Mercer's child porn case to high court

WAUSAU - Former Fond du Lac human resources manager Ben Mercer's child porn possession case is headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Mercer sentenced to a year in jail after being convicted of using his work computer to view child pornography. He resigned in 2005.

Mercer asked for a new trial - arguing the definition of 'possession' wasn't applied correctly - but rather than rule on it, the state Court of Appeals is sending the case directly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The decision reads, in part:

"The law in Wisconsin is clear that a person knowingly possesses child pornography when he or she views a digital image of child pornography and manipulates or otherwise acts on the digital image knowing that the Web browser will automatically save the image on his or her computer. However, no court, and, importantly, no Wisconsin court, has decided whether the defendant may be convicted of knowing possession when the evidence supporting those charges neither shows that the defendant manipulated or acted on the digital image nor that the defendant knew the images would automatically be saved. The issue here concerns this situation. So, the question certified is:

Does a person knowingly possess child pornography when he or she merely views a digital image of child pornography? ...

In sum, a decision on this issue will affect practically all Wisconsin citizens who use the Internet. Such a question of publicae jurae is well-suited for a decision by our state’s highest court. We respectfully tender this case and the issue raised to the Wisconsin Supreme Court."

To read the full ruling, click here.

No date has been scheduled for when the Supreme Court might hear the case, if it agrees to take it. Usually, the high court does not hear oral arguments again until the fall.