On Point

City of Tomah v. Matthew Pudlow, 2010AP1044, District 4, 9/15/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Pudlow: Rick Niemeier, Maggie Premo; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Traveling in reverse at 30 mph, near an intersection with a highway, provided reasonable suspicion to stop:

¶13      The totality of the circumstances provided Officer Furlano with reasonable suspicion to justify an investigative stop of the vehicle in order to investigate Pudlow’s driving behavior,

State v. Drew E. Bergwin, 2010 WI App 137; for Bergwin: Roberta A. Heckes; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Manipulation of Adult Jurisdiction over Juvenile Offense

When  the State brings a criminal charge against an adult defendant for an offense committed as a juvenile, the State must affirmatively show that the delay in charging wasn’t intended to manipualte the system to avoid juvenile court jurisdiction,

State v. Robert Allen, Jr., 2009AP2596-CR , District 1, 9/14/10

court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Allen: Bradley J. Lochowicz; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Interrogation Request for Counsel – Re-Initiation by Suspect

Allen’s invocation of right to counsel terminated his interrogation, but he immediately re-initiated communication with the police by asking “what’s going on”:

¶15      “Even after a suspect in custody asks to speak with a lawyer,

decision below: summary order (not posted); case information here; prior appeal: 2001AP2527-CR; for Balliette: Steven D. Grunder, SPD, Madison Appellate

Issue (from AG’s petition for review):

Is an evidentiary hearing into the effectiveness of post-conviction counsel required in every case where the § 974.06 motion merely makes the conclusory allegation that post-conviction counsel was ineffective for not raising additional challenges to the effectiveness of trial counsel on direct review?

Hakim Naseer v. Circuit Court for Grant County, 2010 WI App 142; pro se

Mandamus – Generally

¶4        A supervisory writ of mandamus is a mechanism by which a court may compel a public official to perform a legally obligated act. State ex rel. Robins v. Madden, 2009 WI 46, ¶10, 317 Wis. 2d 364, 766 N.W.2d 542. Because a supervisory writ “invokes our supervisory authority,

City of Mequon v. James E. Haynor, 2010AP466-FT, District 2, 9/8/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Haynor: Peter L. Ramirez; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Expert Witness Qualifications – Lab Chemist: Physiological Effects of Drugs

The trial court didn’t erroneously exercise discretion in qualifying as an expert, the supervisor of forensic toxicology at the Wisconsin  State Laboratory of Hygiene on the matter of how certain drugs interact and impair judgment,

County of Washington v. Michael D. Brazee, 2010AP687, District 2, 9/8/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Brazee: Walter Arthur Piel, Jr.; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Probable cause to arrest found notwithstanding absence of PBT, given erratic driving, admission of drinking 8-10 beers, and failed field sobriety test performance:

¶17    Brazee seems to be asserting that under Renz I and Renz II,

7th circuit decision

Habeas – Limits on Cros-Examination

State court limitation on impeachment of a witness — so as to exclude that portion of a pre-trial conversation containing the defendant’s “self-serving,” thus inadmissible hearsay, statement — wasn’t an unreasonable application of controlling caselaw.

Determination of whether “state interests, including those reflected in the state’s evidentiary rules, may need to bend in order to ensure that defendants have the right to confront the witnesses against them …

7th Circuit decision; on habeas review of Wis. opinion No. 2005AP2599-CR

Habeas – Filing Deadline – Tolling

The District Court had authority to grant Socha’s pre-filing, pre-deadline request to extend the 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d) deadline for his habeas petition, made on the ground of equitable tolling.

… First, there is no absolute bar imposed by Article III on judicial actions closely connected with a case or controversy that has not yet been filed.

State v. Christopher Melendrez, 2009AP2070, District 4, 9/2/10

court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Melendrez: David R. Karpe; BiC; Resp.; Reply

SVP – Retroactivity of Qualifying Offense Legislation

Third-degree sexual assault wasn’t an SVP-qualifying offense when Melendrez plea-bargained a reduction of 2nd-degree sexual assault to 3rd. But by the time he was released from prison,