On Point

Those of you with juvenile clients might find this new paper interesting. The full title is: “And if Your Friends Jumped Off a Bridge Would You Do it Too? How Developmental Neuroscience Can Inform Legal Regimes Governing Adolescents.” Here is the abstract:

So says Salon.com‘s new article on law enforcement’s “rabid defense” of mandatory minimum sentences here.

State v. Mendell Stokes, 2015AP1335-CR, District 2, 11/4/15 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

Applying State v. Spaeth, 206 Wis. 2d 135, 556 N.W.2d 728 (1996), the court of appeals holds the record provided “competent proof” that Stokes was operating after revocation for a prior OWI offense and, thus, was subject to criminal penalties instead of a civil forfeiture, § 343.44(1)(b) and (2)(ar)2.

S.R. v. Circuit Court for Winnebago County, 2015 WI App 98; case activity

Because S.R. and C.L.’s “petition for determination of parentage” effectively asked the circuit court for a declaratory judgment about the meaning of Wisconsin’s parentage statutes in light of the cases holding that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, the petition should have been served on the Attorney General. Because that didn’t happen, the circuit court lacked the competency to decide the petition.

State v. Colton M., 2015 WI App 94; case activity

Colton challenges his delinquency adjudication for repeated acts of sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 under § 948.025(1)(e), arguing that applying the statute to him violates due process because it provides insufficient standards for distinguishing him from D., the victim, as both were 15 years old and both engaged in sexual activity. Colton also argues that prosecuting him rather than D. violates equal protection. The court concludes that, under the facts of this case, the statute is sufficiently definite to satisfy due process and there was a rational basis for prosecuting Colton instead of D.

Question presented:

Does a misdemeanor crime with the mens rea of recklessness qualify as a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” as defined under 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(33)(A) and 922(g)(9)?

How often does On Point say “this is a must see”? Not too often. (Last time was John Oliver’s show on public defenders.) So trust us. You do not want to miss seeing how Bryan Wilson, Texas Law Hawk, markets his criminal defense practice. Click here! And now for a super fun ethics quiz. Suppose […]

N.A.H. v. J.R.D., 2015AP1726, 2015AP1727, and 2015AP1728, District 4, 10/29/15 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (first case number)

The petition to terminate J.R.D.s parental rights set forth sufficient facts to support the allegation that J.R.D. had failed to assume parental responsibility.

State v. Joseph William Netzer, 2015AP213, District 4, 10/29/15 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity ¶1     …. Netzer argues on appeal that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, was denied his constitutional right to a jury trial, and that the results of his blood tests were impermissibly admitted into evidence. We conclude […]

Seriously! Read about Harvard’s ambitious “free the law” project in this New York Times article. By 2017, all case law from around the nation will be free and searchable using (allegedly) more sophisticated techniques than those offered by Westlaw and Lexis (and dare we add flops like Fastcase). This massive effort entails scanning 40 million […]