Wisconsin domestic violence law, Jacobs case didn't meet criteria

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleaded no contest to two charges related to an incident with his girlfriend, during which prosecutors said he pushed her to the ground, but neither charge was for domestic violence because the situation did not meet the statutory requirement.

Josh Jacobs in court

In court:

Jacobs pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges on Sept. 10. A Brown County judge ordered Jacobs to pay a $1,000 fine for a misdemeanor battery charge and approved a deferred judgment agreement on a misdemeanor criminal damage to property charge. 

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

As part of the deferred judgment, Jacobs cannot get in trouble with the law, must do some sort of counseling and battery intervention, stay away from the victim and pay her restitution. If Jacobs does not violate the terms of the agreement within the next year, the charge will be dismissed.

What was Josh Jacobs arrested for?

The backstory:

The charges filed against Jacobs were a far reach from what the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department initially arrested Jacobs on suspicion of in May. Those recommended charges included felony strangulation, and police recommended domestic abuse modifiers on several counts.

Yet, prosecutors never charged Jacobs with domestic abuse or violence charges. The state's law didn't give them the option.

"This case was not charged as a domestic violence case because statutorily, it does not meet the criteria under Wisconsin's domestic violence law that requires that a person be involved in a domestic relationship," Brown County District Attorney David Lasee told the court Thursday.

What is Wisconsin's domestic violence statute?

Dig deeper:

Passed in 1987, the domestic violence statute in Wisconsin limits the criteria for domestic violence to three options: Prosecutors can bring those charges if the defendant and victim were married, had children or lived together.

Jacobs and his then-girlfriend did not satisfy any of those requirements, though advocates said that does not change the domestic nature of the incident. A criminal complaint said Jacobs pushed the victim to the ground after an argument, in which the victim hit her head. The complaint said investigators recovered video from a home surveillance system that showed the struggle.

Push from victim advocates

What they're saying:

Nicholas Matuszewski is executive director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Educational Fund (WAVE). The nonprofit focuses on violence prevention, particularly regarding gun violence and domestic violence. Matuszewski said Thursday's outcome underscores WAVE's work to create a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Wisconsin statutes.

"The biggest effort, at least that WAVE has been helping to lead, over the last several [legislative] sessions, has been to create a new domestic violence misdemeanor charge, which would close the loophole that currently exists in which there is no domestic violence misdemeanor charge and that would have the dual effect of ensuring more people are charged of domestic violence when they do in fact commit domestic violence, and to ensure that those dangerous people do not have access to firearms going forward," Matuszewski said.

What's next:

Such a charge would prohibit the defendant from privileges in the way that a felony conviction would, Matuszewski said. He also said Thursday that several violence prevention advocates have had discussions with bipartisan members of the state Legislature and found support for the bill. Due to political reasons, however, he said the legislation ultimately fell short.

Matuszewski said the new criminal charge remains one of his legislative priorities heading into the next legislative session, which starts next year.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsGreen Bay