On Point: 46. WI Court of Appeals

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.

Fond du Lac County v. Andrew Joseph Ludwig, 2025AP183, 8/20/25, District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity

Ludwig appeals from a judgment convicting him of OWI 1st, and challenges the order denying his suppression motion. He contends that the sheriff deputies “unconstitutionally detain[ed him]” by failing to conduct the OWI investigation in a sufficiently diligent manner. COA disagrees and affirms.

Crawford County v. M.W., 2025AP302, 8/14/25, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

Despite concluding that M.W.’s plea colloquy was “lacking in certain respects” on the circuit court’s part, COA holds that the record supports the court’s postdisposition conclusion that M.W. knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered his admission. COA also rejects M.W.’s arguments that the county failed to establish a factual basis and that trial counsel was ineffective.

State v. John R. Phelan,  2024AP777-CR, 8/14/25, District IV (recommended for publication); case activity

In a very complex analysis of the statutes which empower DNR wardens, COA holds that the warden in this case had authority to seize Phelan for suspected littering, validly detained him after obtaining probable cause that he possessed THC, but violated the law by conducting an investigation into an OWI.

Dane County v. Trent Joseph Meyer, 2024AP1630, 8/14/25, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

The COA affirmed a conviction for driving faster than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions where the defendant drove 20 miles-per-hour above the speed limit and came “close” to other cars’ bumpers. 

Waushara County v. Beatrice Bruning, 2025AP300, 8/7/25, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

In a case with a slightly convoluted procedural history, COA accepts the County’s concession that traffic citations are invalid as they resulted from a trial conducted before a court commissioner instead of a circuit court judge.

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.

Racine County v. D.S. 2025AP758-FT, 8/6/25, District II (ineligible for publication); case activity

COA rejects a battery of challenges to D.S.’s involuntary commitment and medication despite sharing some of the examining physician’s “concerns” about her situation.

Mario Victoria Vasquez v. State of Wisconsin Claims Board, 2023AP1764, 8/5/25, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity

In a rare appeal focusing on the statutory right to compensation for the wrongly convicted, COA holds that Vasquez–despite having been freed from prison–cannot prove his innocence in this unique administrative forum.

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.