On Point blog, page 79 of 142
Arrest and warrantless search of a home – no probable cause, exigent circumstances, community caretaker exception, or consent.
State v. Daniel Cervantes, 2011AP1858-CR, District 1, 2/12/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
The police lacked probable cause to arrest Cervantes when he opened the door of his apartment (¶¶10-16); there were neither exigent circumstances nor community caretaker grounds for the police to enter Cervantes’s apartment following his arrest to do a protective sweep (¶¶14-23); and his subsequent “consent” to search the apartment was not sufficiently attenuated from the illegal arrest and entries (¶¶24-30).
Terry stop — reasonable suspicion; DNA surcharge — exercise of discretion; sentence credit — time between revocation and return to prison
State v. Manuel R. Williams, 2012AP357-CR, District 1, 1/29/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Terry stop – reasonable suspicion
Police had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant where, based on suppression hearing testimony, circuit court found that: the officers were sent to a shooting in “a high risk area”; when police arrived, they noticed Williams because he had a big jacket on and was holding his hands in an “odd” way,
Denial of right to self-representation — competence to represent oneself; search and seizure — probable cause, automobile exception
State v. Robert L. Tatum, Case No. 2011AP2439-CR, District 1, 1/29/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity
Denial of right to self-representation – competence to represent oneself
The circuit court properly denied Tatum the right to represent himself based on his limited education and understanding of legal procedures, as evidenced by his statements and behavior in court. (¶13). While the circuit court found Tatum competent to proceed under Wis.
Traffic stop — no visible front license plate
State v. Kevin O’Connor, 2012AP1638-CR, District 2, 1/23/12; court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity
Police lawfully stopped defendant because the vehicle he was driving did not have a visible front license plate. While there are exceptions to the statute requiring vehicles to display a front plate (Wis. Stat. § 341.15), the “great majority” of vehicles on the road are required to have a front plate.
Traffic stop – anonymous tip corroborated by officer’s observations
State v. Tamara Jo Potter, 2012AP1605-CR, District 3, 1/23/13; court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity
Police lawfully stopped the defendant based on information from an anonymous tip that was corroborated by the officer’s observations. Minnesota police told Douglas County dispatch that it had received a tip of a “swerving” car heading into Superior. An officer in Superior located a car meeting the description and followed it.
Submission to squad car’s red-and-blue emergency lights is a “seizure”
State v. Brian A. Gottschalk, 2012AP2351, District III (not recommended for publication). Case activity.
Wow! Two decisions overruling the denial suppression motions in one day. In this case, the State charged the defendant with OWI and operating with a PAC, both as second offenses. The defendant moved for suppression of evidence on the grounds that the officer seized him without reasonable suspicion.
Evidence needed to establish reliability of drug-sniffing dog for purposes of determining probable cause
Florida v. Harris, USSC No. 11-817, 2/19/13
United States Supreme Court decision, overruling Harris v. Florida, 71 So. 3d 756 (2011)
In a unanimous decision addressing the question of when a drug-sniffing dog’s alert constitutes probable cause, the Supreme Court overturned the Florida Supreme Court’s requirement that the state produce records of the dog’s reliability in the field in order to support probable cause.
Execution of search warrant — detention of person not in “immediate vicinity”
Bailey v. United States, USSC No. 11-770, 2/19/13
United States Supreme Court decision, reversing and remanding United States v. Bailey, 652 F.3d 197 (2d Cir. 2011)
The Court holds it was not reasonable for police to seize an individual incident to the search of the individual’s residence when the individual was not in the “immediate vicinity” of the place being searched. The holding is an elaboration of the rule from Michigan v.
Search and seizure – limitation on scope of consent to search; no duty for police to clarify ambiguous assertions of ownership or nonconsent
State v. Derik J. Wantland, 2013 WI App 36, petition for review granted 11/21/13; case activity
It was not unreasonable for the police to search a briefcase found in a vehicle during a traffic stop after the driver consented to a search of the car and the passenger did not unequivocally assert ownership of the briefcase and withhold consent to its search.
Search and seizure of vehicle — attaching GPS tracking device; warrant — scope, coverage of particular GPS device
State v. James G. Brereton, 2013 WI 17, affirming 2011 WI App 127; case activity
Search and seizure of vehicle — attaching GPS tracking device
After lawfully stopping Brereton, the police removed him from his car, towed it to a lot, and, after obtaining a warrant, attached a GPS tracking device. The car was returned to Brereton, and ensuing monitoring led to information connecting him to a crime.