Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 939 - Crimes — general provisions.
939.22 - Words and phrases defined.

939.22 Words and phrases defined. In chs. 939 to 948 and 951, the following words and phrases have the designated meanings unless the context of a specific section manifestly requires a different construction or the word or phrase is defined in s. 948.01 for purposes of ch. 948:
(2) “Airgun" means a weapon which expels a missile by the expansion of compressed air or other gas.
(3) “Alcohol concentration" has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (1v).
(4) “Bodily harm" means physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
(5) “Commission warden" means a conservation warden employed by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
(6) “Crime" has the meaning designated in s. 939.12.
(9) “Criminal gang" means an ongoing organization, association or group of 3 or more persons, whether formal or informal, that has as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts, or acts that would be criminal if the actor were an adult, specified in sub. (21) (a) to (s); that has a common name or a common identifying sign or symbol; and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
(9g) “Criminal gang member" means any person who participates in criminal gang activity, as defined in s. 941.38 (1) (b), with a criminal gang.
(9r) “Criminal intent" has the meaning designated in s. 939.23.
(10) “Dangerous weapon" means any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or great bodily harm; any ligature or other instrumentality used on the throat, neck, nose, or mouth of another person to impede, partially or completely, breathing or circulation of blood; any electric weapon, as defined in s. 941.295 (1c) (a); or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
(11) “Drug" has the meaning specified in s. 450.01 (10).
(12) “Felony" has the meaning designated in s. 939.60.
(14) “Great bodily harm" means bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury.
(15) “Hazardous inhalant" means a substance that is ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced into the human body in a manner that does not comply with any cautionary labeling that is required for the substance under s. 100.37 or under federal law, or in a manner that is not intended by the manufacturer of the substance, and that is intended to induce intoxication or elation, to stupefy the central nervous system, or to change the human audio, visual, or mental processes.
(16) “Human being" when used in the homicide sections means one who has been born alive.
(18) “Intentionally" has the meaning designated in s. 939.23.
(19) “Intimate parts" means the breast, buttock, anus, groin, scrotum, penis, vagina or pubic mound of a human being.
(20) “Misdemeanor" has the meaning designated in s. 939.60.
(20d) “Offense against an elderly or vulnerable person" means a violation of s. 940.285 (2) (a) that caused death, great bodily harm, or bodily harm to the victim or s. 940.295 (3) (b) that caused death, great bodily harm, or bodily harm to the victim.
(20m) “Offense related to ethical government" means a violation of s. 13.69 (6m), 19.58 (1) (b), or 946.12.
(21) “Pattern of criminal gang activity" means the commission of, attempt to commit or solicitation to commit 2 or more of the following crimes, or acts that would be crimes if the actor were an adult, at least one of those acts or crimes occurs after December 25, 1993, the last of those acts or crimes occurred within 3 years after a prior act or crime, and the acts or crimes are committed, attempted or solicited on separate occasions or by 2 or more persons:
(a) Manufacture, distribution or delivery of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog, as prohibited in s. 961.41 (1).
(b) First-degree intentional homicide, as prohibited in s. 940.01.
(c) Second-degree intentional homicide, as prohibited in s. 940.05.
(d) Battery, as prohibited in s. 940.19 or 940.195.
(e) Battery, special circumstances, as prohibited in s. 940.20.
(em) Battery or threat to witness, as prohibited in s. 940.201.
(f) Mayhem, as prohibited in s. 940.21.
(g) Sexual assault, as prohibited in s. 940.225.
(h) False imprisonment, as prohibited in s. 940.30.
(i) Taking hostages, as prohibited in s. 940.305.
(j) Kidnapping, as prohibited in s. 940.31.
(k) Intimidation of witnesses, as prohibited in s. 940.42 or 940.43.
(L) Intimidation of victims, as prohibited in s. 940.44 or 940.45.
(m) Criminal damage to property, as prohibited in s. 943.01.
(mg) Criminal damage to or threat to criminally damage the property of a witness, as prohibited in s. 943.011 or 943.017 (2m).
(n) Arson of buildings or damage by explosives, as prohibited in s. 943.02.
(o) Burglary, as prohibited in s. 943.10.
(p) Theft, as prohibited in s. 943.20.
(q) Taking, driving or operating a vehicle, or removing a part or component of a vehicle, without the owner's consent, as prohibited in s. 943.23.
(r) Robbery, as prohibited in s. 943.32.
(s) Sexual assault of a child, as prohibited in s. 948.02.
(t) Repeated acts of sexual assault of the same child, as prohibited in s. 948.025.
(u) Sexual assault of a child placed in substitute care under s. 948.085.
