On Point blog, page 3 of 141
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.
COA: Driver passed out in car not seized or subjected to custodial interrogation after police knocked on window to investigate.
State v. Lavelle Edgar Young, 2024AP470, 12/26/24, District I (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court’s order denying Lavelle Young’s motion to suppress physical evidence and his statements when an officer knocked on the window of his vehicle after observing Young sleeping in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The Court held that Young was not seized and was not in custody when he was questioned by police.
Defense win! COA affirms suppression of evidence, concluding officer lacked reasonable suspicion for traffic stop
City of Platteville v. Travis Jon Knautz, 2024AP1291 & 1292, 12/5/24, District IV (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity
In this drunk driving forfeiture case, the city appeals an order granting Knautz’s motion to suppress all of the evidence that police obtained after an investigatory traffic stop. The COA affirms, concluding that the city failed to show that there was reasonable suspicion for the stop.
COA: No reasonable suspicion to require driver to perform field sobriety tests where report of “potential drunk driver” not corroborated; circuit court’s order granting motion to suppress affirmed.
State v. Joseph Blankenship, 2024AP791-CR, 11/7/24, District IV (one judge decision; not eligible for publication); case activity
The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court’s order granting Joseph Blankenship’s motion to suppress because police did not have reasonable suspicion to direct him out of his vehicle to perform field sobriety tests.
COA: Inevitable discovery via inventory search applies even if search occurred before decision to tow.
State v. Carter Nelson, 2024AP617-CR, 11/6/24, District II (one judge decision; not eligible for publication); case activity
The Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s order granting Carter Nelson’s motion to suppress cocaine seized from his vehicle without a warrant and without probable cause. The Court held that the evidence would have inevitably been discovered in a standard inventory search when Nelson’s vehicle was towed.
COA reverses suppression in state’s appeal, holds no reasonable expectation of privacy in video uploaded to Snapchat
State v. Michael Joseph Gasper, 2023AP2319, 10/30/24, District 2 (recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The circuit court held that an officer’s warrantless inspection of a cyber tip digital video file provided to the officer and identified as child pornography by a private internet service provider constituted an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The COA concludes that Gasper did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the video, which he uploaded to Snapchat in violation of the terms of service and reverses.
COA reverses order to suppress because driver of vehicle not seized; dissent disputes reasonable person surrounded in vehicle by police would feel free to leave.
State v. Kahreem Rashah Wilkins, Sr., 2023AP1385-CR, 10/8/24, District I (not recommended for publication); case activity
In a 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court’s order granting Kahreem Wilkins’ motion to suppress evidence seized from his vehicle. The majority found that Wilkins was not seized when police approached the vehicle and saw a firearm in plain view, while the dissent concluded a reasonable person surrounded in his vehicle by four officers would not feel free to leave.