STELLA M., PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. DANIEL T.-W., RESPONDENT-APPELLANT., 214 Wis. 2d 591

Summary

The parties lived together. The father spanked one child, leaving red marks visible several hours after the spanking. There were no other injuries. The father yelled at the older child, who was not his child, over disciplinary issues. The older child appeared withdrawn afterwards. The circuit court found physical and emotional abuse. The appellate court reversed. Under Wis. Stat. § 48.02(14g) of the Children's Code, "physical injury" did not cover spanking. However, it did cover "severe or frequent bruising." The court reasoned that the single incident was neither severe nor frequent nor was it even a bruising. "Emotional damage" required harm to a child's psychological or intellectual functioning. There was no evidence of such damage. The fact that a teenager was upset over a man not his father who lived in the home did not establish emotional damage.