Wisconsin Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Perspective: Will Josh Jacobs Play This Year?

Defending Serious Felony Charges in Wisconsin: Forensic Science and the Law Behind High-Stakes Domestic Allegations

When high-profile figures or everyday citizens face severe criminal accusations, the public narrative is instantly set by media headlines and initial police reports. The recent arrest of Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs in Brown County, Wisconsin, underscores how quickly a legal situation can escalate. Booked on multiple criminal allegations, including a felony charge of strangulation and suffocation alongside four additional misdemeanor allegations, Josh Jacobs’ situation highlights a critical reality in the Wisconsin justice system: initial allegations are not evidence, and yet the story of a case begins to cement itself based on what the government claims has occurred despite the accused’s constitutional right to be presumed innocent and the fact that an accused individual cannot be convicted of any crime unless the government satisfies the extremely high legal burden of proving all elements of a crime by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

At Casper Mehlos Law Group, we believe that serious felony defense requires a relentless, collaborative, and oftentimes a deeply scientific approach. To successfully navigate high-stakes litigation in Wisconsin’s state and federal courts, you must understand the exact requirements of the law and have a legal team that has the ability to develop the most powerful defense to support you, including collaborating with forensic science experts and lead investigators to power the defense.

Understanding Wisconsin’s Strangulation and Suffocation Laws (Wis. Stat. § 940.235)

Under Wisconsin law, allegations of domestic violence are treated with extreme severity. The most critical charge leveled during the initial arrest phase in high-stakes domestic cases is often Strangulation and Suffocation, governed by Wisconsin Statute § 940.235.

The Legal Elements of a Class H Felony

To secure a conviction for strangulation and suffocation, the state must prove two distinct elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. The defendant impeded the normal breathing or blood circulation of another person.
2. The defendant did so by applying pressure on the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth.
3. The action was done intentionally and without the other person’s consent.

As a Class H felony in Wisconsin, a conviction carries a maximum penalty of 6 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. Because these charges are classified under domestic abuse enhancers, a conviction also triggers a lifetime ban on firearm possession and severe, permanent damage to a person’s professional career.

The Problem of Objective Proof

In many domestic investigations, law enforcement relies heavily on immediate, highly emotional accounts—such as localized emergency dispatch audio, the statement of an accuser who oftentimes was just involved in an emotionally charged argument with his or her partner, or statements from neighbors who were not present for the altercation. However, in Josh Jacobs’ case, the Brown County District Attorney’s office explicitly noted in the wake of the initial incident that they requested an additional investigation because making a formal charging decision required evaluating whether there was more substantive proof of what happened than the evidence available to them at that time.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers often discover that initial statements do not align with physical evidence. Sometimes that is because half of strangulation events do not result in physical bruising on an actual victim’s neck and sometimes that is because the complaining party is not actually a victim of strangulation. Strangulation victims can have physical signs of injury on their neck such as petechiae, small broken capillaries in the eyes or skin, contusions or larger bruising, and in some cases abrasions or cuts. There are a whole host of other physical injuries associated with an actual strangulation event. When a defense team introduces independent forensic medical experts to review the state’s medical records, gaps between the complainant’s narrative and objective medical science often begin to emerge. For example, if a complainant receives a medical evaluation, the complainant’s subjectively reported symptoms that are documented during the physical assessment may be at odds with the story they give to the police, suggesting they have embellished, lied, or made up injuries to make it appear they were seriously injured during an alleged strangulation event.

Deconstructing the State’s Case: The Science of DNA Transfer Theory

In complex criminal defense, the introduction of forensic science is frequently a double-edged sword for prosecutors. The legacy of the Wisconsin Innocence Project has proven for decades that faulty forensic assumptions and unscientific conclusions lead directly to wrongful accusations. Attorney Mehlos participated in the Wisconsin Innocence Project, which provided an advanced background while working with medical experts to analyze injuries in aggravated assault cases as well as modern forensic science analysis such as DNA Transfer Theory.

Primary vs. Secondary DNA Transfer

Prosecutors may point to the presence of a defendant’s DNA on a victim’s neck, clothing, or personal property as definitive “proof” of physical assault if the complainant did not otherwise have significant interaction with the accused. This conclusion is scientifically flawed. Modern forensic labs use highly sensitive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing capable of replicating minute touch DNA samples. This introduces the reality of secondary and tertiary transfer:

• Primary Transfer: An individual directly touches an object or person, depositing skin cells.
• Secondary Transfer: Individual A shakes hands with Individual B. Individual B then touches an object. Individual A’s DNA is now left on that object, despite Individual A never coming into contact with it. Similarly, emerging science demonstrates that because human beings shed hundreds of thousands up to a million or more epithelial cells daily, activities such as coughing and even talking may trasnmit epithelial cells onto third parties and objects that never touched such that DNA may be positively identified on the object or person despite a lack of contact.

