.5 years in prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. A related offense that falls under the “interfering with fire fighting” statute is only punishable as a Class A misdemeanor. That offense carries a maximum penalty of $10,000.00 in fines, 9 months in jail, or both. The Class A misdemeanor offense involves tampering with or damaging fire alarm systems, fire suppression equipment, or other tools/equipment used to fight or detect fires. While prison is certainly more serious than jail, these are both serious offenses that carry with them the possibility of incarceration.
Van Severen Law Office, S.C., is a Wisconsin criminal defense law firm focused on defending individuals facing serious charges throughout the state. Frequently those charges involve interfering with fire fighters or law enforcement personnel. Sometimes cases involve charges as simple as illegally pulling a fire alarm. In other situations, even more serious charges, such as arson, become involved in a criminal prosecution. Either way, our firm and our criminal defense lawyers stand ready to aggressively fight your criminal case.
Contact us at (414) 270-0202 to speak with one of the criminal defense lawyers of Van Severen Law Office, S.C.
Section 941.12 of the Wisconsin Statutes – Interfering with fire fighting
(1) Whoever intentionally interferes with the proper functioning of a fire alarm system or the lawful efforts of fire fighters to extinguish a fire is guilty of a Class I felony.
(2) Whoever interferes with, tampers with or removes, without authorization, any fire extinguisher, fire hose or any other fire fighting equipment, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(3) Whoever interferes with accessibility to a fire hydrant by piling or dumping material near it without first obtaining permission from the appropriate municipal authority is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. Every day during which the interference continues constitutes a separate offense.
Importantly this page focuses on the first two definitions of interfering with fire fighting.
The first is the most serious and is a felony. It’s also certainly the easiest to understand. It is a felony to interfere with the proper functioning of a fire alarm system. This could include covering the sensors of a fire alarm system. It could also involve damaging an alarm system, or disabling a system’s ability to sound an alarm. In the other scenario, it’s a felony to interfere with fire fighters involved in extinguishing a fire. This could involve a physical altercation with fire fighters. Alternatively, a charge like this could result from intentionally blocking emergency vehicles from responding to a fire.
Subsection (2) also involving interference with fire fighting, but it focuses on actions such as tampering or changing fire fighting equipment. For example, cutting a fire hose or puncturing it could qualify as a crime under this section.
Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1318 – Interference with fire fighting
Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1318 describes interfering with fire fighting. This is the case even though the title of the jury instruction slightly differs from the law (interfering versus interference). Importantly, the jury instruction we’re discussing here focuses on the first version of this crime – that the defendant actively interfered with firefighters trying to extinguish a fire.
Jury instructions break laws down into separate parts, also called elements. The government must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt. If they cannot do that, you cannot be convicted of the crime. Courts, criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, and even defendants use jury instructions to help understand a criminal charge.
The elements of this crime are:
Firstly, the defendant interfered with the lawful efforts of fire fighters to extinguish a fire.
Secondly, the defendant intentionally interfered with the lawful efforts of fire fighters to extinguish a fire.
“Intentionally” requires that the defendant acted with the mental purpose to interfere with the lawful efforts of fire fighters to extinguish a fire.
Finally, the defendant knew that he was interfering with the lawful efforts of fire fighters to extinguish a fire.
Breaking this crime down into three parts makes it incredibly easy to understand. The defendant interfered, he did so intentionally, and he knew he was interfering.
Interfering with fire fighting is at least a Class A misdemeanor in Wisconsin. In the worst circumstances, it becomes a Class I felony. Contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202 for help defending this or any other criminal charge.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. to speak with one of Wisconsin’s best criminal defense law firms
Fires are inherently dangerous. Efforts to slow or disable those who are tasked with putting out fires can lead to excessively aggressive prosecution and attention from the media. Fortunately for you, you’ve found your way to a top Wisconsin criminal defense law firm regularly involved in cases such as this. We’ve fought prosecutors who were unfair, or didn’t follow the law, or simply tried to make an example out of clients. We’ve also protected clients receiving attention from the media. Not all criminal defense attorneys have this important, necessary experience.
Lastly, we offer free consultations to potential clients. During that free consultation, you’ll have around an hour to sit down, talk to one of our criminal defense attorneys, and figure out if we’re a match for your needs. We believe in being transparent and fair, which is why this consultation is always free with our firm.
Contact us at (414) 270-0202. Let’s start fighting your case together.
