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Domestic battery charges are some of the most common charges in Wisconsin. Often these come from simple misunderstandings between couples or roommates that become physical, or when police become involved and a story is blown out of proportion. Battery charges could be filed as tickets or criminal offenses.
The penalties for a domestic battery charge differ significantly depending on whether the case is being charged criminally or as a ticket. If it is a ticket you are looking at fees that have to be paid to the court, but nothing more than that. On the other hand if you are charged with a crime for battery as a domestic abuse offense, then the penalties depend on the specific allegations.
If there were no injuries then you will be facing a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 9 months in jail and a $10,000 fine. If the injuries are more severe you can face a felony conviction and the possibility of a prison sentence.
Oftentimes, these cases are battery charges with a domestic violence modifier. Any misdemeanor offense that is qualified as domestic abuse requires the court to impose an additional $100 surcharge on top of any other financial obligations ordered by the court. Additionally, anyone convicted of a crime of domestic violence loses your right to possess firearms for life.
Anytime you are facing criminal charges with the potential of going to jail you need to retain an attorney to defend your rights. A skilled criminal defense attorney can assess the evidence of the case and attack the prosecution’s case.
The most common defenses to a domestic battery charge are that it never happened in the first place. Often these cases are charged simply based on what the alleged victim has told the police without any evidence to back up their story, such as no marks or no pictures. In those instances the only real defense available is to fight the case at trial and cross examine the complaining witness demonstrating holes in their story and attacking their credibility.
Additionally with the right attorney you can raise a self-defense claim. In a self-defense claim you are not arguing that the event did not happen, but instead that you were justified or allowed to act in the way that you did.
It is possible through negotiation with the prosecutor to resolve the case without a criminal conviction for domestic battery and to have it amended either to a ticket or to a disorderly conduct charge.
The burden of proof is on the prosecution in a battery charge’s trial, this means you are only guilty if they prove you are guilty.
The prosecution has the burden of proving the elements of a battery charge at trial. If the jury decides the prosecution does not prove its case, the jury is told to return a not guilty verdict. Below are the requirements the court has to prove. Each requirement is a place where our attorneys dig in to poke holes in the case to get the charge dropped or reduced.
First, the prosecution must prove that the defendant caused bodily harm. “Bodily harm” could be simple pain, with no other clear injury like a bruise or scratch needed. Physical contact without pain or injury is not enough to prove bodily harm.
Second, the prosecution must prove that the defendant intended to cause bodily harm. A jury must consider the defendant’s actions and statements to decide if the defendant meant to hurt the alleged victim. When defending against these charges an option could be to argue that the contact was on accident rather than on purpose.
Third, the prosecution must prove that the defendant caused bodily harm without the consent of the alleged victim. In a heated argument where the alleged victim tells the defendant to hit him or her, the defense could argue that any bodily harm was consented to.
Fourth, the prosecution must prove that the defendant knew the alleged victim did not consent to the bodily harm. In the situation above where the alleged victim tells the defendant to hit him or her, the defense could argue that the defendant did not know there was no consent if the alleged victim’s story changes after the fact.
It is also possible to present a self-defense argument at trial. In those cases, the jury must decide if the defendant was defending themself even if the defendant hurt the alleged victim to do so. If the jury finds the defendant was acting in self-defense, they are told to reach a not guilty verdict.
When considering a self-defense case, the jury must first decide if the defendant believed that he or she was facing a real danger of harm. For example, if the defendant saw the alleged victim coming with fists raised, the defense can argue that the defendant thought he or she was in real danger of being hurt.
Next, the jury must decide if the defendant believed that the amount of force used was necessary to end the danger. In the situation above, believing that hitting the alleged victim was needed to end the threat could be reasonable.
Finally, the jury must decide if the belief that there was danger was reasonable. In the situation above, even if an innocent explanation is provided, a reasonable person could believe that he or she was in danger.
Fundamentally there is no difference between a battery and a domestic battery. The battery portion of the charge is the same, there has been physical contact that caused pain. Whether it is domestic or not is simply based on whether you have a domestic relationship with the alleged victim.
A domestic battery charge can be filed if law enforcement believes that a defendant intentionally caused unwanted physical harm to an individual they were in a domestic relationship with.
Domestic abuse is a qualifier that can be attached to a charge. What that means is that it is not what you have done that makes it domestic abuse, in Wisconsin, but who it is with. There are a number of cases that can be charged with the domestic abuse modifier and each is dependent on the relationship between the defendant and the alleged victim.
Wis. Stat. 968.075 outlines that a domestic relationship is that of a spouse, former spouse, an adult with whom you have a child in common with, or an adult who you live with or you used to live with. This includes parents even after you have left the home and even former roommates.
Misdemeanor battery, under Wis. Stat. 940.19(1), is committed if an individual intentionally causes bodily harm to another without that person’s consent, and the batterer knew that the alleged victim did not consent. This is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to nine months in jail, a fine of up to $10,000.00, or both.
Accidental conduct that results in pain or bodily harm does not qualify as a battery. However, if the original contact is on purpose, but the result is unintentional it still qualifies as a battery. For example, a little shove that unintentionally results in the person falling and getting hurt would be a battery.
If you have previously been convicted of domestic abuse offenses, you could be facing enhanced penalties with any new offense. Under Wis. Stat. 939.621 you qualify as a “domestic abuse repeater” if you have been convicted of two prior domestic abuse offenses. Being labeled as a repeater exposes you to two additional years of confinement for any additional domestic abuse offense. Fundamentally this means that if your charge would normally be a misdemeanor, the enhanced penalty now makes your charge a felony offense.
You can also be charged as a repeater if you violate the 72 hour no contact order with an additional act of domestic abuse. The 72 hour no contact order is imposed on domestic abuse arrests unless it is waived by the victim.
Additionally, a defendant with previous criminal convictions can be charged as a general criminal repeater under Wis. Stat. 939.62. A defendant is subject to harsher penalties if he or she has been convicted of either one felony or three separate misdemeanors of any kind within the past five years and faces new criminal charges.
Wisconsin does not have a specific assault statute. “Assault” is a tort claim in civil lawsuits, not a criminal charge. Acts that are usually considered “assaults” are often filed under the battery statute. If no physical contact is alleged an “assault” may be filed as an act of disorderly conduct, which is a separate criminal charge.
If you are arrested for a domestic battery charge in Wisconsin, your first call upon being released should be to an attorney. You are facing criminal charges with a very real possibility of going to jail, in that situation a skilled, experienced, attorney on your side from the beginning is of the utmost importance.
