Posted on August 19, 2018 in Gun & Weapons Crimes

In the state of Wisconsin, if you're a gun owner, it's important that you understand the legal distinction between various terms, like "carry" and "possession," for example. Understanding the meaning of these and other gun law terminology is important for deciding whether a particular defendant has broken Wisconsin gun laws.

Here are some important terms you should know:

Carry: The terms "carry" and "carrying" in the context of firearms in Wisconsin means "to go armed with," which -- in turn -- means that the firearm is on the person's body, being carried by the person or within his or her reach. It also means that the person is aware that the firearm is there.

Possession: In many cases, courts generally will not deem that a person is "carrying" a firearm if it is unloaded and encased. In these situations, the person is usually in "possession" of the firearm. The term "possession" describes someone who has a firearm -- and it could be on his or her person -- but the person is not "going armed with" the weapon.

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 Posted on August 17, 2018 in Criminal Defense

A robbery charge is a serious criminal accusation, and the punishments associated with a conviction for this offense become even more severe when a firearm was involved. That said, all individuals accused of this crime will have the opportunity to defend themselves against the allegations.

In all criminal cases, including robbery crimes, the burden of proof lies on the prosecution. If the prosecution cannot prove the following facts are true beyond a reasonable doubt in a robbery case, then a conviction cannot occur:

• The accused person took or stole property.
• The stolen property belonged to someone.
• The property was stolen from the owner's person or it was stolen while in the presence of the owner.
• The property was taken against the owner's will.
• The accused person committed the unlawful taking through intimidation, violence or brute force.

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 Posted on August 17, 2018 in OWI/DUI

Police arrest countless individuals on drunk driving charges every evening. However, police and the protocol they use to identify and charge people with intoxicated vehicle operation are not fool-proof. It's very possible for law enforcement officials to make a mistake and arrest someone intoxicated driving, when the accused was completely and undoubtedly sober. For this reason, every person accused of drunk driving will have the right to defend him or herself against the charges – no matter the facts and circumstances surrounding the arrest.

There will be numerous legal strategies available to defendants as they navigate their criminal charges. Such strategies may include:

1. Challenge evidence presented by the prosecution

The prosecution may provide evidence relating to the results of your field sobriety test and the results of Breathalyzer, urine or blood tests that measure alcohol content. The prosecution may also present witnesses who allegedly witnessed the driver's state of inebriation. Camera footage from bars and restaurants and from the street before and during the drunk driving stop may also be used as evidence.

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 Posted on August 13, 2018 in OWI/DUI

If a police officer pulls you over or suspects you've been driving while intoxicated by alcohol, the officer will request that you take a Breathalyzer test as a part of a larger drunk driving investigation that also includes a field sobriety test. The officer will ask you to do the Breathalyzer test by telling you to blow into a tube. A machine will then analyze the alcohol content of your breath to estimate your state of intoxication.

Breathalyzer tests are known to be plagued by inaccuracies, however, and many drivers don't trust them. This prompts a lot of people to refuse a Breathalyzer test out of the fear that false or inaccurate evidence from the test could later be used against them in court. Fortunately, there are several situations in which a driver can legally refuse to submit to a Breathalyzer test.

If the officer has yet to establish any kind of drunk driving evidence against you, and the officer is merely asking you to perform a Breathalyzer test as a way of fishing for evidence, you may have the legal right to refuse the test in some cases. However, in other cases, refusing a breath test can result in serious criminal consequences and even the suspension of your drivers' license.

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 Posted on July 27, 2018 in Drug Charges

No one intends to get arrested and accused of drug crimes, but sometimes -- whether it's because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time or they actually committed a narcotics-related offense -- Wisconsin residents may find themselves in trouble with the law. In one recent case, Madison-area law enforcement authorities arrested and charged two men with possessing large quantities of heroin and selling it to smaller drug dealers in the region.

On June 26, police arrested a 40-year-old Sun Prairie man and a 39-year-old town of Madison man. The arrest was made on tentative heroin possession charges with the intent to maintain a drug house and deliver drugs.

