Wisconsin Carry funded case wins on appeal
Wisconsin Carry funded appeal SUCCESSFUL:
In July of 2013 Mark Hoffman went for a walk while open carrying. He was stopped by Village of Somerset police. Mark politely declined to answer questions and wished to continue on his walk. The police told him he was "under arrest for being heavily armed". Mark was issued a citation for loitering and obstruction of a police officer. Wisconsin Carry funded an attorney for Mr. Hoffman. At the municipal court he was found not guilty of obstruction but guilty of loitering. Wisconsin Carry funded an appeal of the guilty conviction on the loitering charge.
A circuit court affirmed the municipal court ruling finding Mark guilty of loitering. Wisconsin Carry appealed to the District III court of appeals.
Wisconsin Carry is pleased to announce that today the appeals court has overturned Mark's conviction for loitering. The appellate court found the only reason Mark was cited was because he was engaged in the LAWFUL activity of open carrying a firearm and that Wisconsin's preemption statute 66.0409(6) prohibits one from being convicted of loitering if the sole cause of alarm is carrying a firearm without evidence of criminal or malicious intent.
Wisconsin Carry would like to thank Attorney John Monroe AND our dues paying members who's annual membership dues provide the monies we use to fund these lawsuits. If you are a dues paying Wisconsin Carry member, please take pride that YOU are responsible for this victory for gun rights in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Carry will continue to leverage a 4 pronged strategy to preserve and expand the right to carry in the state of Wisconsin.
- Grass roots legislative activism
- Litigation
- Education
- Public relations
A copy of the District III court of appeals ruling is available here: /Content/files/blogs/Hoffman_Ct_App_Opinion.pdf