On Point blog, page 48 of 59

Reasonable Suspicion – Terry Stop

City of Chippewa Falls v. Kenneth C. Hein, No. 09AP2729, District III, 6/23/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Hein: Paul D. Polacek; BiC; (Resp. not on-line); Reply

Stop of Hein’s vehicle was supported by “reports of suspicious activity about 2:30 a.m., the nature of which was unknown:”

¶10      … A prudent officer proceeding into such ambiguity and uncertainty will ensure the availability of witnesses or suspects and freeze the scene in order to further investigate:

[A] law enforcement officer will be confronted with many situations in which it seems necessary to acquire some further information from or about a person whose name he does not know,

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Traffic Arrest – Probable Cause – Crossing Median

Village of Whitefish Bay v. David W. Czirr, No. 2010AP92, District I, 6/22/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Czirr: Rex Anderegg; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Driving across median, even for very brief period of time, establishes probable cause to arrest for traffic offense:

¶14      Next, Czirr does not specifically argue that momentarily being on top of the median cannot constitute a violation of WIS.

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Reasonable Suspicion Issues – Frisk – Minor Traffic Stop – Passenger (Various Factors, Including Nervousness, High-Crime Area)

State v. Joshua O. Kyles, 2004 WI 15, affirming court of appeals’ unpublished decision
For Kyles: Eileen A. Hirsch, SPD, Madison Appellate

Issue/Holding: The following factors did not add up to reasonable suspicion supporting the frisk of a passenger during a routine traffic stop (¶17):

(1) The officer testified that he “didn’t feel any particular threat before searching” the defendant.
(2) The defendant,

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Traffic Stop – OWI – Reasonable Suspicion

City of Ripon v. Jonathan Lebese, No. 2009AP2996-FT, District II, 6/16/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Lebese: Wendy A. Patrickus; BiC; Resp.

¶13     The circuit court’s “preliminary ruling” was based on the well-established standards of reasonable suspicion. Lebese’s counsel had proffered that the additional defense witness would corroborate Lebese’s account that he swerved in an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with the car to his right.

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Traffic Stop – Reasonable Suspicion, OWI

Shawano Co. v. William P. Pari, No. 2009AP2338-FT, District III, 6/15/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Pari: John S. Bartholomew; BiC; Resp.; Reply

¶10    We agree that Pari’s minimal deviations within the traffic lane do not alone give rise to reasonable suspicion that he was operating while intoxicated. See id., ¶¶18-21. Nor do we place great emphasis on that fact here when considering the totality of the circumstances.

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State v. Brian A. Oetzman, 2009AP2514-CR, District II, 6/9/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Oetzman: Kirk B. Obear; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Traffic Stop – U-Turn

¶8     As such, three rules of the road come into play.Under Wis. Stat. § 346.34(1), no person may turn a vehicle at an intersection unless the vehicle is in proper position upon the roadway as required in Wis.

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County of Milwaukee v. Caleb L. Manske, 2009AP1779, District I, 6/8/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Manske: Jennifer R. Drow; BiC; Resp.; Reply

Traffic Stop – Reasonable Suspicion

¶16     Manske submits that because his driving was in some respects not consistent with an impaired driver, Galipo did not have reasonable suspicion to stop him. However, the test for reasonable suspicion is not whether all of the driver’s actions constituted erratic driving.

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State v. Michael J. Lonergan, No. 2009AP3001-CR, District III, 5/25/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Lonergan: Owen R. Williams; BiC; Resp.

Reasonable Suspicion – OWI Stop

Stop supported by reasonable suspicion, where vehicle “‘deviated constantly’ from a direct line of travel” and “made several abrupt course corrections,” albeit within its own lane. United States v. Lyons, 7 F.3d 973 (10th Cir. 1993) and United States v.

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State v. Cody R. Dewitt, 2009AP2393-CR, District IV, 5/20/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication); for Dewitt: Thomas E. Hayes; BiC; Resp.

Detention for 90 Minutes not Unreasonable

Stop of motorist Dewitt by officer who, because he was off-duty, could not under departmental rules himself perform arrest, wasn’t unnecessarily prolonged by 90 minute delay until on-duty officer could show up.

¶15 Dewitt has presented no evidence to show that Officer Geffert,

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State v. Michael S. Miske, 2009AP2841-CR, District II, 5/19/10

court of appeals decision (1-judge; not for publication);  for Miske: Sarvan Singh; BiC; Resp.

Terry Stop – Voluntary Encounter

A voluntary encounter, rather than Terry stop, occurred where Miske came to a stop when approaching two squads flanking “an unlit back country road” at 1:00 a.m.:

¶12      When Miske and his partner stopped, they were on a narrow road,

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