Van Severen Law Office, S.C. represents individuals facing misdemeanor battery charges. Call us at (414) 270-0202 to speak with any of our criminal defense attorneys.
Misdemeanor battery charges are the frequent result of physical conflicts. Whether it’s a bar fight, a random confrontation, or a domestic violence situation, so long as the victim suffered no serious harm (broken bones, stitches, etc.), the situation likely qualifies as a misdemeanor-level criminal charge. Specifically, misdemeanor battery is a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 9 months in jail, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. No mandatory or presumptive minimum penalties apply. More aggravated felony-level battery charges (due to the previously mentioned broken bones, stitches, or other serious injuries) include substantial battery and aggravated battery, which we discuss in other pages on this website.
The criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office, S.C. have defended hundreds of individuals throughout Wisconsin facing misdemeanor battery charges. We’ve represented even more people facing other general violent criminal charges. We’re familiar with the issues regularly involved in these cases and are prepared to present your best defense. This applies whether you’re looking to fight your case at trial or resolve it in a way you think is fair.
Van Severen Law Office, S.C. is a full service criminal defense law firm with offices throughout Wisconsin. We offer free consultations to potential clients and have a human answering our phones 24/7. Contact us now at (414) 270-0202 and let’s schedule a time to talk about your case.
What is misdemeanor battery? Section 940.19(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes:
The defendant causes bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another without the consent of the person so harmed.
In the next section of this page we’ll discuss the jury instructions, which give us the definition of “bodily harm.” But it’s important here so we’ll temporarily skip ahead. Bodily harm means physical pain or injury. It also includes illness or any physical impairment. In theory, simply pinching someone enough to cause them pain is enough to qualify as misdemeanor battery. While that likely wouldn’t result in charges on its own, an aggravated or repeated situation involving something that seems innocuous could result in criminal battery charges.
Many individuals seem to think that a bruise or some kind of other visual harm is necessary to be charged with battery. That’s simply not factual and many individuals are charged with misdemeanor battery without any kind of physical proof. That being said, obviously a battery charge that doesn’t include any physical evidence could be a less-serious situation resulting in a very favorable plea. Or, more consistent with how we like to do things, could provide us a solid defense to present to a jury.
Battery is a serious criminal offense in Wisconsin and can result in you being sent to jail for 9 months. Although this charge isn’t a felony, a conviction can still change your life. Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. at (414) 270-0202 for help.
Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1220 provides us the elements of misdemeanor battery. These are simply parts of the crime, and the government must prove each of the parts beyond a reasonable doubt. The official ones are as follows:
Firstly, the defendant caused bodily harm to the victim.
Secondly, the defendant intended to cause bodily harm.
Thirdly, the defendant caused bodily harm without the consent of the victim.
And fourthly, the defendant knew that the victim did not consent.
“Cause” in the first element means that the defendant’s action was a substantial factor in causing producing the bodily harm.
“Intent to cause bodily harm” in the second element means that the defendant’s mental purpose was to cause bodily harm to another individual. Or the defendant was aware that his conduct was practically certain to cause bodily harm to another individual.
So what about the bar fight that starts after Ben tells Matt “hit me”? If Matt hits Ben, it surely sounds defensible for Matt to argue that Ben consented to the bodily harm. After all, what else could “hit me” mean? While we haven’t had the opportunity to try this strategy at trial, it’s a creative one that we think could result in a win for a client. But that being so, even if Matt does hit Ben, he’d likely still face criminal charges for something like disorderly conduct. In a nightmare scenario, because consent is not an element of aggravated or substantial battery, if Matt ended up breaking Ben’s nose, tooth, or causing some sort of laceration, he could still be charged with one of those felony-level batteries. If someone tells you to punch them, do not punch them.
Transferred intent: what it is and how it applies to criminal battery cases.
You’ll notice that the statute includes the following language: ” … done with intent to cause bodily harm to [the victim] or another … without the consent of the person so harmed.” The “or another” portion of the statute refers to something called transferred intent. It’s a relatively simple concept but it’s important to understand, especially when working on messy cases that involve bar fights or groups engaged in violent altercations.
