State v. Hahn

In this appeal, the State candidly acknowledges that it seeks to establish that video poker machines are "gambling machinéis]" per se. In its prosecution of deféndant Lester Hahn for collecting the proceeds of "any gambling machine," contrary to § 945.03(5), Stats., 1 it claims that it need prove only that Hahn knew that the proceeds he collected resulted from the operation of video poker machines. The trial court disagreed and in a pre-trial order proposed to instruct the jury that before they could find Hahn guilty, they had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly and…