Theft is the taking and carrying away of property belonging to another without permission and with an intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.
state of Wisconsin -vs- You
A theft charge is not a conviction. Under Wisconsin law, in order for the state of Wisconsin to obtain a conviction against a person alleged to have committed a theft, the Wisconsin state prosecuting attorney must prove all 4 elements of the crime of theft.
That the alleged defendant intentionally took and away movable property belonging to another person,
That the owner of the property did not give his or her consent for the property to be taken and carried away by another person,
That the alleged defendant knew that the owner had not given his or her consent, and
That the alleged defendant intended to permanently deprive the owner of the property.
Intentionally Took & carried away another person's property
"Intentionally" is a legal term, the definition of which is: to have the mental purpose to commit the crime. In a theft case, the prosecuting attorney must prove that the defendant had the "mental purpose" to take and carry away property.
The "taking and carrying away" element of the crime of theft does not mean that the property must moved to the next state, or even to another room. If the property is moved even slightly, it can be said to have been taken (stolen) and carried off.
Often times, a criminal defense attorney will be able to attack the "intent" of the crime if the defendant did not mean to "take and carry away" the property. In fact, this defense is raised quite often when a person is charge with retail theft (shoplifting) where an item is placed in a shopping bag, and the person claims that they intended to pay for it but just forgot.
owner did not give consent
The prosecutor can usually prove that the owner did not consent to the property being taken by simply asking the owner to testify.
defendant knew that owner did not give consent
The prosecuting attorney must prove that the defendant did not know that the owner did give his or her permission for the defendant to take the property and to carry it away.
permanently deprive owner of property
The state must prove that the alleged defendant intended to permanently deprive the owner of the property, such as if the defendant intended to keep, sell, or give the property to someone else. If however the defendant just "borrowed" the property, with the intent to return it, then he did not intend to keep it permanently. That type of defense has been common in "joy ride" cases in which a defendant borrowed a car and then later abandoned it. Joy ride thefts are sometimes called grand theft auto or grand auto theft.
If the state prosecuting attorney cannot prove that the defendant intended to "permanently deprive" the owner of the property, the state may not be able to get a conviction.
Common Defenses
The most common defenses to a theft crime charge are attacking the intent element of the crime such as if the defendant did not intend to steal, but rather borrow the property, or simply forgot to pay for it.
Wisconsin theft crimes
Wisconsin law prohibits theft as defined above, but the Wisconsin criminal code also contains specific theft crimes such as: theft from a musical performer (bootlegging), theft from a restaurant (dine and dash), theft from a landlord (skipping out on rent), theft from a cable TV service (cable theft), theft from a satellite tV service, theft from a retail store (shoplifting), theft from a library, theft from a shopping cart, and (believe it or not) theft of farm-raised fish (fish hatchery theft).
wisconsin penalty for theft conviction
An important point to keep in mind is that the prosecutors have the discretion to add up the value of all goods and charge the maximum available felony or break up the items to charge several misdemeanors. This often makes a huge difference to someone accused if they don't already have a felony because convicted felons may never own (or even possess) a gun for the rest of their lives and may not vote until their sentence is completed.
A theft conviction can have drastic consequences for future employment or licensing goals. Employers will often look very dimly upon those with convictions for offenses involving "crimes of moral turpitude." Companies and public employers alike either have policies excluding felons or just generally do not trust those with a history of stealing, particularly if there were multiple theft violations or a conviction for thefts that occurred over a very long period of time.
Certain state and federal licenses may be unavailable or more difficult to obtain with a theft conviction, and even a misdemeanor theft conviction can prevent a person from obtaining certain licenses. For example, a person who has been previously convicted of a theft would be prevented from obtaining a law license, a financial broker's license, or securing employment as a police officer.
For information about Wisconsin's penalties for a theft conviction, please refer to the criminal records section :: Theft Penalties ::
For a free initial consultation to discuss your situation, please call 1-866-493-0726, e-mail -
- or send your case information to the attorneys at Birdsall Law Office, S.C..
The criminal defense attorneys at Birdsall Law represent people across the state of Wisconsin and routinely appear in the counties (and cities) listed below.
