On Point blog, page 38 of 87
Delinquency – Battery – Sufficiency of Evidence
State v. Dylan T.W., 2012AP1761-FT, District 2, 12/12/12
court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity
Evidence held sufficient to support delinquency adjudication for felony battery where juvenile pushed a whiteboard into a teacher and then injured the same teacher by forcefully opening a door in the teacher’s path. Arguments the juvenile was not aware of the consequences of his actions because he was “singularly focused on leaving the classroom” and that there was conflicting evidence of the event,
Obstructing an officer, § 946.41 – “Officer” includes jailer or correctional officer
State v. Mark A. Gierczak, 2012AP965-CR, District 4, 12/13/12
court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity
For purposes of obstructing an officer § 946.41, “officer” includes someone with authority “to take another into custody,” and therefore includes a correctional officer at a county jail, ¶¶11-12. The court of appeals thus rejects Gierczak’s challenge to the factual basis for his obstructing plea where as a county jail inmate,
Refusal, § 343.305 – Discretionary Authority to Dismiss
State v. Brandon H. Bentdahl, 2012AP1426, District 4, 12/6/12; court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication), petition for review granted 6/13/13; reversed, 2013 WI 106; case activity
A circuit court has discretionary authority to dismiss a refusal charge, § 343.305, after the defendant has pleaded guilty to the underlying OWI, State v. Brooks,
Search & Seizure – Consent; Guilty Plea – Factual Basis Review; Postconviction Discovery
State v. Robert Edwin Burkhardt, 2009AP2174-CR, District 1/4, 12/6/12
court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Search & Seizure – Consent
Consent to search isn’t vitiated by nonpretextual threat to obtain a search warrant:
¶16 … (I)t is well established that, “[t]hreatening to obtain a search warrant does not vitiate consent if ‘the expressed intention to obtain a warrant is genuine … and not merely a pretext to induce submission.’” Artic,
Complaint – Adequate Notice; Jury Instructions – Authorizing Guilty Verdict on Speculation
State v. Darryl J. Badzinski, 2011AP2905-CR, District 1, 11/27/12; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication), petition for review granted 4/18/13; reversed, 2014 WI 6; case activity
Complaint – Adequate Notice (Child Sexual Assault) – Waived Objection
Badzinski waived his objection to the complaint – counsel conceded, at a motion to dismiss because of vagueness,
Sentencing Sexual Assault-Child, § 948.02(1)(b): Mandatory Min., Probation-Ineligible
State v. Tony J. Lalicata, 2012 WI App 138 (recommended for publication); case activity
Probation is not an available disposition under § 948.02(1)(b) (child sexual assault). By mandating that “the court shall impose a bifurcated sentence” with a confinement portion of at least 25 years for that offense, § 939.616 forecloses the possibility of probation:
¶14 … We conclude instead that § 939.616(1r) unambiguously prohibits probation,
Vagrancy (Begging), § 947.02(4) – Vague and Overbroad
State v. Bradley S. Johnson, Outagamie Co. Circ. Ct. No. 12CM495
circuit court decision; case activity
Panhandling prosecution under § 947.02(4) is dismissed with prejudice because the vagrancy statute is unconstitutional under first amendment analysis: panhandling (“begging”) is a form of protected speech and its criminalization under § 947.02(4) is fatally vague and overbroad. State v. Starks, 51 Wis.2d 256, 186 N.W.2d 245 (1971) (loitering statute unconstitutional as providing insufficient notice of prohibited conduct,
Guilty Plea Colloquy: Party-to-a-Crime Liability
State v. Calvin L. Brown, 2012 WI 139 (recommended for publication); case activity
A guilty plea colloquy need not include an explanation of ptac liability when the defendant directly committed the crime:
¶13 … Although the trial court did not explain that, by directly committing the La Quinta robbery, Brown was “concerned” in its commission as defined by the party to a crime statute,
Village of Elm Grove v. Richard K. Brefka, 2011AP2888, WSC review granted 11/14/12
on review of unpublished decision; case activity
Issue (composed by On Point)
Whether the municipal court lacks competence to extend the 10-day time deadline for requesting a refusal hearing.
Brefka filed a request for refusal hearing outside the 10-day time limit in § 343.305(9)(a)4. Does a court possess competence to extend that deadline? No dice, according to the court of appeals: “Section 343.305(9)(a)4. specifically mandates that if the request for a hearing is not received within the ten-day period,
OWI: HGN Test, Outside Presence of Jury – Self-Incrimination
State v. Thomas E. Schmidt, 2012 WI App 137 (recommended for publication); case activity
After performing an HGN test, which exhibited 6 out of 6 indicia of impairment, Schmidt was arrested for OWI. At the ensuing trial, he asserted diabetes as a possible cause for the HGN result. The trial court ordered, as a condition of his testifying to this effect, that he submit to an HGN test outside the presence of the jury.