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OWI – Defense of Coercion

By: Derek Hawkins//December 27, 2018//

OWI – Defense of Coercion

By: Derek Hawkins//December 27, 2018//

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Dustin Charles Yenter

Case No.: 2017AP2253

Officials: LUNDSTEN, P.J.

Focus: OWI – Defense of Coercion

Dustin Yenter appeals a judgment of conviction for operating while under the influence of an intoxicant and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration, both as a first offense. Yenter contends that he was entitled to raise the defense of coercion pursuant to State v. Brown, 107 Wis. 2d 44, 318 N.W.2d 370 (1982), and that he alleged sufficient facts to present the defense to a jury. I will assume, for purposes of this opinion, that the defense of coercion may be raised as a defense to the citations in this case. However, I agree with the circuit court that, at the time the court ruled on this topic, the facts presented to the court did not support a reasonable finding that a person in Yenter’s position would have reasonably believed that violating the law was the only means of preventing bodily harm to himself or to those people with him. Accordingly, I affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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