Let’s consider an example: Defendant throws a wild punch and rather than his intended target, hits another person. The defendant intended to strike one individual but ended up hitting another. The intent to hit one person transferred to hitting someone else. Due to how the statute is written, even though defendant didn’t originally intend to hit his victim, he’s still committed battery.
It is immaterial that the human being killed is not the one the actor intended to kill. If X shoots at and kills a person who he thinks is Y but who is actually Z, X is as guilty as if he had not been mistaken about the identity of the person killed. The same is true where X shoots at Y intending to kill him, but he misses Y and kills Z. In both of these cases, X has caused “the death of another human being by an act done with intent to kill that person or another.” In other words, the section incorporates the common law doctrine of “transferred intent.”
Misdemeanor Battery – Domestic Violence
Misdemeanor battery is often charged in domestic violence situations. Generally speaking, if there is any pushing or shoving during an altercation, a misdemeanor battery charge results. Upon more serious injuries, crimes like recklessly endangering safety or substantial battery charges often become involved. A DV modifier can be applied to any of these charges. But what makes it domestic violence?
In order to qualify as domestic violence, the crime must include 1) intentional infliction of physical pain, injury, or illness; 2) intentional impairment of physical condition; 3) sexual assault; or 4) a physical act that may cause the victim to reasonably fear imminent engagement of the conduct described in the first 3 situations. A battery charge includes the “intentional infliction of physical pain, injury, or illness.” This charge nearly automatically satisfies the definition of domestic violence.
Domestic violence modifiers only apply to specific kinds of relationships. These include spouses, former spouses, roommates (including live-in boyfriends or girlfriends), former roommates, or an individual with whom the defendant has a child in common.
Domestic violence convictions result in serious collateral consequences. An example is the fact that you will lose your right to possess a firearm for the rest of your life if you’re convicted of a criminal charge that has a domestic abuse modifier attached to it. This ban is permanent. It does not go away.
Why is a jury trial important?
Frequently you’ll meet other criminal defense attorneys who are afraid to defend their clients at trial. Unfortunately for those attorneys, cowardly reputations spread quickly, and they have the potential to hurt clients. A prosecutor who knows that the defense attorney they’re working against won’t go to trial may offer a more heavy-handed plea offer to the defendant. And the defense attorney afraid to go to trial doesn’t have many options to counter that.
Our staff does not include criminal defense attorneys afraid to fight for their clients at trial. Your right to trial is one of the most important and basic constitutional guarantees of criminal law. We regularly fight criminal cases through this point, and represent many individuals who will not resolve their case short of it.
Finally, what if I hurt someone more than I intended?
Sometimes misdemeanor battery situations get out of hand. What happens when you only intend to physically hurt someone, but end up causing more serious harm? As we mentioned in the introduction, those situations could lead to criminal charges for either substantial battery or a version of aggravated battery. Both rely on intent to cause bodily harm, but which one applies depends on the harm actually caused.
Substantial battery requires that you caused “substantial bodily harm.” Substantial bodily harm refers to injuries including lacerations resulting in stitches/staples/tissue adhesives, a fracture of a bone, broken nose, burn, temporary loss of consciousness/sight/hearing, a concussion, or a loss or fracture of a tooth.
Aggravated battery requires that you caused “great bodily harm.” Great bodily harm includes a substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of any body part of organ.
Substantial battery is a Class I felony in Wisconsin. This version of aggravated battery (there are two) is a Class H felony.
Van Severen Law Office is serious about providing misdemeanor battery defense.
The Milwaukee criminal defense attorneys of Van Severen Law Office, S.C. represent defendants in criminal actions throughout Wisconsin. Frequently the charges they’re facing include misdemeanors, and sometimes those misdemeanors are battery charges. Our law firm and the criminal defense attorneys that comprise it have worked hard to earn our reputations. Whether your case needs pre-trial motions filed to protect your constitutional rights, you’re looking to resolve your case with a plea, or you’re going to fight your case through trial, we can help.
Finally, we offer free consultations to potential clients. We see this as a way for you to discuss your case with our firm and figure out if we’re a good match. Contact us at (414) 270-0202.