In a cohabitating domestic environment, where individuals share beds, towels, clothing, and common spaces, DNA transfer happens continuously. The discovery of touch DNA in a shared environment tells an investigator absolutely nothing about when or how the biological material arrived there. A high-performance defense team systematically exposes these limitations to prevent the prosecution from misusing scientific data before a jury.

The Intersection of Criminal Law and the NFL Personal Conduct Policy

For professional athletes like Josh Jacobs, the legal battle in a Wisconsin court is only one half of the equation. High-stakes litigation directly impacts multi-million dollar contracts via the NFL Personal Conduct Policy.

Currently, because the Josh Jacobs rejoined the team and iis participating in organized team activities (OTAs) under his normal practice schedule, the franchise is letting the legal process play out. However, the NFL maintains the unilateral authority to place a player on the Commissioner’s Exempt List if an independent review uncovers credible evidence of a violent felony violation. The defense team’s immediate priority during an open, ongoing investigation is to present exculpatory evidence to the District Attorney that tends to prove his innocence  before formal charges are written, effectively mitigating both the criminal and professional fallout.

Relentless Statewide Felony Defense: Casper Mehlos Law Group

Whether you are a professional athlete under the glare of national media or, far more commonly, a citizen facing a catastrophic accusation, the legal problem-solving strategies that are crucial to a successful defense largely remain the samel. The government has an entire apparatus of investigators, analysts, and police officers dedicated to building a case against you. It is the job of successful criminal defense teams to always be several steps ahead of the government’s case by anticipating how key evidence will be used against the accused and countering that evidence with even more compelling evidence demonstrating the client’s innocence.

Led by Attorney Corey Mehlos, Casper Mehlos Law Group delivers a passionate, relentless, collaborative, and evidence that has been crucial to delivering countless successful results for our clients over the years. Operating out of The Carbon Building in Madison, our firm represents clients across all 72 Wisconsin counties. If you are facing serious felony allegations or complex personal injury litigation, contact our Madison office immediately to protect your rights.

Wisconsin Criminal Defense FAQ

Can domestic abuse charges be dropped if the complainant changes their mind in Wisconsin?

Generally, no. In Wisconsin, the state prosecutes criminal offenses, not an alleged victim. Even if a complainant explicitly requests that the charges be dropped, the District Attorney’s office retains sole authority over whether to proceed with the case. Prosecutors frequently pursue domestic cases without the cooperation of a victim, utilizing circumstantial evidence, 911 calls, or medical records. Nonetheless, prosecutors take into account the perspective of the alleged victim before deciding how they should handle the case.

What is the difference between a criminal charge and an arrest allegation?

An arrest allegation occurs when law enforcement believes there is probable cause that a crime was committed, leading to an individual being booked into a county jail or given a summons to voluntarily appear in court. A formal criminal charge only occurs when the District Attorney’s office reviews the police files and chooses to draft a formal Criminal Complaint. As seen in the Josh Jacobs investigation, a DA may choose to delay formal charges while demanding further investigation.

How do successful criminal defense lawyers win strangulation and suffocation cases?

Although strangulation and suffocation cases are rare, our office has a consistent track record of winning these types of cases. During a trial within the last month, we used a combination of consulting with a neck surgeon to evaluate the symptoms of strangulation as well as a dynamic use of force expert, performed physical testing to simulate the alleged events and discern whether what was claimed to have happened could have physically possible, interviewed a dozen key witnesses, and ultimately analyzed the evidence to discern the complainant’s possible motive for lying and critcal contradictions between her changing stories of wha she claimed occurred and how the physical evidence did not corroborate her account of what happened. A lot of work and critical thinking goes into successfully defending these cases. Oftentimes, each case requires a different strategy. The key in all cases is taking a relentless, collaborative appraoch: continuously re-evaluating the case until we build the best possible defense that gives our clients the greatest likelihood of success.

If you or a loved one need to discuss with a criminal defense team how to protect you from allegations of Strangulation or Suffocation, give us a call so we can discuss how we can help you. We’re passionate about defending our clients in these types of cases and we’re happy to help if we can.

Contact Information:

Casper Mehlos Law Group

The Carbon Building, Madison, WI

(608) 298-7601 |  mehloslaw.com