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On Point is a judicial analysis blog written by members of the Wisconsin State Public Defenders. It includes cases from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Court upholds convictions for multiple counts of sending unlawful emails, bail jumping
State v. Brian A. Barwick, 2017AP958-CR through 2017AP961-CR, District 1, 9/5/18 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Barwick was charged with eleven counts of various crimes in four separate cases that were consolidated for trial. He makes various unsuccessful challenges to his convictions.
Court of appeals affirms “keys to the door” instruction and sufficiency of evidence in TPR case
K.M. v. R.O., 2018AP1206, District 1, 9/18/18 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
One ground for terminating a person’s parental rights is that the parent “abandoned” his child for 6 months or longer. In this case, a court ordered R.O. to have no contact with the mother of his child, which interfered with his visitation efforts. This appeal stems from the trial court’s customization of a jury instruction to address that problem and from the jury’s finding that R.O. had failed to assume parental responsibility.
Defendant’s out-of-state imprisonment doesn’t overcome Escalona bar
State v. Rafael D. Newson, 2018AP551, 9/18/18, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Newson claims that his trial and postconviction lawyers were ineffective for failing to raise lack of jurisdiction caused by the State’s failure to file its complaint against him before he was extradited to Arizona. He also argued that the Escalona bar should not apply given that he was in Arizona at the time of his direct appeal and his first two postconviction motions. The court of appeals did not bite on either.
Big data on Justice Abrahamson
Justice Abrahamson has just begun her 43rd term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Because she has announced that this will also be her last term, SCOWstats has crunched some numbers on her. The results are impressive. Click here.
No hearing on ineffective assistance claim for failure to investigate misconduct claims against sheriff
State v. Alice M. Fischer, 2018AP422-CR, 9/18/18, District 1 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
This case may sound vaguely familiar. Trial counsel failed to investigate and make use of a claim against a sheriff’s sergeant, Matthew Paradise, the defendant in a civil rights action alleging that he and others conspired to create inaccurate reports leading to a false drunk driving charge against one Tanya Weyker. Turns out Paradise also stopped Fischer for OWI and testified at her trial.
Denial of plea withdrawal, sentence modification and postconviction discovery affirmed
State v. Darrick L. Bennett, 2016AP2209-CR, 9/18/18, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Bennett was charged with 1st degree intentional homicide, but pled guilty to 1st degree reckless homicide. In a decision turning on facts specific to this case, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision denying (a) plea withdrawal without a hearing, (b) sentence modification based on a new factors, and (c) postconviction discovery of evidence that might have affected his sentence.
August 2018 publication list
On August 29, 2018, the court of appeals ordered the publication of the following criminal law related decisions: State v. Arthur Allen Freiboth, 2018 WI App 46 (judge doesn’t have to inform defendant during plea colloquy about mandatory DNA surcharge) State v. Terrance Lavone Egerson, 2018 WI App 49 (“let me represent myself” wasn’t an […]
September 2018 publication list
On September 26, 2018, the court of appeals ordered the publication of the following criminal law related decisions: State v. Norris W. Culver, Sr., 2018 WI App 55 (rejecting constitutional challenges to §§ 942.09 and 941.29) State v. Christopher A. Mason, 2018 WI App 57 (identify theft doesn’t require some extra act of “representing” in […]
Court of appeals sees no ineffective assistance in not challenging phone-tracking warrant
State v. Brinkley L. Bridges, 2017AP2311-CR, 9/25/18, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Bridges pled to five felonies involving guns and drugs; the evidence against him was derived, in part, from a warrant police had obtained allowing them to track his cell phone. He argues counsel was ineffective for not challenging that warrant because the application didn’t show probable cause.
SCOW will address whether defendants pleading NGI need to know maximum length of commitment
State v. Corey R. Fugere, 2016AP2258-CR, petition for review of a published court of appeals decision granted 9/4/18; case activity (including briefs)
Issue (composed by On Point):
When a person enters a guilty plea to a criminal charge coupled with the defense of not responsible due to mental disease or defect under § 971.15, is a circuit court required to advise the person of the maximum term of commitment under ¶ 971.17 in addition to the maximum penalties provided for the offense?
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On Point provides information (not legal advice) about important developments in the law. Please note that this information may not be up to date. Viewing this blog does not create an attorney-client relationship with the Wisconsin State Public Defender. Readers should consult an attorney for their legal needs.