Carrying a weapon by licensee where prohibited (Wis. Stat. 175.60(16)) defense attorneys

Section 175.60(16) of the Wisconsin Statutes – the law

Section 175.60(16) of the Wisconsin Statutes prohibits carrying a weapon by a licensee in Wisconsin.  The law indicates:

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), neither a licensee nor an out-of-state licensee may knowingly carry a concealed weapon, a weapon that is not concealed, or a firearm that is not a weapon in any of the following places:

1. Any portion of a building that is a police station, sheriff’s office, state patrol station, or the office of a division of criminal investigation special agent of the department.

2. Any portion of a building that is a prison, jail, house of correction, or secured correctional facility.

3. The facility established under s. 46.055.

4. The center established under s. 46.056.

5. Any secured unit or secured portion of a mental health institute under s. 51.05, including a facility designated as the Maximum Security Facility at Mendota Mental Health Institute.

6. Any portion of a building that is a county, state, or federal courthouse.

7. Any portion of a building that is a municipal courtroom if court is in session.

8. A place beyond a security checkpoint in an airport.

What does all that mean?

Simply put, it is illegal to possess a firearm in certain locations.  The locations include various law enforcement agencies, any correctional facility, secure mental health facilities for sexually violent individuals, the Wisconsin Resource Center, Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Mendota Mental Health Institute, courthouses, and beyond security checkpoints in airports.

There are certain circumstances when the law does not apply:

(b) The prohibitions under par. (a) do not apply to any of the following:

1.A weapon in a vehicle driven or parked in a parking facility located in a building that is used as, or any portion of which is used as, a location under par. (a).

2. A weapon in a courthouse or courtroom if a judge who is a licensee is carrying the weapon or if another licensee or out-of-state licensee, whom a judge has permitted in writing to carry a weapon, is carrying the weapon.

3. A weapon in a courthouse or courtroom if a district attorney, or an assistant district attorney, who is a licensee is carrying the weapon.

Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 5401

Jury instructions are tools used by jurors to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant.  Jury instructions certainly make crimes easier to understand.  But more importantly, they also provide criminal justice system actors (including defense attorneys) an easy way to break crimes down into digestible parts.  If we can prove at trial that the government cannot satisfy one of these parts (they’re called elements), you cannot be convicted.

The jury instruction provides:

• Firstly, the defendant was either a licensee or an out-of-state licensee.  A licensee is an individual holding a valid license to carry a concealed weapon issued under section 175.60 of the Wisconsin Statutes, or an individual who is 21 years of age or older, not a Wisconsin resident, and has an out of state license to carry a concealed weapon; and
• Secondly, the defendant knowingly carried a concealed weapon, unconcealed weapon, or a firearm that is not  a weapon.  Carried means went armed with, which requires that the defendant knew the weapon or firearm was on his person or within his control; and
• Finally, the defendant carried the concealed weapon, unconcealed weapon, or firearm that was not a weapon into the prohibited location.

Finally, how do we defend your charges?

While this is the most important part of the article, this question is not answerable in a general blog post.  It is certainly important that you remember every case is different.  If we could tell you how to solve every case in a simple, general blog post, anyone could do it.  And unfortunately, not any attorney has same set of skills necessary to fight for you.  We regularly hear from individuals with horror stories about hiring the wrong attorney.

But at Van Severen Law Office, S.C., you’ll meet dedicated criminal defense lawyers who focus 100% of their practices on criminal law.  And with that, we’ll first take a look to see if any pre-trial motions apply in your case.  Obviously some kind of search occurred in order for law enforcement to find the weapon.  Was this the execution of a search warrant?  Or some kind of stop and frisk?  It’s certainly an important motion because if law enforcement can’t search you, they can’t find the weapon.

Finally, you maintain the right to a jury trial.  Our criminal defense lawyers are seasoned professionals who have defended many individuals through jury trial.  If the government cannot prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, you should not be found guilty of the offense.  Trial can be scary for inexperienced criminal defense attorneys – we believe it’s important to hire someone with experience.

Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. for criminal charge representation

While criminal charges are serious, it’s not the end of the road.  We believe that once you learn of a criminal investigation against you, the next and most important step is to hire the right defense attorney.  Hopefully you’ll meet some of those right defense attorneys at Van Severen Law Office, S.C.  We have the aggression, intelligence, and experience necessary to fight your firearm charge.

Contact us immediately at (414) 270-0202.  We answer phones 24/7 and are prepared to quickly begin defending individuals facing all kinds of criminal charges.