Legal Question in Traffic Law in Wisconsin

Traffic Law Compliance for Pedestrians

I was recently charged with failure to

obey sign while in Lake Delton taking

pictures. Initially the charge was trespassing, but the officer lowered

the fine and citation. The statue

listed on the ticket is 346.04(1),

which states a failure to obey an

order, signal or direction of a traffic

officer. My question is how can this

be assessed when the officer did not

see me enter the lake, which was

open to the public along the entire

shoreline except the portion he was

at with a fence and no trespassing

signs. Coming from the lake bed, the

signs would not be visible (they face

the street) and the officer did not see

me willfully enter a restricted area.

Finally, my citation is for a traffic

violation, when in fact the officer did

not have any proof I even had a

vehicle in the area. The space for

vehicle information is blank on the

citation. I am from Minnesota and

would like to know if it is worthwhile

to go back to Lake Delton to fight this

in court or if it would not be worth

the trouble for a $160 violation or if I

can either have the venue moved or

speak to hearing officer over the

phone.


Asked on 7/21/08, 6:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Traffic Law Compliance for Pedestrian in a Lake?

If you had your vehicle in the lake (as strongly suggested by your wording), you definitely may have a problem. While most lakebeds are public land, which often gives swimmers and watercraft rights of access, taking a car into a lake is frowned upon due to the potential for environmental and shoreline damage. If, however, as I suspect, you were instead a pedestrian or swimmer, with no vehicle involved in the matter whatsoever, then it may be inappropriate for you to receive a traffic citation. Obviously, I do not know enough to properly advise you, even if I could. (Unless I represent someone, I can only give observations of a very general nature in online forums such as this one.) Sorry I can't be of more help--feel free to clarify via a private email.

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Answered on 7/27/08, 8:52 pm


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