CHAPTER 942
CRIMES AGAINST REPUTATION AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
942.03 Giving false information for publication.
942.06 Use of polygraphs and similar tests.
942.07 Use of genetic tests.
942.01(1)(1) Whoever with intent to defame communicates any defamatory matter to a third person without the consent of the person defamed is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
942.01(2)
(2) Defamatory matter is anything which exposes the other to hatred, contempt, ridicule, degradation or disgrace in society or injury in the other's business or occupation.
942.01(3)
(3) This section does not apply if the defamatory matter was true and was communicated with good motives and for justifiable ends or if the communication was otherwise privileged.
942.01(4)
(4) No person shall be convicted on the basis of an oral communication of defamatory matter except upon the testimony of 2 other persons that they heard and understood the oral statement as defamatory or upon a plea of guilty or no contest.
942.01 Annotation
The defense of conditional privilege applies to criminal defamation, but the defense is not absolute and may be forfeited if abused. State v. Gilles, 173 W (2d) 101, 496 NW (2d) 133 (Ct. App. 1992).
942.03
942.03
Giving false information for publication. Whoever, with intent that it be published and that it injure any person, and with knowledge that it is false, communicates to a newspaper, magazine, or other publication any false statement concerning any person or any false and unauthorized advertisement is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
942.03 History
History: 1977 c. 173.
942.05
942.05
Opening letters. Whoever does either of the following is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor:
942.05(1)
(1) Knowing that he or she does not have the consent of either the sender or the addressee, intentionally opens any sealed letter or package addressed to another; or
942.05(2)
(2) Knowing that a sealed letter or package has been opened without the consent of either the sender or addressee, intentionally publishes any of the contents thereof.
942.05 History
History: 1977 c. 173;
1993 a. 486.
942.06
942.06
Use of polygraphs and similar tests. 942.06(1)
(1) Except as provided in
sub. (2m), no person may require or administer a polygraph, voice stress analysis, psychological stress evaluator or any other similar test purporting to test honesty without the prior written and informed consent of the subject.
942.06(2)
(2) Except as provided in
sub. (2q), no person may disclose that another person has taken a polygraph, voice stress analysis, psychological stress evaluator or any other similar test purporting to test honesty and no person may disclose the results of such a test to any person except the person tested, without the prior written and informed consent of the subject.
942.06(2m)
(2m) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:
942.06(2m)(a)
(a) An employe or agent of the department of corrections who conducts a lie detector test of a probationer or parolee under the rules promulgated under
s. 301.132.
942.06(2m)(b)
(b) An employe or agent of the department of health and family services who conducts a lie detector test of a person under the rules promulgated under
s. 51.375.
942.06(2q)
(2q) Subsection (2) does not apply to any of the following:
942.06(2q)(a)
(a) An employe or agent of the department of corrections who discloses, to any of the following, the fact that a probationer or parolee has had a lie detector test under the rules promulgated under
s. 301.132 or the results of such a lie detector test:
942.06(2q)(a)1.
1. Another employe or agent of the department of corrections.
942.06(2q)(a)2.
2. Another agency or person, if the information disclosed will be used for purposes related to correctional programming or care and treatment.
942.06(2q)(b)
(b) An employe or agent of the department of health and family who discloses, to any of the following, the fact that a person has had a lie detector test under the rules promulgated under
s. 51.375 or the results of such a lie detector test:
942.06(2q)(b)1.
1. Another employe or agent of the department of health and family services.
942.06(2q)(b)2.
2. Another agency or person, if the information disclosed will be used for purposes related to programming or care and treatment for the person.
942.06(3)
(3) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
942.06 History
History: 1979 c. 319;
1995 a. 440.
942.07
942.07
Use of genetic tests. 942.07(1)(c)
(c) "Genetic test" means a test of a person's genes, gene products or chromosomes for abnormalities or deficiencies, including carrier status, that are linked to physical or mental disorders or impairments, or that indicate a susceptibility to illness, disease, impairment or other disorders, whether physical or mental, or that demonstrate genetic or chromosomal damage due to environmental factors.
942.07(2)
(2) No employer, labor organization, employment agency or licensing agency may require or administer a genetic test without the prior written and informed consent of the employe, labor organization member or licensee, or of the prospective employe, labor organization member or licensee, who is the subject of the test.
942.07(3)
(3) No person may disclose to an employer, labor organization, employment agency or licensing agency that an employe, labor organization member or licensee, or a prospective employe, labor organization member or licensee, has taken a genetic test, and no person may disclose the results of such a test to an employer, labor organization, employment agency or licensing agency without the prior written and informed consent of the subject of the test.
942.07(4)
(4) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
942.07 History
History: 1991 a. 117.
