On Point blog, page 7 of 7
Binding Authority: Precedential Impact of Contradictory Pronouncements in Appellate Decision
State v. Colleen E. Hansen, 2001 WI 53, 243 Wis. 2d 328, 627 N.W.2d 195, on certification
For Hansen: Pamela Pepper
Issue: Whether a prior decisional pronouncement should be treated as precedential when it is contradicted elsewhere in the decision.
Holding: “Because of the internal inconsistency [in the prior decision], no judicial precedent was established in the first place,” ¶33.
Binding Authority — Retroactivity — Statute Declared Unconstitutional
State v. Paul R. Benzel, 220 Wis. 2d 588, 583 N.W.2d 434 (Ct. App. 1998)
Pro se
Issue/Holding: The holding of State v. Hall, 207 Wis.2d 54, 557 N.W.2d 778 (1997), that the drug tax, § 139.95, is unconstitutional applies retroactively: “failure to do so leads to the untenable result that a person stands convicted for conduct which has been held constitutionally immune from punishment. … (¶) A court cannot acquire jurisdiction to try a person for an act made criminal only by an unconstitutional law.”