On Point blog, page 1 of 1
No prejudice in state’s failure to disclose witness; newly discovered evidence not material
State v. Jesse Steven Poehlman, 2016AP1074, 7/5/17, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The state charged Poehlman with various counts relating to two alleged incidents of sexual assault and battery of his wife–one in December 2014 and one in February 2015. The jury acquitted as to the earlier incident and convicted as to the latter. The court of appeals rejects his arguments that he must receive a new trial.
Yearlong failure to disclose witnesses merits exclusion
State v. Caroline D. Prieto, 2016 WI App 15; case activity (including briefs)
Nearly three years after the defense demand, and a year after the first (of two) court orders to produce a witness list, the state still hadn’t done so. The circuit court’s response? No list, no witnesses. The state appeals and…
Discovery violation didn’t require mistrial, and evidence was sufficient to support possession of firearm conviction
State v. Francisco Luis Canales, 2013AP1435-CR, District 1, 3/11/14; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Though the state violated its discovery obligation by failing to disclose multiple computer-aided dispatch (CAD) reports describing 9-1-1 calls regarding the incident, the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion in denying Canales’s motion for mistrial after the discovery violation came to light.
A mistrial is appropriate only when there is a “manifest necessity,” for “the law prefers less drastic alternatives,