Criminal Law Government Misdemeanor Statute 
JonathanTurley
NOVEMBER 14, 2021
In covering the motions hearing last week in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, I noted a surprising comment from Judge Bruce Schroeder that he had “spent hours” with the Wisconsin gun law and could not state with certainty what it means in this case. It is also hard to instruct a jury on an ambiguous statute.
JonathanTurley
MAY 19, 2021
Here is what the provision states: “Any person who, by his advertisement, ridicules or holds up to contempt any person or class of persons, on account of the creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race of such person or class of persons, shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.” Free speech demands bright lines.
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JonathanTurley
JUNE 9, 2023
Newsom cited the kidnapping statute but apparently failed to read it or the underlying cases. While there is a fair debate over the policy of relocation by states like Texas and Florida, the effort to use the criminal process as part of that political debate is … well, pathetic. state once they are released by the federal government.
JonathanTurley
MAY 12, 2021
” The language of the statute in my view is unconstitutional due to its sweeping criminalization of any “curse or abuse” that could “provoke a breach of the peace.” ” However, the appellate panel corrected noted that such laws are narrowly construed in light of controlling precedent. .”
JonathanTurley
AUGUST 5, 2021
That is common in sexual harassment cases and hostile workplaces where you can get around statute of limitations when at least one case is recent or ongoing. However, as shown by the Bill Cosby case , such evidence can create reversible error in criminal cases. Forcible touching is a class A misdemeanor.
The Volokh Conspiracy
JUNE 27, 2025
She was protesting the state's law banning transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The law makes it a crime for an individual to refuse to leave a restroom or changing area assigned to the opposite sex when asked to by a government employee. It applies in government buildings.
JonathanTurley
JULY 11, 2021
which states a person who commits any primary offense — such as misdemeanor property destruction — with the intent to “intimidate or terrorize another person or with reason to believe that his action would intimidate or terrorize that person” is subject to a class B misdemeanor primary offense becoming a class A misdemeanor.
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