Wisconsin’s Weird Laws Portray State’s Wacky History

Wisconsin is a state filled with a population of diverse people, and a rich history. The state is also home to some very strange laws, most of which Wisconsinites have never heard of.

Through the help of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), which provided history and context, these laws are examined and unpacked below.

Oleomargarine Regulations

Dairy is a staple in almost every meal in Wisconsin, and it’s safe to say that when it comes to dairy products, Wisconsinites take them pretty seriously. So seriously, in fact, that there are several laws regarding dairy products, specifically butter and margarine.

Wisconsin Statute 97.18 Oleomargarine Restrictions remains a part of Wisconsin law today. The statute also affects more than just the dairy section in the grocery store, with the prison system, Wisconsin schools, and restaurants having to adhere to it, as well.   

Margarine was developed in the late 1860’s and was met with hostility nationwide. Gerry Strey, in an article published in 2001 in The Wisconsin Magazine of History entitled “The ‘Oleo Wars’: Wisconsin’s Fight Over the Demon Spread,” noted that this hostility may have been due to Wisconsin’s agricultural roots.

“The agricultural community saw margarine as an intruder, a counterfeit food alien to values based on the moral and physical superiority of the agrarian life,” said Strey.

According to the LRB, as the dairy industry in Wisconsin matured, farmers began to organize to protect their livelihoods and interests, which in this case was butter. They successfully pushed for legislation restricting margarine in 1881, and more state regulations followed in 1895. Federal regulations were put in place in 1902.

Then the Great Depression in the 1930’s and butter rationing during World War II hit, and margarine was relatively inexpensive compared to butter. Many federal legislators changed their tune and legislation regarding margarine was rolled back in the 1950’s.

However, Wisconsin legislators held firm, despite the feeling of Wisconsin citizens. Wisconsinites would openly defy the state regulations and buy prohibited margarine.

“In the 1960’s the Wisconsin Commissioner of Taxation estimated that some service stations near the state line were selling as much as a ton of margarine per week to Wisconsin customers,” said Strey.

The margarine debate fell ultimately to the rural and urban divide that exists within Wisconsin, with urban legislators favoring access to margarine, and rural legislators wanting to restrict the product to protect Wisconsin dairy farmers.

A compromise, of sorts, was proposed to lift most restrictions on margarine in the 1967 Assembly Bill 359, which was passed and became 1967 Act 42. The remaining statutes, 97.18, prohibiting the substitution of butter in places like prisons, schools, and restaurants, may stand in recognition to that compromise.

Tristan Cook, Communications Director for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC), says that Wisconsin prisons adhere to Wisconsin Statute 97.18.

“Pursuant to state law, the Department serves butter to inmates except as ordered by a physician,” said Cook.

The DOC selects the lowest-cost brand that meets the DOC’s and the statutes specifications. Currently, the brand that is being used is Grassland butter, which comes from Greenwood, Wisc.

Cook also noted the difference in cost between butter and margarine.

“Butter costs six cents per eight gram serving and margarine costs three cents per five gram serving,” said Cook.

Restaurants are also required to adhere to statute 97.18.

John Buchel, of Black Shoe Hospitality, which owns and operates Milwaukee restaurants, Maxie’s, Blue’s Egg, and Story Hill BKC, says that butter has always been on the menu.

“We have never offered margarine as a substitute for table butter,” said Buchel.

“We cook much of our food in clarified butter, especially at our brunch restaurants, and it is not an inexpensive endeavor.”

According to Buchel, the original location of Blue’s Egg in Milwaukee goes through more than 1,000 pounds of butter on average each month.

Devin Eichler, owner of Crafty Cow, a restaurant with locations in Oconomowoc, Wisc., and Bay View, Wisc., also uses butter, instead of margarine.

“The reason we use that is because of the flavor,” said Eichler.

As Wisconsin continues to stand as the only state in the United States with oleomargarine restrictions, one thing is for sure, Wisconsinites sure do love their butter. 

Adultery

Adultery is illegal in Wisconsin.

By Wisconsin Statute 944.16, anyone who is a married person who has sexual intercourse with a person who is not the married person’s spouse, or a person who has sexual intercourse with a person who is married to another, can be found guilty of a Class I felony.

If charged with a Class I felony in Wisconsin, the penalty could be a fine not to exceed 10,000 dollars, or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both.

According to the LRB, there is a version of this law that predates statehood, appearing in 1839 territorial laws.

The 1839 law states,

“An Act to provide for the punishment of offences against chastity, morality and decency. 1) That every person who shall commit the crime of adultery shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail, not more than two years, nor less than six months, or by fine not exceeding 300 dollars, nor less than 70 dollars, and when the crime is committed between a married woman and a man who is unmarried, the man shall be deemed guilty of adultery, and be liable to the same punishment.”

Adultery is “nominally illegal,” and therefore “generally not prosecuted by law enforcement authorities, according to a Sex Crime Legislation informational bulletin from 2006.

Most people are unaware that this law still stands, mainly because it’s never prosecuted.

However, in 1989, Donna E. Carroll, a resident of Ashland, Wisc., was prosecuted with the crime.

A New York Times article written by William E. Schmidt, from April 1990, tells the story.

