| 1 | 1 | | 2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE |
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| 2 | 2 | | LRB-1198/1 |
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| 3 | 3 | | CMH:klm |
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| 4 | 4 | | 2025 SENATE BILL 25 |
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| 5 | 5 | | February 5, 2025 - Introduced by Senators HUTTON, BRADLEY, WANGGAARD, FEYEN, |
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| 6 | 6 | | NASS, TOMCZYK and TESTIN, cosponsored by Representatives MOSES, DUCHOW, |
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| 7 | 7 | | DITTRICH, PIWOWARCZYK, ARMSTRONG, BROOKS, DONOVAN, B. JACOBSON, |
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| 8 | 8 | | PENTERMAN, MURPHY, TUCKER, WICHGERS and BEHNKE. Referred to |
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| 9 | 9 | | Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT to renumber 968.02 (3) and 968.26 (2) (d); to create 968.02 (3) (b) and |
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| 11 | 11 | | 968.26 (2) (d) 2. of the statutes; relating to: court-issued criminal complaints |
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| 12 | 12 | | in officer-involved deaths. |
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| 13 | 13 | | Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau |
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| 14 | 14 | | Under current law, a district attorney has the discretion as to whether or not |
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| 15 | 15 | | to issue a complaint to charge a person with a crime. Current law also provides |
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| 16 | 16 | | that, if a district attorney refuses to issue a complaint against a person, a judge may |
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| 17 | 17 | | conduct a hearing to determine if there is probable cause to believe that the person |
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| 18 | 18 | | committed a crime and, if so, issue a complaint. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Under this bill, when there is an officer-involved death, which is a death that |
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| 20 | 20 | | results directly from an action or an omission of a law enforcement officer, and the |
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| 21 | 21 | | district attorney determined there was no basis to prosecute the officer, a court may |
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| 22 | 22 | | not issue a complaint against the involved officer unless there is new or unused |
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| 23 | 23 | | evidence presented. |
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| 24 | 24 | | The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do |
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| 25 | 25 | | enact as follows: |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 1. 968.02 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 968.02 (3) (a). |
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| 30 | 30 | | 4 2025 - 2026 Legislature |
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| 31 | 31 | | SENATE BILL 25 |
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| 32 | 32 | | - 2 - LRB-1198/1 |
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| 33 | 33 | | CMH:klm |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2 |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. 968.02 (3) (b) of the statutes is created to read: |
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| 36 | 36 | | 968.02 (3) (b) Notwithstanding par. (a), unless there is new or unused |
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| 37 | 37 | | evidence presented, a circuit court may not permit the filing of a complaint against |
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| 38 | 38 | | a law enforcement officer who is involved in an officer-involved death, as defined in |
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| 39 | 39 | | s. 175.47 (1) (c), if a district attorney determines there is no basis to prosecute the |
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| 40 | 40 | | officer. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 3. 968.26 (2) (d) of the statutes is renumbered 968.26 (2) (d) 1. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. 968.26 (2) (d) 2. of the statutes is created to read: |
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| 43 | 43 | | 968.26 (2) (d) 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., unless there is new or unused |
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| 44 | 44 | | evidence presented, the judge may not issue a complaint against a law enforcement |
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| 45 | 45 | | officer who is involved in an officer-involved death, as defined in s. 175.47 (1) (c), if |
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| 46 | 46 | | the district attorney determines there is no basis to prosecute the officer. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 5. Initial applicability. |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) This act first applies to determinations made by a district attorney on the |
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| 49 | 49 | | effective date of this subsection. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (END) |
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