(22) “Peace officer" means any person vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. “Peace officer" includes a commission warden and a university police officer, as defined in s. 175.42 (1) (b).
(23) “Petechia" means a minute colored spot that appears on the skin, eye, eyelid, or mucous membrane of a person as a result of localized hemorrhage or rupture to a blood vessel or capillary.
(24) “Place of prostitution" means any place where a person habitually engages, in public or in private, in nonmarital acts of sexual intercourse, sexual gratification involving the sex organ of one person and the mouth or anus of another, masturbation or sexual contact for anything of value.
(28) “Property of another" means property in which a person other than the actor has a legal interest which the actor has no right to defeat or impair, even though the actor may also have a legal interest in the property.
(30) “Public officer"; “public employee". A “public officer" is any person appointed or elected according to law to discharge a public duty for the state or one of its subordinate governmental units. A “public employee" is any person, not an officer, who performs any official function on behalf of the state or one of its subordinate governmental units and who is paid from the public treasury of the state or subordinate governmental unit.
(32) “Reasonably believes" means that the actor believes that a certain fact situation exists and such belief under the circumstances is reasonable even though erroneous.
(33) “Restricted controlled substance" means any of the following:
(a) A controlled substance included in schedule I under ch. 961 other than a tetrahydrocannabinol.
(b) A controlled substance analog, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m), of a controlled substance described in par. (a).
(c) Cocaine or any of its metabolites.
(d) Methamphetamine.
(e) Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, excluding its precursors or metabolites, at a concentration of one or more nanograms per milliliter of a person's blood.
(34) “Sexual contact" means any of the following if done for the purpose of sexual humiliation, degradation, arousal, or gratification:
(a) The intentional touching by the defendant or, upon the defendant's instruction, by a third person of the clothed or unclothed intimate parts of another person with any part of the body, clothed or unclothed, or with any object or device.
(b) The intentional touching by the defendant or, upon the defendant's instruction, by a third person of any part of the body, clothed or unclothed, of another person with the intimate parts of the body, clothed or unclothed.
(c) The intentional penile ejaculation of ejaculate or the intentional emission of urine or feces by the defendant or, upon the defendant's instruction, by a third person upon any part of the body, clothed or unclothed, of another person.
(d) Intentionally causing another person to ejaculate or emit urine or feces on any part of the actor's body, whether clothed or unclothed.
(36) “Sexual intercourse" requires only vulvar penetration and does not require emission.
(37) “State-certified commission warden" means a commission warden who meets the requirements of s. 165.85 (4) (a) 1., 2., and 7. and has agreed to accept the duties of a law enforcement officer under the laws of this state.
(38) “Substantial bodily harm" means bodily injury that causes a laceration that requires stitches, staples, or a tissue adhesive; any fracture of a bone; a broken nose; a burn; a petechia; a temporary loss of consciousness, sight or hearing; a concussion; or a loss or fracture of a tooth.
(40) “Transfer" means any transaction involving a change in possession of any property, or a change of right, title, or interest to or in any property.
(42) “Under the influence of an intoxicant" means that the actor's ability to operate a vehicle or handle a firearm or airgun is materially impaired because of his or her consumption of an alcohol beverage, hazardous inhalant, of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog under ch. 961, of any combination of an alcohol beverage, hazardous inhalant, controlled substance and controlled substance analog, or of any other drug, or of an alcohol beverage and any other drug.
(44) “Vehicle" means any self-propelled device for moving persons or property or pulling implements from one place to another, whether such device is operated on land, rails, water, or in the air. “Vehicle” does not include a personal delivery device, as defined in s. 340.01 (43fg).
(46) “With intent" has the meaning designated in s. 939.23.
(48) “Without consent" means no consent in fact or that consent is given for one of the following reasons:
(a) Because the actor put the victim in fear by the use or threat of imminent use of physical violence on the victim, or on a person in the victim's presence, or on a member of the victim's immediate family; or
(b) Because the actor purports to be acting under legal authority; or
(c) Because the victim does not understand the nature of the thing to which the victim consents, either by reason of ignorance or mistake of fact or of law other than criminal law or by reason of youth or defective mental condition, whether permanent or temporary.
History: 1971 c. 219; 1973 c. 336; 1977 c. 173; 1979 c. 89, 221; 1981 c. 79 s. 17; 1981 c. 89, 348; 1983 a. 17, 459; 1985 a. 146 s. 8; 1987 a. 332, 399; 1993 a. 98, 213, 227, 441, 486; 1995 a. 69, 436, 448; 1997 a. 143, 295; 2001 a. 109; 2003 a. 97, 223; 2005 a. 273, 277, 435; 2007 a. 27, 97, 127; 2009 a. 28, 276; 2011 a. 35; 2013 a. 83, 214, 265; 2017 a. 13, 364; 2019 a. 68; s. 35.17 correction in (9).