 “Just as Nathanial Hawthorne’s much older story about adultery, ‘The Scarlet Letter,’ served as a morality tale of Puritanism and 17^th-century New England, the state’s decision to prosecute Mrs. Carroll has unfolded as a tale of contemporary morals and manners in northern Wisconsin,” said Schmidt.

Carroll, whose counsel from the ACLU, painted her as an ‘unfortunate victim of a district attorney who has allowed himself to become an instrument of vengeance in the hands of an angry husband,” denied committing adultery.

Her lawyers claimed that Wisconsin’s adultery statute violated Carroll’s right to privacy, and the equality behind the charges.

“They also have questioned the fairness of prosecuting her because her husband at the time, Robert J. Carroll, admitted to his own extramarital affair but was not charged,” said Schmidt, in the article.

Robert J. Carroll was not charged because his offense took place while he was outside of Wisconsin, working as a trucker, a special prosecutor said.

Donna Carroll, admitted to having a sexual encounter with another man, another truck driver, while Carroll and her husband were in the midst of a divorce, according to Schmidt’s article.

Carroll pled not guilty to the claim and demanded a jury trial. Her lawyer could not believe that the charges went as far as they did.

“’I remember having this picture of people all across the state, sitting across the breakfast table from their spouses, opening the newspaper and suddenly spilling coffee all over themselves,” said Carroll’s lawyer, in Schmidt’s article.

Eventually the charges against Carroll were dropped.

Shortly after Carroll was charged, Representative Scott Fergus, a Wisconsin Democrat, introduced legislation in response to Carroll’s charge.

In an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in October 1989, Fergus stated that the repeal seemed necessary.

“The state simply should not be snooping around in our bedrooms wasting valuable time and resources while serious crime is overwhelming our judicial system,” said Fergus.

Despite his efforts, Fergus’ bill failed, and he received letters accusing him of being “immoral and anti-family.” Although adultery is rarely prosecuted, and often a forgotten piece of legislation, the reason why it has stayed so long as a part of Wisconsin law may be because of its moral standing in people’s eyes.

Camping on Highways

Given the unpredictable nature of Wisconsin weather, the idea of camping on a highway seems like a terrible idea. However, if a person decided they wanted to camp on a Wisconsin highway, they could be found guilty of a misdemeanor, fined no more than ten dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for no more than 30 days, according to Wisconsin Statute 86.025.

According to the LRB, this statute was enacted in 1903 Chapter (Act) 52 and it was revised in various years. Representative William C. Cowling, a Republican from Oshkosh, introduced the legislation.

“This bill predates our collection of drafting files and news clippings, making it difficult to pin down Cowling’s intent,” said a legislative analyst at the LRB.

However, according to the LRB, there is an indication that the bill may have come about due to the concern of gypsies in Wisconsin. Gypsies are, historically, an ethnic group that lived mostly in Europe and the Americas after migrating from the northern Indian subcontinent.

Characterized by stereotypes that include living in a travelling caravan, big weddings, and gold bangles, Gypsies have been persecuted for centuries. Hundreds of thousands of gypsies were killed by Nazi’s in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

The law that Cowling introduced, was, according to one 1906 publication, known as the “anti-gypsy law.”

An article from the Rib Lake Herald from February 1903 also mentions the “gypsy bill.” The article noted, according to the LRB, a co-sponsor of the bill’s synopsis of it.

“Senator Sarau says the bill is necessary in the Fox River Valley, as gypsies make a habit of camping along the highways there, and their tents scare the teams. He is also of the opinion that wandering bands of horse traders are a nuisance in any community,” said the article.The days of wandering bands of horse traders and gypsies are long past, and yet this bill remains a part of Wisconsin law. The reason behind the law remaining may just be because the law is no longer enforced, and it’s so small a statute that no one has lobbied for it to be changed.

Right of Way of Livestock

Wisconsin is a state built on the backs of farmer’s and agriculture. The smell of manure, and herds of cows in fields is commonplace when driving through rural areas.

However, if ever a driver is to come across livestock crossing any highway, it is state law to yield right of way to that livestock. And vice versa, the person in charge of that livestock must do their best to open the roadway back up as quickly as possible, per Wisconsin Statute 34.621.

The LRB notes that this statute has been revised several times, however the core of the bill may have been created in 1929’s Act 454. Act 454 overhauled most traffic regulations, and created the “Right of way of livestock,” bill.

It’s very likely that this law came about due to accidents involving livestock and motor vehicles. Also, at this time, in the 1920’s, there was a drastic increase in motor vehicle fatalities as automobiles became more commonplace, which resulted in more detailed traffic codes that were proposed and passed by state legislators.

The LRB, despite not having been able to find a specific incident regarding livestock and motor vehicles, was able to locate a critic writing in 1914 about an issue with livestock and railroad lines.

“The claims paid for livestock killed and injured by trains averaged 27.85 dollars per mile of line,” said the critic.

Paul Maggio, owner of Starry Night Farms in Burlington, Wisc, has never had firsthand experience with livestock and motor vehicles, however he can understand why the statute is still on the books.

“It’s easier to stop a car than a herd of cattle,” said Maggio.

Maggio’s beef farm is contained to one side of the road in which it’s located on but can imagine that there are a lot of farmer’s who get a call from police about an animal that wandered off and was hit by a car.

Wisconsin legislators, for exactly the reasons that Maggio named, may be keen to keep the law on the books.