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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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Aggregating 289 thefts as 1 continuous offense then dividing by 8 = no multiplicity violation
State v. Tina M. Jacobsen, 2014 WI App 13; case activity Jacobsen was charged with 8 offenses for stealing $500,000 from her employer, and she was convicted on 3 counts. The charges were based on 289 individual thefts occurring over 3 years. On appeal she claimed her trial lawyer was ineffective for failing advise her […]
Jury need not be unanimous about exact location in building where felon possessed firearm
State v. Julian L. Perez, 2013AP750-CR, District 1, 12/10/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Where the evidence at trial showed that the defendant possessed a firearm over a short span of time at two locations in the same apartment building, the jury did not need to be unanimous as to […]
Defendant must file a separate § 973.195 sentence adjustment petition for each sentence to be adjusted
State v. Jeffery Polar, Jr., 2014 WI App 15; case activity The court of appeals holds that the plain language of § 973.195(1r)(a) requires a defendant serving multiple sentences to file a separate sentence adjustment petition for each individual sentence the defendant is seeking to adjust. Polar’s governing sentences consisted of two consecutive terms, one […]
State v. William Bokenyi, 2012AP2557-CR, petition for review granted
Review of an unpublished, per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity; State’s petition for review Issues (from the State’s petition): 1. Did the prosecutor’s sentencing argument breach the plea agreement by undermining the agreed-upon sentencing recommendation? 2. Was defense counsel ineffective for failing to object to the alleged breach of the plea agreement? 3. In State v. […]
State v. O’Brien, 2012AP1769, petition for review granted 12/5/13
Review of a published court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (composed by On Point) Wis. Stat. § 970.038 (2011-12) makes hearsay evidence admissible at a criminal defendant’s preliminary examination and permits the probable cause determination and bindover decision at a preliminary examination to be based “in whole or in part” on hearsay evidence. Do these provisions […]
Underfunded public defender system violates Sixth Amendment right to counsel
How many misdemeanor cases is too many for one public defender to take in one year? Is it okay to advise a client to take a fantastic plea bargain without having a confidential conversation with him first? What about skipping the investigation of a client’s story? In Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon, Case No. C11-1100RSL (12/4/13) the Western District of […]
Friday links: pretty serious stuff
Cuts in public defender programs cause Sixth Amendment violations, says federal judge. Sort of “no duh,” but it’s a big story. Read more here. Forty two states get an “F” in judicial ethics, according to a new report by The Center for Public Integrity. Guess which side of the line Wisconsin fall on? You guessed right, but we’re […]
Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to testimony about recorded conversations in Spanish between the defendant and the victim
State v. Adamis Figueroa, 2013AP47-CR, District 1, 12/3/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of a police department employee about the content of two recorded conversations in Spanish between Figueroa and J.R., who alleged Figueroa had sexually assaulted her […]
Denial of motion to suppress confession, which led to guilty plea, deemed harmless error
State v. Trenton James Dawson, 2013AP834-Cr, District 1, 12/3/13 (not recommended for publication); case activity This decision points up a problem in Wisconsin case law: How does an appellate court analyze “harmless error” in a situation where the trial court denies a motion to suppress a defendant’s confession, which then causes him to plead guilty? […]
First Amendment protects juvenile’s “crude and vulgar” YouTube video against disorderly conduct charge, but not against charge of unlawful use of computerized communication system
State v. Kaleb K., 2013AP839, District 4, 11/27/13; court of appeals decision (1-judge; ineligible for publication); case activity Kaleb posted a video on YouTube that depicted him “rapping” a song about his Spanish teacher. The song used “crude and vulgar sexual language” about the teacher. (¶2). (The trial court was harsher, characterizing the video as […]
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