Need a Racine or Kenosha Homicide Attorney?
At Cafferty & Scheidegger, S.C., in Racine and Kenosha Wisconsin, we don’t back down from the most complex and serious criminal defense charges, homicide.
Homicide is the killing of a human being due to the act or failure to act of another. Wisconsin criminal law differentiates between different types of homicides and whether these are intentional or reckless acts. The attorneys at Cafferty & Scheidegger use a network of well-known experts in the fields of forensic science, DNA, fingerprint, accident reconstruction, psychology, and more to counter the prosecution’s assessment of the facts.
If you are under investigation for any degree of manslaughter or murder charges, it is imperative that you have experienced professional legal defense on your side as soon as possible. Our firm is recognized among the region’s pre-eminent criminal defense firms for serious felony charges.
Which Wisconsin Homicide Statute Applies
Wisconsin charges homicide across a graduated set of statutes. The one the District Attorney files determines the sentencing tier and the elements we defend against.
- Wis. Stat. § 940.01: First-degree intentional homicide. Causing death with intent to kill. Class A felony, mandatory life imprisonment.
- Wis. Stat. § 940.02: First-degree reckless homicide. Conduct creating an unreasonable and substantial risk of death, with awareness of that risk. Class B felony, up to 60 years.
- Wis. Stat. § 940.05: Second-degree intentional homicide. Intentional killing with a mitigating circumstance such as adequate provocation. Class B felony, up to 60 years.
- Wis. Stat. § 940.06: Second-degree reckless homicide. Recklessness without the heightened mental state required for first degree. Class D felony, up to 25 years.
Self-defense is codified in Wisconsin at Wis. Stat. § 939.48. If the State cannot disprove a reasonable self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant is entitled to acquittal. The difference between first and second degree, or between intentional and reckless, is often the most important issue in the case.
Why Work With Cafferty & Scheidegger?
Mr. Cafferty has more than 32 years of experience fighting to protect the rights of people charged with society’s highest crimes. The team at Cafferty & Scheidegger have successfully handled more than 50 trials involving all degrees of homicide in state and federal courts in Southeastern Wisconsin:
- First degree murder
- Second degree murder, manslaughter
- Negligent homicide, reckless homicide
- OWI homicide, drunk driving fatal accident
- Self-defense, justifiable homicide
Homicide Defense by Charge
Every homicide prosecution in Wisconsin is driven by which statute the District Attorney files. Each of these sub-pages walks through elements, penalties, and defense angles for a specific charge:
- First-degree intentional homicide, § 940.01, Class A felony, mandatory life.
- Second-degree intentional homicide, § 940.05, Class B felony, 60-year max.
- First-degree reckless homicide, § 940.02, Class B felony, covers what people call “negligent homicide” and drug-delivery deaths.
- Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, § 940.09, Class D felony, the OWI-fatality charge.
Related Violent-Crime Defense
Homicide is the most serious charge in a broader category of violent-crime defense we handle:
- Domestic violence and assault defense
- Battery and assault (simple, substantial, aggravated)
- Gun and weapons charges
Contact an Experienced Racine and Kenosha Homicide Lawyer
From the Cafferty & Scheidegger offices in Kenosha and Racine, our criminal defense lawyers defend the rights of people charged with state and federal criminal offenses throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Contact the firm to arrange a free initial consultation with an experienced murder defense lawyer right away. You are welcome to call or text us 24 hours a day at 262-632-5000.
