On Point: B. Published opinions

State v. Roman T. Wise, 2021 WI App 87; case activity (including briefs)

Wise was convicted of 4 counts of fleeing or eluding an officer under §346.04(3). He claimed trial counsel was ineffective for failing to seek dismissal of 3 of his 4 charges on the grounds that they were multiplicitous. The court of appeals held that the charges were not multiplicitous because each one required proof of a different element or fact. Thus, the circuit court appropriately denied Wise’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim without a hearing.

State v. Laverne Ware, Jr., 2021 WI App 83; case activity (including briefs)

When the parties filed their initial briefs in this appeal, it was a community-caretaker case. But during briefing, the Supreme Court decided Caniglia v. Strom, which made clear that this doctrine doesn’t permit searches in the home (in the process invalidating some Wisconsin cases). So now–as the Caniglia concurrences foretold–it’s instead a case about the “emergency aid exception.”

State v. Joseph L. Slater, 2021 WI App 88; case activity (including briefs)

Slater had a prison sentence imposed and then stayed in favor of probation. While on probation, he was arrested on three new charges. The department of corrections revoked his probation pretty quickly, but he didn’t get sent to prison: instead, he remained in the county jail for over three years while those new charges were pending. After a jury convicted him on on the new charges, he got three new concurrent prison sentences. The court of appeals now holds that Slater should be credited on those new sentences for the years he spent in jail awaiting trial.

State v. Randy L. Bolstad, 2021 WI App 81; case activity (including briefs)

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away, SCOW held that when circuit courts sentence a defendant, they must demonstrate their exercise of discretion on the record. State v. Gallion, 2004 WI 42, 270 Wis. 2d 535, 678 N.W.2d 197. Circuit courts often ignored this mandate, so appellate courts conjured sentencing rationales for them and affirmed. Click here and here. Now, our very own court of appeals has reversed a sentence for a Gallion violation and recommended the decision for publication!

The court of appeals has ordered publication of the following criminal law related decision:

State v. Nicholas Reed Adell, 2021 WI App 72 (circumstances justified extension of traffic stop to determine whether driver had prohibited alcohol content)

On September 29, 2021, the court of appeals ordered the publication of the following criminal-law related decision:

State v. Joel R. Davis, 2021 WI App 65 (police unlawfully prolonged traffic stop to research motorist’s bond conditions).

State v. Nicholas Reed Adell, 2021 WI App 72; case activity (including briefs)

Reversing a circuit court order suppressing evidence, the court of appeals holds the totality of the circumstances gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that Adell was driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC) and that police could extend the traffic stop to have Adell perform field sobriety tests (FSTs).

On August 25, 2021, the court of appeals ordered publication of the following criminal law related decisions:

State v. Oscar C. Thomas, 2021 WI App 55 (rejecting challenges to conviction based on Confrontation Clause violation, corroboration of confession issue, and biased juror claim).

State v. Avery B. Thomas, 2021 WI App 59 (defendant entitled to credit for time in custody on federal supervision hold due to Wisconsin criminal case conduct).

State v. Joel R. Davis, 2021 WI App 65; case activity (including briefs)

A police officer stopped Davis’s car in the early evening. He initially said it was because Davis lacked a passenger-side mirror. But it turns out that’s not illegal. Wis. Stat. § 347.40. So the next day–and despite having failed to mention it to the other officers at the stop, which was video recorded–he “updated” his report to say that actually, he’d stopped Davis for a seatbelt violation. But the body-cam video shows that Davis’s seatbelt was fastened when the officer initially approached the car.

State v. Oscar C. Thomas, 2021 WI App 55; Review granted 1/11/22; affirmed 2/21/23; case activity (including briefs)

This is the appeal from Thomas’s second conviction at trial for the false imprisonment, sexual assault and murder of his wife. (The first conviction was ultimately undone by the Seventh Circuit, which held that his counsel had been ineffective for failing to seek out certain expert testimony.) Thomas raises three issues. He claims he was convicted of the sexual assault count in violation of the corroboration rule, because the only evidence it occurred was his own confession. He also says all three convictions were obtained in violation of his right to confrontation, as the state introduced a hearsay lab report concerning DNA evidence during cross-examination of his expert. And he argues one of the jurors was objectively biased because she at least believed she was a cousin of one state’s witness. The court rejects all three claims.