On Point blog, page 103 of 117

Appeals — Harmless Error — Suppression Appeal

State v. Xavier J. Rockette, 2005 WI App 205
For Rockette: Timothy A. Provis

Issue/Holding: Issue/Holding: Trial court’s error in refusing to order suppression of statement was harmless under § 971.31(10), under following circumstances:

¶27      We conclude that the result in this case would have been the same beyond a reasonable doubt even if the circuit court had granted Rockette’s suppression motion, given the overwhelming incentives Rockette had to plead rather than go to trial. 

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Evidence, Admissibility – Sufficiency of Objection

State v. Van G. Norwood, 2005 WI App 218
For Norwood: Terry Evans Williams

Issue: Whether objection to admissibility of a defendant’s statement on the ground that it was “an offer of settlement” (which thus raised a § 904.08 bar) sufficed to raise a § 904.10 objection of an inadmissible offer to plead guilty.

Holding:

¶17      First, at the very least, trial counsel’s objection should have led the court to Wis.

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Serial Litigation Bar (Escalona-Naranjo): Applicable to No-Merit Report, § 809.32 (Anders Appeal)

State v. Christopher G. Tillman, 2005 WI App 71
Tillman, pro se

Issue/Holding:

¶2. The issue on the instant appeal is whether the procedural bar of Escalona-Naranjo may be applied when a prior appeal was processed under the no merit procedure set forth in Wis. Stat. Rule 809.32. For the reasons stated below, we conclude that the procedural bar of Escalona-Naranjo,

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No-Merit Appeal: Generally

State v. Christopher G. Tillman, 2005 WI App 71
Tillman, pro se

Issue/Holding:

¶16. The no merit appeal procedure has its genesis in Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and is codified in Wis. Stat. Rule 809.32. … Any motion to withdraw pursuant to Anders “necessarily implicates the merits of an appeal, because the premise of the motion is that the appeal is frivolous.”

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Enlargement of Direct Appeal Deadline Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel – Habeas As Exclusive Mechanism

State v. Iran D. Evans, 2004 WI 84, reversing unpublished decision of court of appeals
For Evans: Robert R. Henak

Issue/Holding: The petition for writ of habeas corpus procedure mandated by State v. Knight, 168 Wis. 2d 509, 522, 484 N.W.2d 540 (1992) is the exclusive mechanism for seeking reinstatement of direct appeal deadlines lost on account of ineffective assistance of counsel;

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Appellate Procedure: Finality of Order

Derek J. Harder v. Carol L. Pfitzinger, 2004 WI 102

Issue/Holding:

¶15. If there are no further documents in the circuit court’s file and all substantive issues have been decided for one or more parties in an order or a judgment, there is usually less confusion about whether the time for appeal has begun to run, than when there is a subsequent court document. Our prior cases have attempted to remove confusion about when the time limits in Wis.

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Appellate Procedure – Waiver: Competency of Trial Court

Village of Trempeleau v. Mike R. Mikrut, 2004 WI 79, affirming unpublished decision

Issue/Holding: (Emphasis supplied)

¶15. Mikrut did not raise his challenge to the circuit court’s competency until long after the judgment against him had been upheld on appeal. The circuit court and the court of appeals therefore held that the argument was waived. ……

¶18. Wisconsin case law is inconsistent on the question of whether a challenge to the circuit court’s competency is subject to the common-law rule of waiver.

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Introducing Evidence Doesn’t Waive Challenge to Admissibility Where Trial Court Ruled Evidence Admissible on Motion In Limine

State v. Gary M.B., 2004 WI 33, affirming 2003 WI App 72, 261 Wis. 2d 811, 661 N.W.2d 435
For Gary M.B.: T. Christopher Kelly

Issue: Whether defendant’s introduction of his/ her prior criminal record, after objection to its admissibility was overruled, waived the objection.

Holding:

¶11. Under the doctrine of strategic waiver, also known as invited error,

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Waiver of Issue: Judicial Intervention, § 906.14

State v. Johnnie Carprue, 2004 WI 111, reversing 2003 WI App 148, 266 Wis. 2d 168, 667 N.W.2d 800
For Carprue: Stephanie G. Rapkin

Issue/Holding:

¶34 Subsection (3) of § 906.14 authorizes objections, and it “defers the requirement of a timely objection . . . to the next available opportunity when the jury is not present.” Id. R202. This subsection appears to focus more on situations where the judge questions witnesses in front of a jury than where a judge questions a witness in a bench trial or outside the presence of a jury.¶35 Given the explicit authority to object to a judge’s action,

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Issue-Preservation: Sufficiency of Evidence – Trial-Level Challenge Unnecessary

State v. Obea S. Hayes, 2004 WI 80, affirming 2003 WI App 99, 264 Wis. 2d 377, 663 N.W.2d 351
For Hayes: Philip J. Brehm

Issue: Whether challenge to sufficiency of evidence must be raised during trial in order to preserve the right to raise the challenge on appeal.
Holding: State v. Gomez, 179 Wis. 2d 400, 507 N.W.2d 378 (Ct.

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