SCOW to determine constitutionality of reverse waiver statute
State v. Noah Q. Mann-Tate, 2024AP2585-CR, petition for review of a published court of appeals decision, granted 5/20/26; case activity
In a blockbuster case, SCOW will determine whether Wisconsin’s treatment of children charged with serious crimes passes constitutional muster under a long of line of SCOTUS authorities establishing the unique characteristics of children.
The State’s PFR presents the following issue for review:
Is Wis. Stat. § 970.032(2), facially unconstitutional under the Procedural Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it does not also mandate that the circuit court consider and discuss the “attributes of youth” discussed in dicta in United States Supreme Court decisions about what punishments are categorically barred for juveniles by the Eighth Amendment and whether they are in custody for purposes of Miranda?
Interestingly, SCOW’s order adds some additional issues to the mix:
1. Whether, under State v. Kleser, 2010 WI 88, ¶8, 328 Wis. 2d 42, 786 N.W.2d 144, the reverse waiver statute, while not expressly providing for consideration of the unique characteristics of youth outlined in the court of appeals’ opinion and the constitutional case law, is nevertheless broad enough to encompass those factors as part of the juvenile’s “reasonable latitude to offer admissible evidence for the purpose of meeting his burden to prove the three elements for reverse waiver”; and
2. Whether the trial court erroneously exercised its discretion in denying the motion for reverse waiver based on the record before it.
This case is obviously a big deal, one that could have a massive impact on the justice system in Wisconsin and the juvenile justice system specifically. The Court of Appeals appears to have issued a decision of nationwide interest by applying SCOTUS’s precedent on the unique attributes of youth. Even if SCOW doesn’t find the statute unconstitutional, its additional questions have us wondering if it will still give juvenile justice advocates something in this uniquely tragic case.