On Point blog, page 3 of 142
COA: Reasonable suspicion to stop vehicle if police know owner of vehicle was not issued Wisconsin driver’s license unless officer has information suggesting owner is not driving.
State v. Tobin J. Jagla, 2023AP2311-CR, 3/18/25, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity
COA affirms circuit court’s order denying Tobin Jagla’s motion to suppress where police stopped the vehicle he was driving after an officer determined the registered owner of the vehicle did not have a Wisconsin driver’s license. Although officer learned during the stop that Jagla was not the registered owner, Jagla and owner were both males and similar in age.
COA holds that 911 call created “emergency” justifying warrantless entry into home
State v. Ryan D. Wilkie, 2022AP730-CR, 3/11/25, District III (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity
COA rejects Wilkie’s interesting constitutional arguments regarding the authority of law enforcement to enter his home without a warrant and affirms his conviction for obstructing an officer.
COA finds police had reasonable suspicion to extend traffic stop to conduct field sobriety tests; reverses suppression order.
State of Wisconsin v. Alex Mark Hagen, 2024AP1180, 3/6/25 District IV (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
COA reversed the circuit court’s order suppressing evidence of field sobriety tests and their fruits, finding that police had reasonable suspicion to extend a traffic stop to investigate the defendant for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
COA affirms denial of suppression in OWI, concludes police had probable cause to arrest
City of Delafield v. Shawn M. Office, 2024AP227, 2/26/25 District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
COA affirms Office’s OWI 1st conviction, concluding that his arrest was supported by probable cause because sufficient evidence existed to reasonably believe that Office been driving while under the influence of an intoxicant.
COA holds there was reasonable suspicion to seize motorist for unreadable license plate even if plate was, in actuality, readable
State v. Glen Michael Braun, 2022AP1764, 2/25/25, District III (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
In a case demonstrating the tough hill that litigants must climb to prove an officer lacks reasonable suspicion, COA affirms an order denying Braun’s suppression motion based on a possible equipment violation.
COA: Traffic stop not unreasonably prolonged by officer’s request for field sobriety tests
State v. Emily Anne Ertl, 2023AP234-CR, 2/18/25, District III (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
Ertl appeals the denial of her motion to suppress on the ground that police impermissibly extended the scope of her initial detention when the officer asked her if she would consent to field sobriety tests. COA affirms, concluding that her detention was not unreasonably prolonged by law enforcement’s single request that she voluntarily submit to field sobriety tests.
COA: Tint meter evidence not required to confirm officer’s belief that vehicle windows were illegally tinted to establish reasonable suspicion for stop.
State v. Joseph Paul Morello, 2024AP931-CR, 2/6/25, District IV (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
COA affirms circuit court’s order denying Joseph Morello’s motion to suppress the fruits of his traffic stop. Although COA did not address circuit court’s conclusion that police had reasonable suspicion that Morello’s vehicle was connected to reports of gunshots, it affirmed on alternative ground that there was reasonable suspicion Morello’s vehicle’s windows were excessively tinted.
Court of Appeals certification asks whether Fourth Amendment safeguards are implicated when ESPs scan for child pornography
State v. Andreas W. Rauch Sharak, 2024AP469-CR, 1/16/25, District 4; case activity (including briefs)
Rauch Sharak’s appeal concerns whether Fourth Amendment safeguards are implicated when an electronic service provider (ESP) scans for and reviews digital files in an individual’s account that are flagged as child pornography; and when law enforcement subsequently opens and views any flagged files that the ESP sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
COA: Suppressing evidence of blood draw not viable remedy even if conditions of confinement were unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
State v. Holly J. Grimslid, 2024AP954, 1/16/24, District IV (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
COA holds that, even if officer’s actions denying the defendant’s request to use the bathroom while he waited to obtain warrant for a blood draw were unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, suppressing evidence of the blood draw is not a viable remedy.
COA finds consent to blood draw valid in a detailed discussion of Wisconsin’s implied consent statutes recommended for publication.
State v. Christopher A. Gore, 2023AP169-CR, 1/7/25, District III (recommended for publication), case activity
The Court of Appeals held, in a decision recommended for publication, that Christopher Gore’s consent to a blood draw was voluntary because he was not misinformed about the consequences of refusing to consent, and the officer’s statement that he would seek to obtain a warrant if Gore did not consent did not invalidate his consent.