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Recent Blog Posts
Mental illness sometimes contributes to violent crimes
Many people automatically think that people who have violent tendencies are just acting out. What many people don't realize is that there are sometimes mental health conditions that cause the person to act in this manner. It is easy to think that someone who just stabbed or shot someone should be locked away in prison for life, but this doesn't address the underlying problem.
Many different mental health disorders can lead someone to do violent things. The issue here is that the person isn't going to overcome the problem by being put in prison. Instead, they need to receive mental health care that will help them. This is especially important if there is a chance that they will be released from prison at some point.
Unfortunately, the criminal justice system doesn't really focus on getting mentally ill people help. Instead, it just punishes for the actions that run afoul of the law. Some people think that these mentally ill individuals should just be kept away from weapons. While this sounds easy in theory, the reality is much worse.
Milwaukee man accused of 8th drunk driving offense
A DUI charge can happen to any Wisconsin resident who takes the risk of driving after drinking alcohol. However, in some cases, a Wisconsin driver will find him or herself facing drunk driving charges again and again. Drivers need to be very careful after being charged with multiple DUI offenses because the punishments will get more severe with each consecutive conviction.
In one such case, a Milwaukee man with seven drunk driving convictions on his criminal record has been arrested and accused of drunk driving for the 8th time. Police arrested the man after his van collided with a trailer, according to the sheriff's office.
The collision happened a little before 6 p.m. last Tuesday on Interstate 43. The man was driving northbound on the highway when he allegedly collided with the trailer. Police say that the man admitted to drinking a martini and taking Adderal before getting into the crash. When authorities tested his blood alcohol content, he allegedly tested with a BAC of 0.18 percent, which is more than double the legal limit.
Milwaukee man arrested and accused of heroin crimes
A man who has a drug dealing conviction on his criminal record was accused of selling heroin in Green Bay. The Brown County Drug Task Force arrested him on a recent Thursday.
Authorities say that 33-year-old man committed 10 felonies in addition to a misdemeanor. All of his alleged crimes relate to Oxycontin and heroin, which police say he was hiding in smoke detectors. Police also say they discovered thousands of dollars in cash inside the tank of the man's toilet.
The Assistant District attorney highlighted the man's criminal background in court by telling the judge that he had multiple drug convictions on his record. In fact, he has at least three drug crime convictions on his record relating to buying and selling narcotics, including cocaine.
As of last reports, the accused man was being held on cash bond of $50,000, and his next court date had been set for Aug. 3. In the meantime, the judge ordered him not to attempt contact with two women who were with him at the time of the arrest. One of the woman happens to be the mother of his child.
Muskego mother gets 2-year prison sentence for drunk driving
A woman from Muskego who has been convicted of drunk driving five times was recently sentenced to serve a two-year prison term as a result of her fifth drunk driving conviction. The woman was also sentenced to extended supervision for an additional three years.
The incident that led to the woman's most recent OWI conviction happened last Christmas Eve. According to the woman's admission, she drank a "ton" of alcohol that evening because she felt like she wanted to die.
While the woman was in an inebriated state, however, her son came home from his work and called 911. After the son made the call, the woman backed out of the driveway in her vehicle and continued into a culvert on the other side of the street. She was able to free the vehicle and drove away. She soon lost control of the car and struck a tree.
When police arrived, she fought the officers, even kicking one officer in the groin while he attempted to arrest her. Officers eventually deployed a stun gun to control the woman but it wasn't entirely successful. Eventually, police were able to make the arrest and book the woman in jail.
New proposed legislation seeks a ban on assault weapons
The latest mass shooting to shock the United States into a wave of grieving was the catastrophic incident that happened on Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Florida. This sad mass murder was carried out by a lone gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, which he used to murder 17 high school students.
As the media continues to rage, and communities continue to real, Democratic lawmakers introduced a newly minted gun control measure as a response. If it becomes federal law, the measure would ban individuals from owning the AR-15 assault rifle, among many other weapons that the law classifies as assault weapons.
Thus far, Republicans have strictly opposed the proposed law while Democrats are supporting it. Gun rights advocates oppose bill as well, while pointing out that the AR-15 should not be on the list of banned weapons because it is not a fully automatic rifle.
The law clearly states it will make it illegal for individuals "to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a semiautomatic assault weapon." The law also requires a public list of all assault weapons that criminals have used in carrying out their crimes.
Oh, no! Cops are behind me — what should I do?
The Fourth of July holiday weekend is here, with plenty of entertainment and celebrations taking place in and around Waukesha. Inevitably, however, the holiday also brings a marked increase in police presence on the highways.
