Wis JI-Criminal 923A

("Intentionally") (With intent to") means that the defendant must have had the purpose to

.2

["Intentionally" also requires that the defendant must have acted with knowledge that

.] 3

Deciding About Intent 4

You cannot look into a person's mind to find intent. 5 Intent to 6

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.

[OPTIONAL LONG FORM]

[Deciding About Intent]

[You cannot look into a person's mind to find intent. You may determine intent directly

or indirectly from all the facts in evidence concerning this offense. You may consider any

statements or conduct of the defendant which indicate state of mind. You may find intent to

7

from statements or conduct, but you are not required to do so. You are sole

judges of the facts, and you must not find the defendant guilty unless you are satisfied beyond

a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to .] 8

When May Intent Exist? 9

While the law requires that the defendant acted with intent to, it does not

require that the intent exist for any particular length of time before the act is committed. The

act need not be brooded over, considered, or reflected upon for a week, a day, an hour, or

even for a minute. There need not be any appreciable time between the formation of the

intent and the act. The intent to may be formed at any time before the act,

including the instant before the act and must continue to exist at the time of the act.

Intent and Motive 10

Intent should not be confused with motive. While proof of intent is necessary to a

conviction, proof of motive is not. "Motive" refers to a person's reason for doing something.

While motive may be shown as a circumstance to aid in establishing the guilt of a defendant,

the State is not required to prove motive on the part of a defendant in order to convict.

Evidence of motive does not by itself establish guilt. You should give it the weight you

believe it deserves under all of the circumstances.