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Assembly Bill Could Make Spitting On Prosecutors A Felony

Assembly Committee Votes To Add Prosecutors To First Responders As Protected Groups

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Beth Cortez-Neavel (CC-BY)  

A state Assembly committee has approved a bill that makes it a felony to spit or throw bodily fluids at a state prosecutor.

The bill passed 9-4 in a party-line vote, with support from Republicans and opposition from Democrats. Under current law it’s only a felony to throw bodily fluids at first responders like police, firefighters and medical personnel. Committing the offense against others is considered a misdemeanor.

State Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, said boosting the penalty for spitting at prosecutors ignores the fact that most who commit the crime are mentally ill prison inmates.

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“I can’t go along with adding more felonies on to the backs of folks that are tortured by their mental illness and incarcerated,” Goyke said.

Republicans argue the higher penalty should deter the spitting, and is justified because of the risk that bodily fluids thrown at a prosecutor could contain dangerous communicable diseases.

State Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc said there’s strong evidence prosecutors are spit on frequently and punishing the perpetrators more harshly should deter the behavior. He added that he would consider legislation in the future to increase the penalty for spitting on other state officials.

State Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, said if it becomes a felony to spit on prosecutors, it also makes sense to boost the penalty for spitting on legislators and judges. He said he’s opposed to creating a privileged class of victims instead of using the current misdemeanor penalties for spitting on anyone.