On Point blog, page 4 of 4
First Amendment – Speech – Criminalized Threat
State v. Douglas D., 2001 WI 47, 243 Wis. 2d 204, 626 N.W.2d 725, reversing unpublished court of appeals decision
For Douglas D.: Eileen A. Hirsch, SPD, Madison Appellate
Issue: Whether purely written speech may be punished as disorderly conduct, § 947.01, even where no disturbance results.
Holding: The disorderly conduct statute, applied to speech alone, is neither overbroad nor “underbroad” (i.e., discriminating on the basis of content),
Harassment, §§ 947.013(1m)(b), (1r) — Sufficiency of Evidence — Act “Accompanied By” Credible Threat
State v. Michael A. Sveum, 220 Wis. 2d 396, 584 N.W.2d 137 (Ct. App. 1998)
For Sveum: Robert T. Ruth
Issue/Holding:
Sveum contends that the evidence was insufficient to prove that “[t]he act [was] accompanied by a credible threat.” The only threats alleged in this case occurred on October 16, 1994, when Sveum, among other things, threatened to “blow [Johnson’s] head off.” The harassing conduct at issue,