On Point blog, page 46 of 55

State v. Shantell T. Harbor, 2009AP1252-CR, Wis SCt rev granted 9/22/10

decision below: unpublished; for Harbor: Joseph E. Redding; court of appeals briefs: BiC; Resp.; Reply

Issues (from Table of Pending Cases):

Whether a defendant presented a new factor entitling sentence modification (See State v. Franklin, 148 Wis. 2d 1, 8, 434 N.W.2d 609 (1989).

Whether a defendant demonstrated ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v.

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Henry Griffin v. Pierce, 7th Cir No. 09-3138, 9/22/10

7th circuit court of appeals decision

Habeas – Napue Issue

The Supreme Court has held that “a conviction obtained through use of false evidence, known to be such by representatives of the State, must fall under the Fourteenth Amendment.” Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269 (1959) …. Thus, a new trial is required if a petitioner establishes that (1) the prosecution presented false testimony or failed to disclose that false testimony was used to convict,

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State v. David J. Balliette, 2009AP472, Wis SCT rev grant, 8/31/10

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?

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Habeas – Effective Assistance – Stun Belt

John M. Stephenson v. Levenhagen, 7th Cir No. 09-2924, 08/26/2010

7th Cir decision; petition for rehearing denied 1/14/11, 3 dissents from denial of en banc review

Habeas – Effective Assistance – Stun Belt

Counsel’s failure to object to placement of stun belt on Stephenson during trial was held by the state court to be deficient: accepting that conclusion (albeit with apparent reluctance), the federal court holds on habeas review that the deficiency wasn’t prejudicial.

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TPR- Ineffective Assistance – Change of Placement, Warnings; Disposition, Exercise of Discretion

State v. Jesenia R., 2009AP2906, District 1, 8/24/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Jesenia R.: Mary D. Scholle, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate

No prejudice resulted from counsel’s failure to object to violation of the change-of-placement notice requirement in § 48.357. ¶¶15-16.

The background is a bit fact-intensive. Roughly: The child (Elizabeth) had been placed with a foster family, who moved to Idaho and took Elizabeth with them,

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Terry Frisk – House; Ineffective Assistance – Prejudice

State v. Jacquese Franklin Harrell, 2010 WI App 132; for Harrell: Michael S. Holzman; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Terry Frisk – House

The police had both reasonable suspicion that Harrell had committed a violent crime, and consent to be in his house to question him. Therefore, police inspection of a chair for possible weapons before allowing Harrell to sit in it,

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Evidence – Daubert; Discovery – Witness Notes; Briefs – Argumentation and SCRs; Closing Argument – Failure to Object; Ineffective Assistance – Failure to Investigate; Newly Discovered Evidence

State v. Christopher D. Jones, 2010 WI App 133; for Jones: Amelia L. Bizzaro; for Amicus, Innocence Network: Jerome F. Buting; BiC; Resp.; Reply; Amicus Br.

Evidence – Daubert – Bullet Traced to Particular Gun

The court rejects “a blanket rule barring as a matter of course all testimony purporting to tie cartridge cases and bullets to a particular gun”:

¶22 Unlike in the federal system,

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Sentence – Factors – Exercise of Constitutional Right; Sentence – Effective Assistance of Counsel

State v. Sabian L. Yunck, 2009AP3020-CR, District 1, 8/17/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Yunck: Byron C. Lichstein; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Sentence – Factors – Exercise of Constitutional Right

Convicted of violating a domestic abuse order forbidding contact with the mother of his child, Yunck argues that sentence was impermissibly based on his exercise of a constitutional right,

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Plea Withdrawal – Nelson/Bentley Motion

State v. Timothy Ray Anderson, 2009AP2416-CR, District 1, 8/17/10

court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Anderson: Jeremy C. Perri; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Anderson’s postconviction motion for plea withdrawal, on the ground he didn’t understand that a charge “dismissed outright” could nonetheless be considered at sentencing, was properly denied without hearing. The circuit expressly denied that the dismissed charge was factored into the sentence,

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State v. Troy Edward Lang, 2009AP2087-CR, District 1, 8/10/10

court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Lang: Mary D. Scholle, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Search Warrant – Probable Cause

Affidavit by a detective, containing statements made by a recently arrested “informant” who said that “Troy” at the target residence had traded him cocaine for stolen property, supplied probable cause for the warrant application. The informant’s reliability was established by:

  • statement’s against-interest nature;
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