On Point: 26. Sufficiency of evidence

State v. Kimberly D. Zapata, 2025AP425-CR, 5/12/26, District I (recommended for publication); case activity

The Deputy Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission was convicted at trial of election fraud and misconduct in public office after she had fictitious military absentee ballots sent to a state legislator to publicize the potential for election fraud with such ballots.  In a decision recommended for publication, the COA affirmed her convictions because the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find she “obtained” the ballots for purposes of election fraud and acted in her public capacity.

State v. Kyle R. Appel, 2023AP2083-CR, 2/17/26, District III (ineligible for publication); case activity

Applying a standard of review exceptionally deferential to a jury’s decision to convict, COA distinguishes Appel’s proffered authority and affirms.

State v. Jacob T. Thornburg,  2023AP600, 1/21/26, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

In an appeal following a bench trial for an alleged violation of the traffic code, COA rejects the pro se appellant’s arguments and affirms.

State v. Clinton J. Adams, 2025AP1179, 11/26/25, District II (ineligible for publication); case activity

COA affirms jury’s conviction for knowingly violating a domestic abuse injunction over sufficiency challenge. 

Wood County v. J.A.B., 2025AP220, 8/21/25, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

The COA reversed the circuit court’s order for protective placement because the County did not establish that J.A.B. was so totally incapable of providing for her own care as to create a substantial risk of serious harm to herself or others.

State of Wisconsin v. Robert W. Berghuis, 2025AP134-CR, District II, 8/6/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity

The COA affirmed a jury’s guilty verdict for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, finding the evidence was sufficient that the driver operated the vehicle on a “highway” when law enforcement encountered the driver in the driver’s seat of his truck that was parked in a ditch.

Taylor County Human Services v. A.B., 2025AP633, 2025AP634, 2025AP635, 2025AP636, 7/29/25, District II (ineligible for publication); case activity

The COA affirms the circuit court’s orders terminating “Adam’s” parental rights, while emphasizing the heavy burden placed on the party seeking to overturn a jury’s verdict.

State v. Roger A. Minck, 2022AP2292-CR, 5/28/25, District III (recommended for publication); case activity

In a case of first impression, the COA held in a decision recommended for publication that hiding a corpse with intent to conceal a crime under Wis. Stat. § 940.11(2) requires the State to prove the defendant  intended to conceal any crime, not a crime related to the victim’s homicide.  The COA found the evidence sufficient to affirm the jury’s verdict finding Roger Minck guilty of hiding a corpse.

State v. Kelsy R. Wooldridge, 2022AP1927-CR, 5/20/25, District III (not recommended for publication), case activity

In a decision not recommended for publication, the COA reversed Kelsy Wooldridge’s conviction for possessing methamphetamine and found that no reasonable jury could have determined beyond a reasonable doubt that she knew a bloody syringe seized from her purse contained an unmeasurable amount of the drug.

State v. Colin R. Dowling, 2024AP524, 5/1/25, District IV (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity

The COA found sufficient evidence to sustain Colin Dowling’s civil forfeiture obligation for impeding traffic by driving at a slow speed.  Although Dowling argued that there were no reasonable alternatives to slowing down his Tesla to preserve its battery, the COA concluded contacting roadside assistance was a safer alternative than driving 45 miles per hour on an interstate highway where the speed limit was 70.