On Point blog, page 28 of 68
10-year history of drug-dealing deemed admissible in case where state declined to charge drug crimes
State v. Jimmy L. Powell, 2013AP1111-CR, 3/27/14, District 4; (not recommended for publication); case activity
This appeal stems from a 1st-degree reckless injury conviction. Powell, a drug dealer, ran over and/or cut his client’s throat during a deal. His enthusiastic, 38-page initial brief raises 7 issues for review. This post examines the court of appeals’ decision on 2 of them.
“Other Acts” Evidence Issue: Whether the circuit court erred in admitting “other acts”
Broken tail light, glassy eyes, and a wee wobble amount to probable cause for administering preliminary breath test
State v. Ross Timothy Litke, 2013AP1606-CR, 3/11/14, District 1 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
This was a potentially interesting Daubert case. The police stopped the car Litke was driving because a tail light was out. The officer noticed Litke’s bloodshot eyes and asked if he had been drinking. “Yes, a few beers,” Litke replied. The officer thus conducted 3 field sobriety tests: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test (which Litke flunked),
SCOTUS: Trial lawyer’s failure to seek funds to hire better expert, based on mistaken belief about funding cap, amounts to deficient performance
Anthony Ray Hinton v. Alabama, USSC 13-6440, 2/24/14 (per curiam), vacating Hinton v. State, __So. 3d__, 2013WL 598122 (2/15/13).
Docket here.
Trial lawyers, listen up. Check your expert witness funding cap before settling for an “expert” you know is sub par.
In 1985, managers of 3 different restaurants were robbed and shot—each with two .38 caliber bullets. The first two managers died.
State v. Ramon G. Gonzalez, 2012AP1818, petition for review granted 1/19/14
Review of an unpublished court of appeals opinion; case activity; prior On Point post here.
Issue:
Whether ordering a defendant to open his mouth and reveal his platinum teeth to the jury violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination?
So, this case may boil down to whether forcing the defendant to show his platinum teeth is any different from forcing him to give fingerprints or a blood sample.
Statements to police during ambulance ride, and later while cuffed to bed in ICU, deemed voluntary
State v. Stanley K. Bullock, 2014 WI App 29, case activity
How “voluntary” does this sound to you?
The defendant was convicted of 1st-degree reckless homicide for the stabbing death of his girlfriend. He said that masked attackers broke into their apartment and stabbed him and his girlfriend. He called 911. The responding paramedics found the defendant conscious with stab wounds and his girlfriend dead. During his ambulance ride to the hospital (and while experiencing pain and disorientation),
Admission of other-acts evidence wasn’t error; trial court properly denied mistrial motion
State v. Timothy A. Jago, 2013AP1084-CR, District 1, 2/4/14; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to move in limine to exclude other-acts evidence–specifically, evidence that Jago told the victim he has only pointed a gun at two people in his life, the victim and the man he killed in Illinois. (¶¶4, 16, 19). Jago’s trial lawyer reasonably relied on an agreement with the prosecutor to keep this statement out of evidence.
Wisconsin Supreme Court: When a defendant raises self-defense, evidence of a victim’s reputation for violence is admissible to show who was the first aggressor even if the defendant was unaware of that reputation
State v. Curtis L. Jackson, 2014 WI 4, affirming an unpublished court of appeals decision; majority opinion by Justice Ziegler; Justice Bradley concurs; Chief Justice Abrahamson dissents; case activity
In a decision that clarifies the rules regarding evidence of the victim’s character in cases involving self-defense, the supreme court holds that a defendant may present evidence about the victim’s reputation for violence even if the defendant was not aware of that reputation at the time of the offense.
State v. Raphfeal Lyfold Myrick, 2012AP2513-CR, petition for review granted
Review of a published court of appeals decision; case activity
Issues (composed by On Point):
Wis. Stat. § 904.10 provides that evidence of statements that a person made in court in connection with an offer to the prosecuting attorney to plead guilty or no contest to the crime charged or any other crime is not admissible in any criminal proceedings against the person who made the offer.
Video of robbery taken by private surveillance camera was properly authenticated
State v. Robert Vincent McCoy, 2012AP2583-CR, District 1, 1/7/14; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
An armed robbery outside a bar was caught on the security camera of a nearby homeowner, who gave a copy of the video to the police by uploading it on YouTube and emailing it to the police. The video was used to identify McCoy and then “burned” to a DVD and played at his trial.
Court rejects argument that waiver of counsel was involuntary because it was not “free from financial constraint”
State v. Gregory Garro, 2013AP342-CR, District 1, 12/27/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Garro waived the right to counsel before trial after two retained lawyers withdrew because he couldn’t pay them. (3). Garro told the court he couldn’t afford the fees quoted by the lawyers, but did have some money to hire counsel. (4). After being given time to look for a lawyer he could afford,