WI · jury_instructions
Wis JI-Criminal 2168
Interference with the Custody of a Child by a Parent: Concealing a Child
Statutory Definition of the Crime
Interference with the custody of a child by a parent, as defined in § 948.31(3)(a) of
the Criminal Code of Wisconsin, is committed by (a parent) (any person acting pursuant
to directions from a parent) who intentionally conceals a child from the child's other
parent.
State's Burden of Proof
Before you may find the defendant guilty of this offense, the State must prove by
evidence which satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that the following four elements
were present.
Elements of the Crime That the State Must Prove
1. On (date of alleged offense), (name of child) had not attained the age of 18
years. 2
2. (Name of defendant) was (a parent) 3 (acting pursuant to directions from a
parent) of (name of child).
3. (Name of defendant) concealed (name of child) from the other parent.
"Conceal" means to hide the child or do something else which prevents or
makes more difficult the discovery of the child by the other parent. 4
4. The defendant intentionally concealed (name of child).
This requires that the defendant acted with the purpose 5 to conceal (name of
child) from the other parent and to interfere with that parent's custody rights. 6
Deciding About Intent
You cannot look into a person's mind to find intent. Intent must be found, if found at
all, from the defendant's acts, words, and statements, if any, and from all the facts and
circumstances in this case bearing upon intent.
Jury's Decision
If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that all four elements of this offense
have been proved, you should find the defendant guilty.
If you are not so satisfied, you must find the defendant not guilty.
History
Wis JI-Criminal 2168 (2009). Release No. 47, 5/2009. © 2009, Regents, Univ. of Wis. Prepared by the Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.
Provenance
- Source
- wilawlibrary.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
b752f94c95a9e43d1a1fc8954c5c6078ece96232d5d82e7ac0b6f5b50d6f6d1c
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.