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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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How the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2016-2017 docket is shaping up
Last year, SCOW granted an unusually low number of petitions and reviewed an unusually high number of per curiam decisions. Find out how the high court doing this year in the latest edition of SCOWstats.
DOJ agent’s search of computer at probation officer’s request upheld
State v. Richard L. Keller, 2017 WI App 19; case activity (including briefs)
Richard Keller’s probation rules required, among other things, that he neither possess a computer nor commit any crime. When his agent found computers at his house, she took them to Madison and had a Department of Criminal Investigations analyst examine them. Child porn was found and Keller moved for suppression, which the trial court granted. The court of appeals now reverses.
Juror’s glimpse of defendant chained to others wearing jail garb doesn’t warrant new trial
State v. Anthony Colon, 2016AP1071-CR, 2/7/17, District 1 (1-judge opinion; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Colon was on trial for 2 felonies and 3 misdemeanors. During a break in deliberations, the bailiff happened to be transporting Colon to the court room. Colon was wearing street clothes, but he was chained to other defendants who were wearing orange jail garb. Upon learning that some of Colon’s jurors may have seen him that way, defense counsel asked the judge to question the jury, but he did not move for a mistrial.
No error in denying defendant’s request for new counsel and adjournment of trial
State v. Michael Steel, Jr., 2016AP796-CR, District 3, 2/7/17 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The circuit court didn’t erroneously exercise its discretion in denying Steel’s requests for a new lawyer and an adjournment on the morning of trial.
Circuit court’s findings about driving not clearly erroneous
State v. Nicholas W. Stern, 2016AP1534, District 3, 2/7/17 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The circuit court implicitly credited the testimony of a police officer that Stern was in the wrong lane of travel as he drove toward the officer, and therefore held the officer had reasonable suspicion to stop Stern for violating § 346.05(1). The circuit court’s finding is not clearly erroneous, despite Stern’s claim the officer’s testimony is contradicted by the squad car video, which he says shows Stern maintaining his lane as he approached and passed the officer.
Bill Tyroler on using prior juvenile delinquency adjudications as sentence enhancers
Everyone once in awhile–sometimes around Groundhog Day–our former colleague emerges to post some entertaining comments about a significant development in the law. These remarks about a SCOTUSblog “petition of the day” filed in Ohio v. Hand, now pending, were cut and pasted from Bill’s Facebook page.
Failing to provide defendant with complete information about Huber eligibility wasn’t ineffective
State v. William J. Drake, II, 2016AP724-CR, District 4, 2/2/17 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
It may be that Drake’s lawyer could have done a better job of looking into and advising him about the possibility his Huber privileges would be revoked, but that doesn’t mean counsel was ineffective. Thus, Drake doesn’t get to withdraw his pleas.
Perspectives on SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch
We now know who Trump’s nominee for SCOTUS is, but what do we know about him–particularly his views on issues concerning indigent defense? On Point has gathered a few links to resources that help answer that question.
Trump’s executive orders on immigration enforcement
In case you missed Davorin Odrcic’s post regarding immigration enforcement on to WACDL’s listserv yesterday, he has authorized On Point to republish it here:
False confessions in child abuse cases
Professor Richard Leo has posted a lecture–soon to be a published research paper–titled “Police Interrogation, False Confessions and Child Abuse Cases” on SSRN. Click here for the lecture.
On Point is sponsored by Wisconsin State Public Defenders. All content is subject to public disclosure. Comments are moderated. If you have questions about this blog, please email [email protected].
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.