On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Drunk Driving on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Witnesses say a Greenfield man's SUV crashed into a parked car recently in West Allis. Apparently, the 42-year-old continued driving after the collision, prompting a witness to flag down a police officer. The SUV driver was later arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. If convicted, it would be his fourth OWI since 1993, and that means he could face up to roughly seven years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
With such heavy penalties, a close look at the circumstances of the arrest will be necessary to put forth a strong defense against the repeat OWI charge.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Criminal Defense on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Though they probably never expected to, sometimes families in Wisconsin have to confront the daunting prospect of criminal charges. In some cases, one family member might even accuse another of a crime, but that doesn't mean the whole family isn't affected by the painful ordeal. Moreover, an allegation is something quite different from proof of guilt.
Not long ago, a mother in Wisconsin told police that she suspected her 45-year-old son of stealing jewelry from her home in Scott. The son is from Campbellsport but was living with his mother when she noticed that 18 pieces of expensive jewelry were missing. The property was valued at several thousand dollars.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Internet Crimes on Monday, April 30, 2012
In efforts to file criminal charges, sometimes police in Wisconsin will employ tricky tactics. That is exactly what happened in Waukesha County recently when a police officer pretended online to be a 15-year-old girl. Now a 44-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged with Internet crimes.
He is accused of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. Police claim the man chatted online with a detective who pretended to be a 15-year-old girl. The man is said to have responded to the falsely stated age with the word "nice."
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Sex Crimes on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
State law in Wisconsin stipulates that any convicted sex offender, after serving a prison sentence, will be released to the county where the alleged sex offense occurred. In such cases, what often happens is that a member of the local community will agree to provide a place of lodging for the released individual. However, sometimes the contract between the community member and the Department of Corrections falls through, resulting in a postponement of the sex offender's release.
That scenario recently played out in a small Wisconsin town in the western part of the state. As part of a contract with the Department of Corrections, a local businessman bought a small farmhouse that would have provided guarded lodging for the released offender. According to the local sheriff, modifications were made to the home both to protect the released individual and prevent him from coming into contact with the types of people he was said to have victimized.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Criminal Defense on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
In an effort to curb crime in Wisconsin, lawmakers have signed into law a series of bills that some feel are overreaching. One of the bills gives law enforcement, including officers, judges and prosecutors, greater access to the criminal records of juveniles. This increased access would allow law enforcement officials to track a juvenile's record and group those young individuals charged with minor offenses with juveniles who have been charged with more serious crimes.
The bill was drafted based on anecdotal evidence claiming that juveniles whose records aren't closely tracked are prone to commit more crimes and receive a lower level of punishment. The senator who contributed to authoring the bill said, "If the law enforcement as a group doesn't have their records, then these minors become hardened criminals because they're going to get away with it and nobody's going to find out their total record. So they're coddled and they can get away with murder."
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Drug Charges on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
As Wisconsin residents know, drug use sometimes has the power to cause a person's life to spiral out of control. Nationwide treatment programs provide assistance to people struggling with addiction, and now the legal system in Waukesha County has climbed aboard. For people who find themselves in legal situations they never could have imagined being in, a Waukesha County drug treatment court is offering an alternative.
Launched by a local judge, the program is for individuals struggling with addiction who have been charged with nonviolent drug crimes. By following requirements, including random drug testing, participation in treatment and support groups, regular meetings with case managers, and scheduled appearances before judges for monitoring, the program defers prosecution for people who want to work toward a drug-free future.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Drunk Driving on Monday, March 26, 2012
Most people would agree that this year's winter in Wisconsin was relatively mild. But one man from Oshkosh may have a different opinion.
Police arrested him 14 months ago and charged him with OWI, even though he was found driving his SUV not on a street or a highway, but on the frozen surface of Lake Winnebago. In the ensuing months, the case went to court, and a Winnebago County judge threw out the drunk driving charges. His reason? Drunk driving laws only apply to public premises on which a vehicle can be driven. The judge said the icy surface of the lake was not one of those premises.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Sex Crimes on Monday, March 19, 2012
The Waukesha County district attorney's office recently declined to file charges against a Catholic priest who has been accused of sexually abusing a minor in the mid-1990s. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has placed the priest on temporary leave while an investigation is being conducted.
At the time of a local news report, it was unclear whether the district attorney declined to prosecute because the statute of limitations ran out or because of a lack of evidence. According to an email from an archbishop, the priest denies the allegation of child sexual assault. The archbishop went on to say that there has been no substantiation of the claims against the priest.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Internet Crimes on Tuesday, March 13, 2012
In criminal cases, when prosecutors have significant evidence and the accused individual has effectively confessed to authorities, a strategic plea for the reduction of charges is necessary to ensure that overcharging or over-sentencing doesn't occur. And that will likely be the case for a former Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod official who, as of March 8, was close to a plea deal in his child pornography case.
The 52-year-old Waukesha man was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography after investigators found illegal images and videos on his home computer and a USB drive at his office. After an investigation by the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, the man was charged with distributing child pornography.
On behalf of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. posted in Drug Charges on Monday, March 5, 2012
The recent arrest of a young man from Greenfield raises some important questions as to whether the drug charges against him will hold up in court. He was charged in Milwaukee County with possession of THC and possession of nitrous oxide with intent to inhale.
According to the prosecutor's complaint, police went to the 23-year-old's residence in response to a 911 call in which a woman supposedly said "please help me." A local news report did not indicate who the woman was or whether she was even present at the young man's residence.