If you see the dreaded blue lights behind you in your rear-view mirror, do you know what to do to avoid incriminating yourself in the traffic stop?
Assert your right to remain silent
Cops have a favorite fishing tactic they use on unsuspecting motorists they've just stopped. They ask an innocent-sounding question that is anything but: "Do you know why I stopped you?"
If ever there was a loaded question designed to get a motorist to begin incriminating him- or herself, that is it. Even if you have no idea what you did wrong, all sorts of possibilities probably popped up in your mind, just waiting to burst forth from your mouth to become evidence against you in court.
Admit or volunteer nothing. Politely respond, "No, officer."
Opioid addiction takes years to disappear
After the brain gets addicted to an opioid medication, it can take as long as two years for it to fully recover once the abuse of the drug stops. However, the first 90 days of recovery tend to be the most critical to ensure that the individual stays sober.
According to a leading addiction expert, creating a solid foundation of sobriety takes time and diligence. For this reason, anyone who tries to stop taking an addictive substance is encouraged to have 90 days of contact with a professional addiction therapist by way of an intensive outpatient program or a partial hospitalization program.
Experts don't know a lot about why it takes 90 days to get past the most difficult time and they don't know why it can take two years to fully heal. They just know that the process takes this amount of time with most people.
In most modern addiction treatment scenarios, therapists and recovery experts evaluate the mental health needs of the patient as well as his or her unique addiction issues. In this regard, untreated mental disorders tend to be addressed in addition to the medical aspects of addiction recovery. Patients commonly start with detox, then they receive in-patient rehab. Next, patients live in supportive housing, receive psychotherapy, take appropriate medications and go to group therapy. Part of the therapy should stress impulse control, which assists patients in controlling the impulsive thoughts that lead them to take more addictive substances.
Penalties and punishments for marijuana sale and cultivation
Certain areas of the country have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. However, in Wisconsin, it continues to be illegal with the exception of non-psychoactive medical CBD oil, which is used to treat a limited range of conditions.
In spite of the illegality of marijuana, some individuals are selling and cultivating the plant unlawfully. As such, state and federal law enforcement officials are actively investigating any suspected cultivation and sale activity.
However, police do not always arrest individuals appropriately for these offenses. For example, you might have been accused of marijuana cultivation simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, you might have been accused of marijuana sales when you were not selling the drug, but merely in possession of it.
What will happen if I'm convicted of marijuana sale or cultivation?
If accused of marijuana sale or cultivation -- and convicted of the offense by a court of law -- individuals can face serious criminal consequences. Here are the penalties and punishments associated with a conviction of marijuana sale and cultivation in Wisconsin. If convicted of selling or cultivating marijuana in the amount of:
Police arrest 4 in alleged drug and guns bust
Sometimes people accused of crimes find themselves in trouble with the law because they actually committed a criminal act. Other times, they get arrested because they were spending time with the wrong group of friends at the wrong time. Still, in other cases, police are completely misguided and arrest someone who is completely uninvolved in the alleged crimes.
In a recent drug bust, we can't know whether the people the authorities arrested are guilty of their alleged crimes until the conclusion of their criminal cases. Until they confess to the crimes by pleading guilty, or until a criminal court finds them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, these individuals remain innocent in the eyes of the law.
The arrests and alleged drug bust happened in Fitchburg on a recent Monday. Police apprehended four young men, two 19-year-olds, a 20-year-old and a 21-year-old. Police carried out the arrests at approximately 10 a.m. Three of the men were arrested for violating probation. One was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Punishment for a felon in possession of a firearm conviction
Individuals convicted of a felony in the state of Wisconsin are not permitted to possess a firearm. In fact, if you are convicted of firearm possession following a felony conviction, you will face stiff criminal punishments.
Wisconsin Act 109 establishes the penalties associated with firearm possession by a felon. However, before describing these penalties, it's important to understand who can and cannot possess a firearm in Wisconsin. If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, then you are not permitted to possess a firearm:
-- Have you had a prior felony conviction?
-- Were you adjudicated delinquent regarding an act that, had you been an adult, would be considered a felony.
-- Did you receive a verdict of not guilty for a felony act because of mental disease or mental defect?
If you answered yes to any of the above, then firearm possession for you is a Class G felony that can be punished with up to a 10-year prison sentence and up to a $25,000 fine. If your prior felony conviction involved a violent crime, and your firearm possession happened within five years of the violent offense, then you could be in danger of a mandatory three-year minimum sentence.
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