Wisconsin homicide defense attorneys

Milwaukee murder defense attorneys. Van Severen Law Office represents clients facing all homicide charges.  Contact us at (414) 270-0202 for help.

Homicide charges in Wisconsin are incredibly serious.  First-degree intentional homicide, for example, is a Class A felony.  A Class A felony conviction results in a sentence of life in prison.  The judge does not decide whether how long the defendant’s initial confinement or extended supervision are.  Instead, the judge simply determines whether the defendant will ever be eligible for parole consideration.

According to a judicial note from 1988, second-degree intentional homicide is analogous to manslaughter.  The difference between this offense and first-degree intentional homicide is simple.  A second-degree charge occurs when the defense proves, or the government concedes, one of the following mitigating circumstances applies to a first-degree intentional homicide case:

• Adequate provocation.
• Unnecessary defensive force.
• Prevention of a felony.
• Coercion or necessity.

Second-degree intentional homicide does not always act as a “lesser-included” offense, but can be the offense you’re originally charged with.  This charge is a Class D felony, meaning it’s punishable by up to 25 years prison, $100,000.00 in fines, or both.  A Class D felony carries a maximum of 15 years initial confinement followed by 10 years extended supervision.

While that brief discussion focused on intentional homicide charges, it’s important to remember that our criminal defense attorneys represent clients facing all Wisconsin homicide and murder charges.  These cases are complex, difficult, and we think are best approached by skilled, intelligent, and hard-working criminal defense attorneys.  You’ll meet a few of those attorneys at Van Severen Law Office, S.C.

Contact us day or night, weekday or weekend, and let’s start talking about your case.  Initial consultations are free.  (414) 270-0202.

Does Van Severen Law Office, S.C. also work on reckless homicide cases?

Of course we do.  We have criminal defense attorneys that defend Wisconsinites facing literally any state criminal charge.  First-degree reckless homicide and second-degree reckless homicide require that the defendant caused the victim’s death by criminally reckless conduct.  Criminally reckless conduct requires:

• The conduct created a risk of death or great bodily harm to another person; and
• The risk of death was unreasonable and substantial; and
• The defendant was aware that his conduct created the unreasonable and substantial risk of death or great bodily harm.

While intentional homicide requires a deliberate act, the offenses that rely on recklessness involve this kind of conduct.

First-degree reckless homicide is a Class B felony, meaning it’s punishable by up to 60 years prison.  The 60 year prison sentence breaks down into 40 years initial confinement followed by 20 years extended supervision.  No fine applies to this offense.

Second-degree reckless homicide is a Class D felony, meaning it’s punishable by up to 25 years prison and $100,000.00 in fines.  The 25 year prison term breaks down into 15 years initial confinement followed by 10 years extended supervision.

Felony murder in Wisconsin

There’s only one murder charge in Wisconsin, and that’s felony murder.  Felony murder occurs when an individual (another defendant, a victim, a bystander, one of the cops, etc.) is killed due to the commission of one of the specific felonies listed in section 940.03 of the Wisconsin Statutes.  Wisconsin Jury Instruction 1030 puts it another way: the death of the victim was caused by the commission of the felony.

That might seem confusing, so let’s consider an example.  Defendant is robbing a gas station (armed robbery, a felony in Wisconsin), but during the commission of the offense, the clerk hits a silent alarm alerting police.  Police respond in emergency fashion, and while approaching the scene, one of the officers is involved in a car accident.  The civilian the police officer hit dies on the scene, a few blocks away from where the robbery occurred.  This death wouldn’t have occurred but for the armed robbery and the emergency police response.  This example could result in felony murder charges for the defendant.

The punishment is simple: an additional 15 years imprisonment added on top of the underlying charge.  In our example, we discussed armed robbery.  Armed robbery is carries a potential penalty of 40 years prison.  In this situation, the felony murder charge carries a possible maximum penalty of 40 + 15 years imprisonment, or 55 years.

Potential motions in a criminal case

A motion is a written or verbal legal argument requesting some sort of relief.  Relief is something we want.  It’s usually keeping evidence out of a trial.

For example, if the defendant made a statement to police, certain constitutional guidelines must be obeyed.  If Miranda warnings weren’t read after the defendant was taken into custody and subject to interrogation, filing a motion in court and arguing could result in that statement being kept out of evidence.  The relief for a motion challenging an illegally obtained statement is suppression of that statement.  If you confessed, suppression of that statement prevents the government from using it at trial.  And if the government can’t use it at trial, it’s never used against you.  That certainly strengthens your case.

Another example is a challenge to an illegal search.  Frequently after an an incident involving a homicide, the police go to the defendant’s house.  They search his car.  They search his home.  And finally, they might search his computer, cell phone, and other digital media.  In order for the government to search these materials, they must have a search warrant (or your consent).  If documents supporting the search warrant were not drafted properly, that search warrant might not hold up in court.  And finally, what’s the relief?  Usually suppression of the illegally obtained evidence.

How do we defend my case?

Homicide cases typically involve a lot of police investigation.  On scene they’ll knock on the doors of houses in the area, subpoena doorbell footage, check street/surveillance cameras, and otherwise canvass the location.  The victim is deceased, so prosecutions usually don’t rely on statements from the victim (sometimes dying declarations are used, but involve hearsay law).  It’s important to recognize that this activity is all building a case against the defendant.

Cops aren’t out looking for exculpatory evidence, which is why it’s important that we conduct our own investigation.  Who was with the defendant when this occurred?  What photo/video evidence can we obtain?  What other facts did the government leave out that makes the defendant seem less guilty?  All of this is important, and finding this information is an important part of our job.

Eventually, all of the motions and preparation work we do on our cases leads to three distinct results: trial, a plea, or a dismissal.  A complete dismissal is rare in a homicide case without specific, powerful evidence.  Pleas are common in the criminal justice system and involve the defendant accepting responsibility for his actions.  And finally, a trial is where the fight happens, and where we argue to a jury that the defendant is not guilty.  All defendants have different desires and expectations, and our criminal defense lawyers are prepared to represent clients in all three scenarios.

Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. to discuss your homicide, murder, or manslaughter case.

Not all criminal defense attorneys know how to represent defendants facing homicide charges.  We do.  Not all criminal defense attorneys are capable of defending homicide charges at trial.  We’ve done that.  And winning for clients facing homicide charges?  We’ve done that too.  While many attorneys will take your money, how confident are you that they’re actually going to get the job done?

At Van Severen Law Office, S.C., all we do is defend individuals accused of committing crimes in Wisconsin.  Our focus on this specific area of law is important.  You’re facing a criminal charge that could send you away for decades, or the rest of your life.  You don’t need a will drafted.  And you don’t really care about who gets the Brett Favre jersey in the divorce.  Those things don’t help you in your current position.

Contact us at (414) 270-0202.  Let’s talk about your case, figure out how we can help, and determine the next step from there.  We do not charge for initial consultations.