On Point

State v. George A. Trinka, 2013AP539, District 2, 12/18/13; (not recommended for publication); case activity A jury found Trinka guilty of 1st-dgree reckless homicide and 1st-degree recklessly endangering safety, both with use of a weapon.  The issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce into evidence a family photograph of the victim, his […]

Review of unpublished per curium court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (from state’s petition for review) Whether, if it was error for the trial court to prevent a defense witness from testifying about particular facts relevant to the defense, the error was harmless. Hunt was charged with child sexual assault and causing a child […]

Review of unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity Issues (composed by On Point) Did the adult court lose jurisdiction or competency to proceed against a juvenile by failing to make a specific finding at the preliminary hearing that there was probable cause to believe the juvenile committed an offense that gave the […]

Review of unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (composed by On Point) In deciding whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call a witness, did the postconviction court err by deciding trial counsel’s failure to present the witness was not prejudicial because the witness was not credible? Unlike electronically filed briefs […]

Review of unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (composed by On Point) Does harmless error analysis apply when a trial judge erroneously denies a defendant the right to testify in her own defense? Nelson wanted to testify in her child sexual assault trial, and the court engaged in a colloquy with […]

Review of 2 unpublished per curiam court of appeals decisions in 2 unrelated cases now joined for purposes of oral argument. State v. Carlos A. Cummings, District 4 court of appeals decision, case activity State v. Adrean L. Smith, District 1 court of appeals decision, case activity Cummings and Smith both present the question of whether defendants […]

State v. Daniel R. Folkman, 2013AP1363-CR, District 3, 12/17/13; court of appeals decision (1-judge; ineligible for publication); case activity A deputy on patrol checked the license plate of an oncoming car. The check showed the car belonged to Folkman. The deputy then checked Folkman’s license status, which was expired, so the deputy stopped the car, […]

Question Presented: Whether the government must prove that the defendant intended to defraud a bank and expose it to risk of loss in every prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Lower court decision: United States v. Loughrin, 710 F.3d 1111 (10th Cir. 2013) Docket Scotusblog page Are you defending someone charged with federal bank fraud […]

Kansas v. Cheever, USSC No. 12-609, 12/11/13 United States Supreme Court decision, reversing Kansas v. Cheever, 284 P.3d 1007 (Kan. 2012). The Supreme Court unanimously holds that “where a defense expert who has examined the defendant testifies that the defendant lacked the requisite mental state to commit a crime, the prosecution may offer evidence from a […]

The Third Circuit plans to rehear en banc a case limiting the scope of the Davis good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.  Read Orin Kerr’s analysis of the problem on The Volokh Conspiracy. Is there a national epidemic of Brady violations?  Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski thinks so, and he wants to see prosecutors penalized for them.  Read […]