SB82-SSA1,931 6Section 931. 979.04 of the statutes is renumbered 968.015 and amended to
7read:
SB82-SSA1,281,21 8968.015 Inquests: when When inquests may be called. (1) If the district
9attorney has notice of the death of any person and there is reason to believe from the
10circumstances surrounding the death that the person was a victim of felony murder,
11first-degree or 2nd-degree intentional homicide, first-degree or 2nd-degree
12reckless homicide, homicide by negligent handling of dangerous weapon, explosives,
13or fire, homicide by negligent operation of vehicle, homicide resulting from negligent
14control of a vicious animal or, homicide by intoxicated user use of a vehicle or firearm
15may have been committed, or that death may have been due to suicide or the person
16died under
unexplained or suspicious circumstances, the district attorney may order
17that an inquest be conducted for the purpose of inquiring how the person died. The
18district attorney shall appear in any such inquest representing the state in
19presenting all evidence which may be relevant or material to the inquiry of the
20inquest. The inquest may be held in any county in this state in which venue would
21lie for the trial of any offense charged as the result of or involving the death.
SB82-SSA1,281,23 22(4) An inquest may only be ordered only by the district attorney acting under
23this subsection sub. (1) or by the circuit judge under sub. (2).
SB82-SSA1,282,7 24(2) If the coroner or medical examiner has knowledge of the death of any knows
25that a
person has died in the manner or under the circumstances described under in

1sub. (1), he or she shall immediately notify the district attorney. The notification
2shall include information concerning the circumstances surrounding the death. The
3coroner or medical examiner
may request the district attorney to order an inquest
4under sub. (1). If the district attorney refuses to order the inquest, a the coroner
5or medical examiner may petition the circuit court to order an inquest. The court
6may issue the order if it finds that the district attorney has abused his or her
7discretion in not ordering an inquest.
SB82-SSA1,282,13 8(3) Subsequent to receipt of After receiving notice of the death, the district
9attorney may request the coroner or medical examiner to conduct a preliminary
10investigation and report back to the district attorney. The district attorney may
11determine the scope of the preliminary investigation. This subsection does not limit
12or prevent any other investigation into the death by any law enforcement agency
13with jurisdiction over the investigation.
SB82-SSA1,932 14Section 932. 979.05 (title) of the statutes is repealed.
SB82-SSA1,933 15Section 933. 979.05 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 968.025 (1) and amended
16to read:
SB82-SSA1,282,1817 968.025 (1) By whom conducted. An inquest shall be conducted by a circuit A
18judge or a circuit court commissioner shall conduct each inquest.
SB82-SSA1,934 19Section 934. 979.05 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 968.025 (2) and amended
20to read:
SB82-SSA1,282,2321 968.025 (2) Before whom conducted. The inquest shall be conducted before
22a jury unless the district attorney, coroner, or medical examiner requests that the
23inquest be conducted before the judge or circuit court commissioner only.
SB82-SSA1,283,9 24(4) (a) If the inquest is to be conducted before a jury, the clerk shall select, in
25the manner provided in s. 756.06 (1),
a sufficient number of names of prospective

1jurors shall be selected from the prospective juror list for the county in which the
2inquest is to be held by the clerk of circuit court in the manner provided in s. 756.06.
3The judge or circuit court commissioner conducting the inquest shall summon the
4prospective jurors to appear before the judge or circuit court commissioner at the
5time fixed in the summons. The summons may be served by mail, or by personal
6service if the judge, circuit court commissioner, or district attorney determines
7personal service to be appropriate. The summons shall be in the form used to
8summon petit jurors in the circuit courts of the county
to ensure that the jury consists
9of 6 members
.
SB82-SSA1,283,12 10(b) Any person who fails to appear when summoned as an inquest juror is
11subject to a forfeiture of
shall forfeit not more than $40. The inquest jury shall consist
12of 6 jurors. If 6 jurors do not remain
SB82-SSA1,283,18 13(d) If, after all prospective jurors have been examined, fewer than 12 remain
14from the number originally summoned after establishment of qualifications, the
15judge or circuit court commissioner conducting the inquest may require shall direct
16the clerk of the circuit court to select to draw sufficient additional jurors' names.
17Those persons shall be summoned forthwith by the The sheriff of the county shall
18summon those persons immediately
.
SB82-SSA1,935 19Section 935. 979.05 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 968.025 (4) (c) and
20amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,284,921 968.025 (4) (c) The judge or circuit court commissioner shall examine on oath
22or affirmation each person who is called as a juror to discover whether the juror is
23related by blood, or marriage or adoption to the decedent, any member of the
24decedent's family, the district attorney, any other attorney appearing in the case, or
25any members of the office of the district attorney or of the office of any other attorney