The operation was completed by the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, the Wisconsin State Division of Criminal Investigation. Members of these police agencies entered and searched both of the men's separate residences -- presumably with search warrants -- proceeded to search the homes and ultimately arrested the men.

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 Posted on July 25, 2018 in OWI/DUI

Some people suffer from the rare condition that turns them into a walking beer factory. These individuals -- when they eat anything that has sugar in it -- suffer from an automatic process by which their bodies convert the food into beer, and this makes them unintentionally drunk. Although it's hard to imagine that it could be true, auto-brewery syndrome is real. Not only that, but in a New Jersey drunk driving case last year, a woman successfully defended against her drunk driving charges because of the condition.

The accused woman claimed that she enjoyed drinking as much as a gallon of orange juice a day, and that she was also a recovering alcoholic. On the night of her arrest, the woman says that she had been sober for nearly a decade, but she also felt drunk. In fact, the woman explained to the jury that she had been feeling strange for approximately a year before her DUI arrest. During the arrest, she blew a level .10 when given a Breathalyzer test.

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 Posted on July 21, 2018 in Drug Charges

After years of different states legalizing same-sex marriage, the federal government finally legalized same-sex marriage for all across the entire United States. Could the same thing happen for marijuana? Not exactly, but many more states would likely come on board if the federal government decided to legalize the substance.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer recently introduced a new piece of law that -- if passed -- would decriminalize marijuana under federal law and remove the drug from the federal government's controlled substances list. The proposed law is dubbed the "Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act."

According to Schumer, "The time to decriminalize marijuana is now." the senator described the legislation as "the right thing to do." He said that he hopes the legislation offers an approach that is sufficiently balanced to gain bipartisan support, not only in Congress, but also throughout the nation.

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 Posted on July 19, 2018 in Drug Charges

When you think about drug paraphernalia, you think about pipes, bongs and needles. However, virtually anything -- even a piece of fruit or other common household items like tin foil -- could be considered drug paraphernalia if authorities find it in the right context.

Imagine police obtain a warrant to search your vehicle or your residence. Now, imagine they search your entire house and they don't find any drugs. However, they do find a digital scale, a crumpled up ball of tinfoil, an apple and little plastic baggies and a pipe. If they don't find any drugs or drug residue to go along with these items, you're probably in the clear. However, if they find these otherwise innocent items in the following contexts, they could be deemed drug paraphernalia:

A digital scale

Many households have digital scales. However, aside from using a scale to count calories, it could also be used to weigh drugs before selling them. If drugs are found with the scale, then it's probably drug paraphernalia.

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 Posted on July 17, 2018 in Criminal Defense

When things look grim based on the factual scenario in a criminal defendant's lawsuit, and a conviction is likely, the defendant may elect to negotiate a plea deal. Negotiating the plea, or plea bargaining, is a useful defense tactic that benefits both the defendant and the prosecution.

Let's take a look at how plea bargaining benefits both sides of the criminal defense equation:

How plea bargains help defendants

When a guilty verdict is likely in a criminal defense matter, plea bargaining offers a way for the defendant to pursue a less severe punishment and a less severe charge. This could also help the defendant's criminal record: In many cases, the defendant will have a lesser offense listed on the record. There are monetary benefits to the defendant as well because he or she will bypass the legal costs associated with lengthy trial proceedings.

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 Posted on June 27, 2018 in Criminal Defense

Although you might not think that you're hurting someone's property by spray-painting your initials or a picture on the side of it, the owner of the property could feel differently about it. In fact, the owner – and the police for that matter – might see such an act as vandalism. Vandalism – i.e., the destruction, defacing or harming of someone else's property – is illegal and those who are found guilty of the offense will face various criminal punishments.

If you're not sure what constitutes vandalism under the law, here are a few examples of the crime:

1. Intentionally throwing a rock into a neighbor's window and breaking it
2. Spray-painting the side of a building with your initials or spray-painting your favorite design on a street sign
3. Ripping the picture off a billboard
4. Drawing a mustache and glasses on a poster next to a bus stop
5. Using a permanent marker to draw on a bathroom stall
6. Painting graffiti on a sidewalk

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