It was for the jury to determine whether a soft drink bottle, with which the victim was hit on the head, constituted a dangerous weapon. Actual injury to the victim is not required. Langston v. State, 61 Wis. 2d 288, 212 N.W.2d 113 (1973).
An unloaded pellet gun qualified as a “dangerous weapon" under sub. (10) in that it was designed as a weapon and, when used as a bludgeon, was capable of producing great bodily harm. State v. Antes, 74 Wis. 2d 317, 246 N.W.2d 671 (1976).
A jury could reasonably find that numerous cuts and stab wounds constituted “ serious bodily injury" under sub. (14) even though there was no probability of death, no permanent injury, and no damage to any member or organ. The phrase “or other serious bodily injury" was designed as an intentional broadening of the scope of the statute to include bodily injuries that were serious, although not of the same type or category as those recited in the statute. La Barge v. State, 74 Wis. 2d 327, 246 N.W.2d 794 (1976).
A jury must find that acts of prostitution were repeated or were continued in order to find that premises are “a place of prostitution" under sub. (24). Johnson v. State, 76 Wis. 2d 672, 251 N.W.2d 834 (1977).
Sub. (14), either on its face or as construed in La Barge, 74 Wis. 2d 327 (1976), is not unconstitutionally vague. Cheatham v. State, 85 Wis. 2d 112, 270 N.W.2d 194 (1978).
Definitions of “under the influence" in this section and in s. 346.63 (1) (a) are equivalent. State v. Waalen, 130 Wis. 2d 18, 386 N.W.2d 47 (1986).
To determine whether an infant was “born alive" under sub. (16), the s. 146.71 standard to determine death is applied, as, “if one is not dead he is indeed alive." State v. Cornelius, 152 Wis. 2d 272, 448 N.W.2d 434 (Ct. App. 1989).
A dog may be a dangerous weapon under sub. (10). State v. Sinks, 168 Wis. 2d 245, 483 N.W.2d 286 (Ct. App. 1992).
Portions of the defendant's anatomy are not dangerous weapons under sub. (10). State v. Frey, 178 Wis. 2d 729, 505 N.W.2d 786 (Ct. App. 1993).
An automobile may constitute a dangerous weapon under sub. (10). State v. Bidwell, 200 Wis. 2d 200, 546 N.W.2d 507 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-0791.
A firearm with a trigger lock is within the definition of a dangerous weapon under sub. (10). State v. Norris, 214 Wis. 2d 25, 571 N.W.2d 857 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-2158.
When a mother agreed to the father taking a child on a camping trip, but the father actually intended to permanently take the child and did abscond to Canada with the child, the child was taken based on the mother's “mistake of fact," which under sub. (48) rendered the taking of the child to be “without consent" and in violation of s. 948.31. State v. Inglin, 224 Wis. 2d 764, 592 N.W.2d 666 (Ct. App. 1999), 97-3091.
The definitions in subs. (9) and (9g) are sufficiently specific that when incorporated into a probation condition they provide fair and adequate notice as to the expected course of conduct and provide an adequate standard of enforcement. State v. Lo, 228 Wis. 2d 531, 599 N.W.2d 659 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-2490.
Sub. (19) includes female and male breasts as each is “the breast of a human being." The touching of a boy's breast constitutes “sexual contact" within the meaning of s. 948.02 (2). State v. Forster, 2003 WI App 29, 260 Wis. 2d 149, 659 N.W.2d 144, 02-0602.
“Materially impaired" as used in sub. (42) does not have a technical or peculiar meaning in the law beyond the time-tested explanations in standard jury instructions. Therefore, the circuit court's response to the jury question to give all words not otherwise defined their ordinary meaning was not error, comported with s. 990.01, and did not constitute an erroneous exercise of discretion. State v. Hubbard, 2008 WI 92, 313 Wis. 2d 1, 752 N.W.2d 839, 06-2753.
Shooting a person in the thigh at a range of 16 to 18 feet with a shotgun is practically certain to cause at least a protracted loss or impairment of the function of the victim's leg and is injury constituting “great bodily harm" within the meaning of sub. (14). The fact that the defendant's conduct was intended to neutralize the threat posed by the victim did not negate the fact that, by firing the shotgun at the victim's thigh, the defendant intended to cause great bodily harm by committing an act that he was aware was practically certain to result in great bodily harm to the victim. State v. Miller, 2009 WI App 111, 320 Wis. 2d 724, 772 N.W.2d 188, 07-1052.

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