1appearing in the case, has expressed or formed any opinion regarding the matters
2being inquired into in the inquest, or is aware of or has any bias or prejudice
3concerning the matters being inquired into in the inquest. If any prospective juror
4is found
The court shall excuse any prospective juror whom it finds to be not
5indifferent or is found to have formed an opinion which that cannot be laid aside, that
6juror shall be excused. The judge or circuit commissioner may select one or more
7alternate jurors if the inquest is likely to be protracted
. This subsection paragraph
8does not limit the right of the district attorney to supplement the judge's or circuit
9commissioner's
examination of any prospective jurors as to qualifications.
SB82-SSA1,936 10Section 936. 979.05 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 968.025 (5) and amended
11to read:
SB82-SSA1,284,1412 968.025 (5) Oath. When 6 After the jurors have been selected, the judge or
13circuit court commissioner
shall administer to them an oath or affirmation which
14shall be substantially in the following form:
SB82-SSA1,284,2015 You do solemnly swear (affirm) that you will diligently inquire and determine
16on behalf of this state when, and in what manner and by what means, the person
17known as .... .... who is now dead came to his or her death and that you will return
18a true verdict thereon according to your knowledge, according to the evidence
19presented, and according to the instructions given to you by the .... (judge) (circuit
20court commissioner)
.
SB82-SSA1,937 21Section 937. 979.05 (5), (6) and (7) of the statutes are renumbered 968.025 (6),
22(7) and (8) and amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,285,623 968.025 (6) Role of district attorney. Prior to the submission of evidence to
24the jury, the judge or circuit court commissioner may instruct the jury on its duties
25and on the substantive law regarding the issues which may be inquired into before

1the jury
The district attorney shall appear in each inquest, represent the state, and
2present all evidence that may be relevant or material to the inquiry of the inquest
.
3The district attorney may, at any time during the course of the inquest, make
4statements to the jury relating to procedural or evidentiary matters he or she and
5the judge or circuit court commissioner deem appropriate. Section 972.12 applies to
6the conduct of the inquest jury.
SB82-SSA1,285,9 7(7) Secrecy and sequestration. The judge or circuit court commissioner
8conducting the inquest may order that proceedings be secret if the district attorney
9so requests or concurs and may sequester the inquest jury under s. 972.05.
SB82-SSA1,285,11 10(8) Juror compensation. Inquest jurors shall receive the same compensation
11as jurors under s. 756.25.
SB82-SSA1,938 12Section 938. 979.06 (title), (1), (2) and (5) of the statutes are repealed.
SB82-SSA1,939 13Section 939. 979.06 (3), (4) and (6) of the statutes are renumbered 968.035 (1),
14(2) and (3), and 968.035 (1) and (2), as renumbered, are amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,285,1915 968.035 (1) Any witness examined at an inquest may have counsel present
16during the examination of that witness. The counsel may consult with a client during
17the examination of that client.
The counsel may not examine or cross-examine his
18or her client, cross-examine or call other witnesses, or argue before the judge or
19circuit court commissioner
holding the inquest.
SB82-SSA1,285,21 20(2) The judge or circuit court commissioner shall administer an oath or
21affirmation to each witness which shall be substantially in the following form:
SB82-SSA1,285,25 22You do solemnly swear (affirm) that the evidence and testimony you give to this
23inquest concerning the death of the person known as .... .... shall be the truth, the
24whole truth and nothing but the truth
and shall cause the testimony given by all
25witnesses to be reduced to writing or recorded
.
SB82-SSA1,940
1Section 940. 979.07 of the statutes is repealed.
SB82-SSA1,941 2Section 941. 979.08 (title) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (title).
SB82-SSA1,942 3Section 942. 979.08 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (1) and amended
4to read:
SB82-SSA1,286,85 968.055 (1) When the Before submitting evidence is concluded and the
6testimony closed
to the jury in an inquest, the judge or circuit court commissioner
7shall
may instruct the jury on its duties and on the substantive law regarding the
8issues that may be inquired into before the jury. The
SB82-SSA1,286,18 9(2) After all of the evidence is presented, the district attorney shall prepare a
10written set of appropriate requested instructions and
shall submit them to the judge
11or circuit court commissioner who, together with the district attorney, a written set
12of proposed instructions on the jury's duties and on the substantive law regarding
13the issues inquired into before the jury. The judge
shall compile the final set of
14instructions which shall be given. The instructions shall include those instructions
15for
criminal offenses for which the judge or circuit court commissioner believes a
16reasonable jury might return a verdict based upon a finding of probable cause. The
17judge shall use the final instructions to instruct the jury and shall provide the jury
18with one complete set of them.
SB82-SSA1,943 19Section 943. 979.08 (2) of the statutes is repealed.
SB82-SSA1,944 20Section 944. 979.08 (3) (intro.) and (4) of the statutes are consolidated,
21renumbered 968.055 (3) (intro.) and amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,287,622 968.055 (3) (intro.) The jury shall retire to consider its verdict after hearing all
23of the testimony and evidence, making all necessary inquiries, and having been
24instructed in the law. The judge or circuit court commissioner shall provide the jury
25with one complete set of written instructions providing the substantive law to be

