INFO

About Us

Chris Van Wagner

Tracey Wood

Wisconsin Practice

US Federal Practice

Accomplice

Accomplice Liability

Vicarious Liability

Arrest

Arrested? Now What?

Drunk Driving Arrests

Courts

Wisconsin Circuit Court Websites

Trials

Jury Selection

Jury Trials

Jury Trial Order

Jury Trial Procedures

Jury Instructions

No Double Jeopardy

Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Sequestration Of Jurors

Witnesses

Hostile Witnesses

Web Details

Legal Disclaimer

Privacy Policy

CRIMES & OWI

Drunk Driving

Homicide

Accomplice Liability

Causation

Conspiracy

Felony Murder

Homicide of a Corpse

Mercy Killing

Solicitation

Murder

Vehicular Homicide

Defenses

Affirmative Defenses

Excuse

  Consent

  Duress

  Intoxication

  Mental Defect

  Youth

Justification

  Defense of Others

  Self Defense

Mitigating Circumstances

  Coercion

  Imperfect Self Defense

  Necessity

  Provocation

Crimes Against Property

  Theft Crimes

  Larceny

White Collar Crimes

Insanity

Under common law principles, if a defendant can prove that he was insane at the time that the crime was committed, criminal liability will not attach. In order to prove insanity, the defendant must be proclaimed insane. Insanity is a legal term defining a mental disease.

At common law, the three primary tests for proving insanity are: M'Naughten, the irresistible impulse rule, the MPC, and in some jurisdictions, the Durham rule.

The M'Naghten rule is used in a majority of jurisdictions. This rule is often known as the "right & wrong" rule. The rule provides that criminal liability will not be imposed if it can be proven that the defendant was not capable of knowing right from wrong at the time that the crime was committed and that he did not understand the nature and quality of his decisions or was not capable of understanding that his actions were wrong. The aspect of what is right and wrong may apply to both legal wrongs and moral wrongs.

Under common law's irresistible impulse rule, the M'Naghten rule is employed, but in addition to it, a test is also conducted of the defendant's volitional capabilities.

Under the Model Penal Code (MPC) rule, a substantial capacity test can be applied that considers both the cognitive ability and the volitional capabilities of the defendant at the time that the crime was committed.

Diminished Capacity

Under common law principles and in most jurisdictions today, the affirmative defense of diminished capacity provides an affirmative excuse for the commission of a crime.

Intoxication & Insanity

Involuntary intoxication is, in effect, an insanity defense to a specific intent crime that rests upon the ability to prove that the defendant was without an ability to form the mind necessary to understand the results of his actions. A person who is declared legally insane in incapable of forming the mind required for the mental element of the crime.

Contact Van Wagner & Wood

Information about the office location of Van Wagner & Wood, the areas of law in which they most frequently represent people, and the cities and counties where Attorney Chris Van Wagner & Attorney Tracey Wood most frequently appear are listed below. If you reside outside of these areas, you may want to call the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood to ask if they can help you through representing you or referring you to a lawyer they know.

Offices of Van Wagner & Wood

Van Wagner & Wood's office is located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Doty Street. 10 East Doty is located on the outside of the first circle surrounding the capitol building. You can park under the building by entering the parking lot from Doty Street. If you park under 10 East Doty, the offices of Van Wagner & Wood will validate your parking ticket so that you do not have to pay to park. If the parking ramp is full, there are numerous parking places surrounding 10 East Doty, as well as a public parking ramp on State street.

Appeals & Serious Crimes - Homicide - Murder

Van Wagner & Wood's criminal defense lawyers handle appeals to both the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court, as well as both state and Federal court systems for people convicted of a crime who believe their conviction or sentence were wrong. Most often, the appeals that they handle are to federal court because very few attorneys handle these types of appeals; Attorney Chris Van Wagner was a US Attorney in Wisconsin before entering private practice. Often times, people from across the United States hire Attorney Van Wagner for a Federal or a state appeal for serious crimes including homicide, RICO (Racketeering), felony murder, negligent homicide, vehicular homicide, or sexual assault. Attorney Tracey Wood handles appeals to Wisconsin State Court of Appeals and Wisconsin Supreme Court for charges or convictions stemming from a Wisconsin trial.

Federal Crimes

Former Federal prosecutor, Attorney Chris Van Wagner, handles Federal cases, which includes Federal drug crimes and other Federal criminal charges.

Drug Crimes

The criminal defense attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood handle cases involving drug offenses in which the accusation is made by either a state or a Federal prosecutor, arrests by state officials or Federal agents, and other drug cases such as those handled by the DEA.

Van Wagner & Wood's criminal defense lawyers represent people located across the state of Wisconsin in matters involving state drug charges including the following counties and cities.

Adams (Adams, Wisconsin Dells), Ashland (Ashland), Barron (Barron), Bayfield (Washburn, Bayfield), Buffalo (Buffalo City, Mondovi), Burnett (Siren), Chippewa (Chippewa Falls), Clark (Abbotsford), Columbia (Columbus), Crawford (Prairie du Chien), Dane (Belleville, Black Earth, Blue Mounds, Brooklyn, Cambridge, Cottage Grove, Cross Plains, Dane, Deerfield, DeForest, Fitchburg, McFarland, Madison, Maple Bluff, Marshall, Mazomanie, Middleton, Monona, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Rockdale, Shorewood Hills, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee, Windsor), Douglas (Superior), Dunn (Menomonie), Eau Claire (Abbotsford, Eau Claire), Grant (Mount Hope, Lancaster, Fennimore), Green (Monroe), Iowa (Mineral Point, Dodgeville), Jackson (Black River Falls), Jefferson (Jefferson), Juneau (Mauston), La Crosse (LaCrosse, Lafayette, Darlington), Marathon (Wausau), Monroe (Sparta), Pepin (Durand), Pierce (River Falls), Polk (St Croix Falls), Portage (Stevens Point), Price (Park Falls), Richland (Richland Center), Rock (Janesville), Rusk (Ladysmith), St Croix (Hudson), Sauk (Sauk City), Taylor (Medford), Trempealeau (Whitehall), Washburn (Spooner), and Wood (Wisconsin Dells) counties.

Drunk Driving (OWI, DUI, DWI)

Wisconsin's foremost authority on drunk driving laws, Attorney Tracey Wood, consults with lawyers and law firms throughout the United States to help them build successful strategies for very complex cases. In Wisconsin, Attorney Wood most frequently represents people located in the following areas.

Madison (Dane County), Richland Center (Richland County), La Crosse (La Crosse County), Jefferson (Jefferson County), Wisconsin Dells (Columbia County and Sauk County), Stevens Point (Portage County), Dodgeville and Mineral Point (Iowa County), Portage (Columbia County) and Montello (Marquette County).

Sexual Assault & Sex Crimes

Van Wagner & Wood's attorneys represent people in matters involving sex crimes such as sexual assault, aggravated assault, computer crimes involving pornography, child pornography, and solicitation. Their clients often reside in the following areas.

Dane (Madison, Middleton, Monona, Fitchburg), Green (Monroe), Lafayette (Darlington), Dodge (Beaver Dam, Waupun), Portage (Stevens Point), Wood (Wisconsin Rapids), Sauk (Wisconsin Dells), Columbia (Columbus), Richland (Richland Center) and Juneau (Mauston) area.