2021 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 939 - Crimes — general provisions.
939.65 - Prosecution under more than one section permitted.

939.65 Prosecution under more than one section permitted. Except as provided in s. 948.025 (3), if an act forms the basis for a crime punishable under more than one statutory provision, prosecution may proceed under any or all such provisions.

History: 1993 a. 227.

Due process does not require that a person know with certainty which crime, among several, the person is committing, at least until the prosecution exercises its charging discretion. Harris v. State, 78 Wis. 2d 357, 254 N.W.2d 291 (1977).

The district attorney had the discretion to charge the defendant with a Class A misdemeanor offense of sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older under s. 948.09, a Class I felony offense of exposing intimate parts under s. 948.10 (1), and a Class D felony offense of child enticement with intent to expose intimate parts under s. 948.07 (3). It was not absurd to penalize the defendant for the felony crime of exposing intimate parts, which would be practically necessary for the misdemeanor intercourse to occur. State v. Matthews, 2019 WI App 44, 388 Wis. 2d 335, 933 N.W.2d 152, 18-0845.