1applied to the issues to be decided. The verdict shall be in a form which permits the
2following findings:
(4) The jury shall render its verdict shall be based upon a finding
3of probable cause, be unanimous, and be rendered
in writing, signed by all of its
4members of the jury. The verdict shall set forth its the jury's findings from the
5evidence produced according to the instructions. The verdict shall be in a form that
6permits the following findings:
SB82-SSA1,945 7Section 945. 979.08 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (3) (b) and
8amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,287,119 968.055 (3) (b) Whether the deceased came to his or her death by criminal
10means
died as a result of a crime and, if so, the specific crimes committed and the
11name of the person or persons, if known, having who committed the crimes.
SB82-SSA1,946 12Section 946. 979.08 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (3) (a) and
13amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,287,1514 968.055 (3) (a) Whether the deceased came to his or her death by natural
15causes, accident, suicide, or an act privileged by law.
SB82-SSA1,947 16Section 947. 979.08 (5) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (4) and amended
17to read:
SB82-SSA1,287,2018 968.055 (4) The inquest jury's verdict delivered by the inquest jury is advisory
19and does not preclude or require the issuance of any criminal charges by the district
20attorney.
SB82-SSA1,948 21Section 948. 979.08 (6) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (5) and amended
22to read:
SB82-SSA1,288,323 968.055 (5) Any verdict so rendered under sub. (4), after being validated and
24signed by the judge or circuit court commissioner, together with the record of the
25inquest, shall be delivered to the district attorney for consideration. After

1considering the verdict and record, the district attorney may deliver the entire
2inquest record or any part thereof of the record to the coroner or medical examiner
3for safekeeping.
SB82-SSA1,949 4Section 949. 979.08 (7) of the statutes is renumbered 968.055 (6) and amended
5to read:
SB82-SSA1,288,86 968.055 (6) The Except as provided in s. 971.43, the record of a secret inquest
7proceeding shall is not be open for inspection unless so ordered by the judge or circuit
8court commissioner
conducting the inquest upon petition by the district attorney.
SB82-SSA1,950 9Section 950. 979.09 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,288,18 10979.09 Burial of body. If any judge or circuit court commissioner conducts
11an inquest as to the death of a stranger or of a person whose identity is unknown or
12whose body is unclaimed or if the district attorney determines that no inquest into
13the death of such a person is necessary and the circuit judge has not ordered an
14inquest under s. 979.04 968.015 (2), the coroner or medical examiner shall cause the
15body to be decently buried or cremated and shall certify to all the charges incurred
16in taking any inquest by him or her and to the expenses of burial or cremation of the
17dead body. The charges and expenses shall be audited by the county board of the
18proper county and paid out of the county treasury.
SB82-SSA1,951 19Section 951. 979.10 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,289,420 979.10 (2) If a corpse is to be cremated, the coroner or medical examiner shall
21make a careful personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death, and conduct an
22autopsy or order the conducting of an autopsy, if in his or her or the district attorney's
23opinion it is necessary to determine the cause and manner of death. If the coroner
24or medical examiner determines that no further examination or judicial inquiry is
25necessary he or she shall certify that fact. Upon written request by the district

