On Point: 45. WI Supreme Court

State v. Charles W. Richey, 2021AP142-CR, reversing an unpublished COA opinion; 12/9/22, case activity (including briefs)

“Freedom for all,” including the driver of the Harley in this case. In a quirky 4-3 decision, the liberal justices plus RGB hold that a deputy’s warning to be on the lookout for a Harley-Davidson driving erratically and speeding north on Alderson Street did not amount to reasonable suspicion for an officer stop a Harley driving normally about a 1/2 a mile away.

State v. Christopher D. Wilson, 2022 WI 77, 11/23/22, reversing an unpublished decision of the court of appeals, 2020AP1014; case activity (including briefs)

Someone called the police to report that a vehicle was driving erratically “all over the road.” The caller said the car had stopped in the alley behind a particular house and described its driver getting out, climbing up on the fence to reach over an unlatch a gate, and going into the backyard.

State v. Jeffrey L. Moeser, 2022 WI 76, 11/23/22, affirming an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs)

The Fourth Amendment requires that warrants shall not be issued except upon probable cause “supported by Oath or affirmation.” The officer who applied for a warrant to draw Moeser’s blood after an OWI arrest made no oral oath or affirmation before signing the affidavit in support of the warrant or before the judicial officer who approved the warrant. (¶8). But that doesn’t make the warrant invalid, because oath or affirmation is a matter of substance, not form, and it’s clear that the officer manifested an intent to be bound by his statement under circumstances that emphasize the need to tell the truth.

State v. Junior L. Williams-Holmes, petition for review of a published court of appeals decision granted 11/16/22; case activity (including PFR, PFR response, and briefs)

Issue presented (from the defendant’s PFR)

Can a circuit court use its statutory authority to modify conditions of probation and extended supervision to regulate the day-to-day affairs of individuals on supervision, contrary to statutes conferring on the Department of Corrections the exclusive authority to administer probation?

State v. A.G., 2022AP652, two petitions for review of unpublished court of appeals opinions granted 10/11/22; reversed, 2023 WI 61; case activity

Issues for review:

From the State’s petition: Whether A.G., the father who lost his parental rights, knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily pled “no contest” to grounds for termination of his rights.

From the GAL’s petition: Whether Bangert‘s procedure governing motions to withdraw a criminal guilty plea should apply rigidly to TPR proceedings.

Also from the GAL’s petition. Whether a parent loses his right to appeal after failing to attend a remand hearing without excuse.

State v. Tomas J. Hoyle, 2020AP1876-CR, petition for review of an unpublished opinion granted 9/14/22; case activity (including briefs)

Issue: (adapted from the State’s PFR):

The 5th Amendment prohibits a prosecutor from commenting  on defendant’s failure to to the stand. Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 615 (1965); Bies v. State, 53 Wis. 2d 322, 325-26, 193 N.W.2d 46 (1972). In a case where the defendant exercises his right not to testify, does the prosecution violate this prohibition by telling the jury that the victim’s account is “uncontroverted” and no evidence was offered to dispute it?

Walworth County v. M.R.M., 2022AP140-FT, certification granted 9/14/22,  reversed, 2023 WI 59; case activity

Issues (from the COA certification):

1. Does the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in Waukesha County v. E.J.W., 2021 WI 85, ¶38, 399 Wis. 2d 471, 966 N.W.2d 590, apply retroactively or only prospectively?

2. In a ch. 51 case involving a petition to extend a commitment order, is circuit court competency determined from the expiration of the earlier commitment order or from the expiration of the extension order, even where the extension order is determined on appeal to be invalid?

State v. Wilson P. Anderson, 2020AP819-CR, petition for review of an unpublished court of appeals opinion granted 9/14/22; case activity (including briefs)

Issues:

1.  Whether Sell v. United States, 539 U.S. 166 (2003) requires the State to submit a treatment plan in support of its motion for involuntary medication to restore a defendant’s competency to proceed in a criminal case.

2.  Whether Sell requires the State to offer the opinion of a medical doctor (rather than a psychologist) to satisfy the second, third, and fourth Sell factors.

State v. Robert Daris Spencer, 2022 WI 56, July 6, 2022, affirming in part and reversing in part an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs)

A majority of the supreme court holds that Spencer had no right to be personally present or even to have counsel present when the trial judge decided to dismiss a juror for cause just before deliberations began because the judge’s interaction with the juror wasn’t a critical stage of the proceedings. 

State v. X.S., 2022 WI 49, 6/29/22, modifying and affirming an unpublished court of appeals decision, 2021AP419, case activity (including, for some reason, one brief)

Our supreme court is fond of extolling its role as a “law-developing court.” You’ll search in vain for any law development in this case. Rather than developing the law, the high court exercises its discretion to waive a juvenile into the adult system.