Wisconsin State Laws

In 1673 Jacques Marquette discovered the Wisconsin River for France. However he found that this land was already inhabited by the Algonquian Indians. After several translations and misspellings, the name Wisconsin became the land's official name when it became a territory in 1845.

Due to misinterpretations, the origins of the Indian name are rather unknown, though many believe Wisconsin to be mean "red" for the red stones in the area. After becoming a state Wisconsin began creating its own laws to govern its citizens. These laws included taxes and gave way to the current non-taxing of intangible property. Other laws are designed to fill in where federal laws have not been set. Many of these include bankruptcy laws, labor laws, divorce laws, expungement laws, felony conviction laws, gun laws, and drunken driving laws.

Bankruptcy
In 2005 the federal government created a bankruptcy act that put new regulations on the national system. This in turn affected each state, including Wisconsin. The new act sets limitations on who qualifies for Chapter Seven bankruptcy and for who is eligible for bankruptcy altogether.

The Bankruptcy Act was created to decrease the abuse the bankruptcy system received. Not all applications for bankruptcy will be granted. Wisconsin currently has two kinds of bankruptcy: Chapter Thirteen bankruptcy and Chapter Seven bankruptcy. Upon eligibility an individual will have his or her personal income and debts measured against the mean of the state of Wisconsin. Depending on where he or she falls against the state's mean, he or she will be granted either kind of bankruptcy.

Divorce
Each state has different grounds and requirements for filing for divorce in that state. Wisconsin requires that those filing for Wisconsin divorces first be state residents for six months or more before filing. Since the circuit courts of each county have jurisdiction over divorce, all divorce cases are to be filed to an individual's county of residency.

Only one individual is required to file and may do so in his or her own county or that of his or her spouse, if the spouse resides in a different county. Wisconsin also allows petitions for divorce of those who are not citizens but have spouses that are current Wisconsin residents. If a petition is filed to the incorrect county, the case will be dismissed.

Expungement
Wisconsin does not have expungement of records. Instead this state has record sealing where the records are not eliminated but hidden from public viewing. Normally felony offense records, sexual offense records, and misdemeanor offense records cannot be sealed. In some cases misdemeanor records may be sealed if an individual was a juvenile offender and has completed his or her probation. Despite these reasons the court may deny a sealing request if it finds it not to be in favor of the court.

Gun Laws
Open carry is illegal in the state of Wisconsin. Concealed weapons are also illegal, even when individuals have the correct permits. This includes on a person, in a motor vehicle, in government buildings, on school property, near an alcohol-serving establishment, and in state parks. All weapons that are transferred must be unloaded and securely encased.