1attorney the coroner or medical examiner shall obtain the concurrence of the district
2attorney before issuing the certification. If the coroner or medical examiner
3determines that further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary, he or she shall
4notify the district attorney under s. 979.04 968.015 (2).
SB82-SSA1,952 5Section 952. 979.11 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,289,14 6979.11 Compensation of officers. The sole compensation of the coroner and
7deputy coroners for attendance at an inquest and for any preliminary investigation
8under this chapter ch. 968 at the direction of the district attorney shall be a
9reasonable sum set by the county board for each day actually and necessarily
10required for the purpose, and a sum set by the county board for each mile actually
11and necessarily traveled in performing the duty. Any coroner or deputy coroner may
12be paid an annual salary and allowance for traveling expenses to be established by
13the county board under s. 59.22 which shall be in lieu of all fees, per diem, and
14compensation for services rendered.
SB82-SSA1,953 15Section 953. 979.22 of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,289,20 16979.22 Autopsies and toxicological services by medical examiners. A
17medical examiner may perform autopsies and toxicological services not required
18under this chapter or under subch. I of ch. 968 and may charge a fee established by
19the county board for such autopsies and services. The fee may not exceed an amount
20reasonably related to the actual and necessary cost of providing the service.
SB82-SSA1,954 21Section 954. 980.015 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,290,222 980.015 (2) (c) The anticipated release of a person on conditional release under
23s. 971.17 971.85, the anticipated termination of a commitment order under 971.17
24s. 971.85, or the anticipated discharge of a person from a commitment order under

1s. 971.17 971.85, if the person has been found not guilty of a sexually violent offense
2by reason of mental disease or defect.
SB82-SSA1,955 3Section 955. 980.031 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,290,124 980.031 (4) If a party retains or the court appoints a licensed physician,
5licensed psychologist, or other mental health professional to conduct an examination
6under this chapter of the person's mental condition, the examiner shall have
7reasonable access to the person for the purpose of the examination, as well as to the
8person's past and present treatment records, as defined in s. 51.30 (1) (b), and patient
9health care records as provided under s. 146.82 (2) (cm), past and present juvenile
10records, as provided under ss. 48.396 (6), 48.78 (2) (e), 938.396 (10), and 938.78 (2)
11(e), and the person's past and present correctional records, including presentence
12investigation reports under s. 972.15 973.004 (6).
SB82-SSA1,956 13Section 956. 980.036 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,290,1614 980.036 (2) (c) Evidence obtained in the manner described under s. 968.31
15968.345 (2) (b), if the prosecuting attorney intends to use the evidence at the trial or
16proceeding.
SB82-SSA1,957 17Section 957. 980.036 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,291,218 980.036 (6) Protective order. Upon motion of a party, the court may at any
19time order that discovery, inspection, or the listing of witnesses required under this
20section be denied, restricted, or deferred, or make other appropriate orders. If the
21prosecuting attorney or the attorney for a person subject to this chapter certifies that
22listing a witness under sub. (2) (e) or (3) (a) may subject the witness or others to
23physical or economic harm or coercion, the court may order that the deposition of the
24witness be taken under s. 967.04 (2) to (6) 967.21. The name of the witness need not
25be divulged prior to the taking of such deposition. If the witness becomes unavailable

1or changes his or her testimony, the deposition shall be admissible at trial as
2substantive evidence.
SB82-SSA1,958 3Section 958. 995.50 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB82-SSA1,291,64 995.50 (7) No action for invasion of privacy may be maintained under this
5section if the claim is based on an act which is permissible under ss. s. 196.63 or
6968.27 to 968.373 under subch. IV of ch. 968.
SB82-SSA1,959 7Section 959. Initial applicability.
SB82-SSA1,291,9 8(1) This act first applies to prosecutions commenced on the effective date of this
9subsection.
SB82-SSA1,291,11 10(2) This act first applies to proceedings, commitments, and requirements
11related to offenses committed on the effective date of this subsection.
SB82-SSA1,960 12Section 960. Effective date.
SB82-SSA1,291,1413 (1) This act takes effect on March 1, 2017, or on the day after publication,
14whichever is later.
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