What is the penalty for obstruction of justice in Wisconsin?

Answer 1

The Wisconsin Criminal Code states:

946.31

SUBCHAPTER III

PERJURY AND FALSE SWEARING

946.31 Perjury.

946.31(1)

(1) Whoever under oath or affirmation orally makes a false material statement which the person does not believe to be true, in any matter, cause, action or proceeding, before any of the following, whether legally constituted or exercising powers as if legally constituted, is guilty of a Class H felony:

946.31(1)(a)

(a) A court;

946.31(1)(b)

(b) A magistrate;

946.31(1)(c)

(c) A judge, referee or court commissioner;

946.31(1)(d)

(d) An administrative agency or arbitrator authorized by statute to determine issues of fact;

946.31(1)(e)

(e) A notary public while taking testimony for use in an action or proceeding pending in court;

946.31(1)(f)

(f) An officer authorized to conduct inquests of the dead;

946.31(1)(g)

(g) A grand jury;

946.31(1)(h)

(h) A legislative body or committee.

946.31(2)

(2) It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that the perjured testimony was corrected or retracted.

946.31 - ANNOT.

History: 1977 c. 173; 1979 c. 110; 2001 a. 109.

946.31 - ANNOT.

An arbitrator selected from a list provided by WERC is authorized by s. 111.10 to arbitrate as provided in ch. 298 [now ch. 788] and so is "authorized by statute" within meaning of s. 946.31 (1) (d). Layton School of Art & Design v. WERC, 82 Wis. 2d 324, 262 N.W.2d 218 (1978).

946.31 - ANNOT.

Perjury consists of a false statement that the defendant knew was false, was made under oath in a proceeding before a judge, and was material to the proceeding. Materiality is determined by whether the trial court could have relied on the testimony in making a decision, not on whether it actually did. State v. Munz, 198 Wis. 2d 379, 541 N.W.2d 821 (Ct. App. 1995), 95-0635.

The interesting points are:

• Perjury isthe crime of giving false testimony to a court or officer of the court
• Perjury is a class H felony
• The Punishment for perjury is as a Class H felony, a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 6 years, or both.

Answer 2

if a police officer wrote in his report "he felt like what he was saying fell on deaf ears" and the person he was arresting was hearing impaired and wore hearing aids would that be a problem for the officer?

Answer 3

20 years in state prison. Family members can not join military. Possible deportation. Loss of medical license. Loss of drivers license.