Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 946.65 (2026)

Obstructing justice

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WI-LEGdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
946.65946.65Obstructing justice.
946.65(1)(1)Whoever for a consideration knowingly gives false information to any officer of any court with intent to influence the officer in the performance of official functions is guilty of a Class I felony.
946.65(2)(2)“Officer of any court” includes the judge, reporter, bailiff and district attorney.
946.65 HistoryHistory: 1977 c. 173; 2001 a. 109.
946.65 AnnotationOnly conduct that involves a third-party contracting with another to give false information to a court officer in an attempt to influence the performance of the officer’s official function is proscribed by this section. State v. Howell, 141 Wis. 2d 58, 414 N.W.2d 54 (Ct. App. 1987).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1985–2023 · leading case: State v. Canon, 2001 WI 11 (Wis. 2001).
State v. Canon, 2001 WI 11 (Wis. 2001). · cites it 4× “64 (Communicating with jurors); Wis. Stat. § 946.65 (Obstructing justice); Wis.”
Pugin v. Garland, 599 U.S. 600 (2023). “§ 61–5–27 (1996) (same); Wis. Stat. § 946.65 (1996) (same); Ind. Code Ann.”
Silva v. Garland, 27 F.4th 95 (1st Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “2-460 (1996); Wis. Stat. § 946.65 (1996). Of these, only three may have limited the obstruction of justice offenses to those involving a pending or ongoing investigation or judicial proceeding.”
Brunner v. McKillip, 488 F. Supp. 2d 775 (W.D. Wis. 2007). · cites it 2× ““Obstruction of justice” refers to the crime penalized under Wis. Stat. § 946.65 , which states, “Whoever for a consideration knowingly gives false information to any officer of any court with intent to influence the officer in the performance of official functions is guilty of…”
State v. Howell, 414 N.W.2d 54 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 7× “] Howell argues that although he lied about his prior criminal record and, as a result, received a favorable bail ruling, the "consideration” element of a sec. 946.65, Stats., charge was not present because he exchanged nothing of value with trial court.”
Pugin v. Garland, 599 U.S. 600 (2023). “§61–5–27 (1996) (same); Wis. Stat. §946.65 (1996) (same); Ind. Code Ann.”
Pfeil v. Rogers, 757 F.2d 850 (7th Cir. 1985). “Finally, Wis.Stat. § 946.65(1) provides that “[wjhoever for a consideration knowingly gives false information to any officer of any court with intent to influence the officer in the performance of official functions is guilty of a Class E felony.”
Valenzuela Gallardo, 27 I. & N. Dec. 449 (2018). · cites it 2× “2-460 (1996); Wis. Stat. § 946.65 (1996). Of these jurisdictions, three States limited the concept of obstruction of justice to offenses involving interference in a pending or ongoing investigation or judicial proceeding.”
State v. Aufderhaar, 2004 WI App 208 (Wis. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “The State cites absolutely no authority for this proposition but simply argues that, because Aufderhaar has not submitted any authority to negate the State's position, we must accept the State's argument.”
— Wis. Stat. § 946.65(1) — 1 case
Pfeil v. Rogers, 757 F.2d 850 (7th Cir. 1985). “Finally, Wis.Stat. § 946.65(1) provides that “[wjhoever for a consideration knowingly gives false information to any officer of any court with intent to influence the officer in the performance of official functions is guilty of a Class E felony.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.