On Point blog, page 1 of 143
COA upholds Act 79 vehicle search where officer seized suspect while performing community caretaking function and subsequently developed reasonable suspicion of drug use
State of Wisconsin v. Brandon L. Strickland, 2024AP2376-CR, 3/17/26, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity
The COA determined that law enforcement’s community caretaking function justified an officer to direct a person out of his vehicle after the officer found the person asleep at the wheel while the car was parked in his driveway. And because the officer developed reasonable suspicion that the suspect used and possessed a controlled substance and was on probation, the officer lawfully searched the vehicle under Act 79.
COA rejects facial challenge to Implied Consent Law; affirms denial of motion to suppress blood results
State v. Conor Alexander Noble, 2025AP811-CR, 3/11/26, District II (1 judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
COA rejects Noble’s facial unconstitutionality challenge to Wisconsin’s Implied Consent Law (ICL) and affirms the circuit court’s denial of Noble’s motion to suppress the blood draw results for lack of voluntary consent.
COA: Collateral attack on prior OWI must allege defendant did not know potential penalties even if plea colloquy was defective; affiant requesting warrant for blood draw need not have witnessed arrest.
State of Wisconsin v. Jonathon L. Sundermeyer, 2024AP2007-CR, 3/3/26, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity
The COA concludes a defective plea colloquy was not sufficient to collaterally attack the defendant’s prior OWI conviction where the defendant did not establish he was unaware of the potential penalties for his prior conviction. The COA also determined an officer’s affidavit in support of a blood draw complies with the constitutional requirement for an an affidavit to be supported by oath or affirmation where the officer was not present when the defendant was arrested for operating while intoxicated (OWI) but relied on information from an officer who was present.
COA: Reasonable suspicion for traffic stop after report to police that vehicle hit road barrier and officer observed “unusual” driving behavior
State of Wisconsin v. Jonathan G. Berbaum, 2025AP1380-CR, 2/25/26, District II (ineligible for publication); case activity
The COA affirmed the circuit court’s order denying the defendant’s motion to suppress the fruits of a traffic stop, which included evidence that led to his conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated as a third offense. The COA found that a witness’s report that a vehicle hit a barrier, combined with the defendant’s erratic driving, provided reasonable suspicion to suspect the driver was operating while intoxicated.
SCOW holds that ESP was not acting as government agent when it scanned files for CSAM
State v. Andreas W. Rauch-Sharak, 2026 WI 4, 2/24/26, on certification from the court of appeals; case activity
SCOW holds that Google’s search of Rauch-Sharak’s files was a private search, slightly clarifies that legal test, and affirms.
Defense win: COA suppresses evidence from warrantless blood draw, vacates OWI conviction
State v. Brandon J. Taff, 2024AP373, 2/17/26, District III (ineligible for publication); case activity
COA reverses Taff’s conviction on the basis that his warrantless blood draw was not justified by exigent circumstances, and therefore should have been suppressed.
COA holds that exclusionary rule does not apply to evidence of defendant’s flight from police after traffic stop was allegedly unlawfully extended.
State of Wisconsin v. Alsherrife Mire, 2024AP2481-CR, 2/4/26, District II (recommended for publication); case activity
In a decision recommended for publication, the COA affirmed the circuit court’s order denying the defendant’s motion to suppress the fruits of his allegedly unlawfully extended traffic stop because evidence of his flight from police was not derived from the stop.
COA affirms circuit court’s finding of reasonable suspicion for traffic stop resulting in OWI 3rd
State v. Troy A. Wry, 2023AP561, 2/3/26, District III (ineligible for publication); case activity
Wry appeals his conviction for OWI 3rd, arguing the circuit court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence because law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion that Wry had committed, or was committing, an offense sufficient to conduct an investigatory stop of his vehicle. COA affirms.
COA affirms traffic stop for reasonable suspicion of noise ordinance violation
State v. Jacobe Michael Gimmel, 2025AP1037 & 2025AP1537, 1/29/26, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity
Gimmel appeals his conviction for OWI 2nd and the revocation of his driver’s license for refusing a chemical test. The sole issue in the consolidated appeal is whether the officer who stopped Gimmel had reasonable suspicion to do so. COA affirms, concluding the officer had reasonable suspicion that Gimmel had violated a local noise ordinance.
SCOTUS reverses decision granting new homicide trial and accepts cert. to review geofence warrants; while Justice Jackson dissents from shutting courthouse door to prison inmates.
In its January 2026 orders, SCOTUS reminds the Fourth Circuit about AEDPA deference in reversing decision ordering a new trial and grants certiorari to determine whether a geofence warrant violates the Fourth Amendment, while Justice Jackson dissents from banning frequent inmate filers from commencing a case without paying the filing fee.