On Point blog, page 119 of 141

Stop – Duration – Traffic Offense – Prolonged by Seeking Consent to Search

State v. Calvin R. Kolk, 2006 WI App 261
For Kolk: Michael Zell

Issue/Holding: The (lawful) traffic stop’s purpose concluded when the officer returned Kolk’s license and registration and issued his warning; however, the officer had not released Kolk from the temporary detention caused by the traffic stop when he next asked for consent to search the car and as a result Kolk’s ensuing consent was tainted,

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Arrest – Probable Cause – Specific Examples: Obstructing

State v. Charles E. Young, 2006 WI 98, affirming 2004 WI App 227
For Young: Martha K. Askins, SPD, Madison Appellate

Issue/Holding: By fleeing from a police command to stop, the defendant provided probable cause to arrest for obstructing, and the officer therefore was acting with “lawful authority” under § 946.41(1), ¶¶77-78.

 

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Arrest – Test for Custody – Suspect Held in Locked Room More Than Five Hours

State v. Cesar Farias-Mendoza, 2006 WI App 134
For Farias-Mendoza: Randall E. Paulson, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate

Issue/Holding: A suspect who had agreed to be transported to police headquarters for questioning was arrested within the meaning of the fourth amendment once the police left him unattended for over five hours in a locked room:

¶23      We disagree with the State’s conclusion. While a defendant is not automatically seized anytime he is taken to a police station for questioning, 

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Attenuation of Taint — Statements — After Illegal Arrest

State v. Cesar Farias-Mendoza, 2006 WI App 134
For Farias-Mendoza: Randall E. Paulson, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate

Issue/Holding: The “causal chain” between the defendant’s illegal arrest and his statement wasn’t attenuated where: he gave the statement within 25 minutes of the circumstance establishing the arrest, ¶¶28-29; there were no intervening circumstances, ¶¶30-31; and, there were suggestions of purposeful misconduct, ¶¶32-34.

 

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Consent — Acquiescence — Generally

State v. Jed A. Giebel, 2006 WI App 239
For Giebel: Robert E. Bellin, Jr.

Issue/Holding:

¶12   The test for voluntariness asks whether consent was given in the “absence of actual coercive, improper police practices designed to overcome the resistance of a defendant.” State v. Clappes, 136 Wis.  2d 222, 245, 401 N.W.2d 759 (1987). In making this determination, no single factor is dispositive. 

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Consent — Acquiescence — Assertion of Subpoena

State v. Jed A. Giebel, 2006 WI App 239
For Giebel: Robert E. Bellin, Jr.

Issue: Whether Giebel’s “consent” to a search of his computer, in response to a police claim of a subpoena and accompanied by an expression that Giebel assumed he had no choice, was voluntary or mere acquiescence to asserted police authority.

Holding:

¶17   Three considerations weigh heavily in our decision.

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Search & Seizure – Applicability of Exclusionary Rule: Private / Government Search: Administration of Laxative to Arrestee at Hospital

State v. Tomas Payano-Roman, 2006 WI 47, reversing 2005 WI App 118
For Payano-Roman: Timothy A. Provis

Issue: Whether the administration to an arrestee of a laxative at a hospital was under 4th amendment constraints because of the involvement of the police (including keeping the defendant handcuffed in the hospital room; police administration of the laxative; their palpable goal to recover a controlled substance that the defendant had swallowed).

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Search & Seizure – Applicability of Exclusionary Rule: Private / Government Search, Generally

State v. Tomas Payano-Roman, 2006 WI 47, reversing 2005 WI App 118
For Payano-Roman: Timothy A. Provis

Issue/Holding:

¶17      … Private searches are not subject to the Fourth Amendment’s protections because the Fourth Amendment applies only to government action. State v. Rogers, 148 Wis.  2d 243, 246, 435 N.W.2d 275 (Ct. App. 1988) ….¶18      The court of appeals in Rogers stated three requirements that must be met for a search to be a private search:

(1) the police may not initiate,

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Warrants – Good-faith Exception – “Indicia” of Probable Cause, Generally

State v. Bill P. Marquardt, 2005 WI 157, on certification; prior history: 2001 WI App 219
For Marquardt: John Brinckman; Patricia A. Fitzgerald

Issue/Holding: The good-faith exception is inapplicable when indicia of probable cause are so lacking as to render official belief in its existence unreasonable. This inquiry is distinct from the question of whether the supporting facts are clearly insufficient.

¶33      Under Leon‘s rationale,

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Warrants – Good-faith Exception – Sufficient Indicia of Probable Cause

State v. Bill P. Marquardt, 2005 WI 157, on certification; prior history: 2001 WI App 219
For Marquardt: John Brinckman; Patricia A. Fitzgerald

Issue/Holding: The search warrant was supported by sufficient “indicia of probable cause” to trigger the good-faith exception, including the following: Marquardt had not been seen for two days following his mother’s homicide, raising suspicion about his absence; the victim was covered in a blanket,

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