On Point

Jamerson v. Dep’t of Children and Families, 2013 WI 7 Wisconsin supreme court decision, affirming 2012 WI App 32, 340 Wis. 2d 215, 813 N.W.2d 221 This case is not directly applicable to SPD practice, but it is a useful reminder of the multitudinous collateral consequences that may attend a criminal conviction. Here’s the gist: […]

Smith v. U.S., USSC 11-8976, 1/9/13 United States Supreme Court decision, affirming United States v.Moore, 651 F.3d 30 (D.C. Cir. 2011) Conspiracy – burden of proof on defendant’s claim of withdrawal Petitioner’s claim lies at the intersection of a withdrawal defense and a statute-of-limitations defense. He asserts that once he presented evidence that he ended his […]

Dane County v. Steven D. Koehn, 2012AP1718, District 4, 1/10/13 Court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity Motion to suppress evidence of intoxication properly denied because arresting officer had probable cause to administer a preliminary breath test. The court of appeals rejects Koehn’s claims that the officer’s failure to testify about […]

Ryan v. Gonzales, USSC No. 10-930; Tibbals v. Carter, USSC No. 11-218, 1/8/13 United States Supreme Court decision, reversing In re Gonzalez, 623 F.3d 1242 (9th Cir. 2010), and reversing and remanding Carter v. Bradshaw, 644 F.3d 329 (6th Cir. 2011) These two cases present the question whether the incompetence of a state prisoner requires suspension […]

State v. Stephen R. Tollaksen, Jr., 2012AP778-CR, District 4, 1/10/13 Court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity The court of appeals affirms the denial of motion to suppress evidence of blood test results where circuit court found that Tollaksen had not requested an additional test to determine the presence of alcohol […]

State v. Mitchell F. Graf, 2012AP1356-CR, District 3, 1/8/13 Court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity The court of appeals rejects Graf’s plea withdrawal claim, holding: 1)  Graf was not affirmatively misled to believe that by pleading to the offenses he would be able to keep his job because he understood that […]

State v. Dennis D. Lemoine, 2013 WI 5, affirming unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity Lemoine’s inculpatory statement to the police was voluntary: ¶3   We hold that the admission of Lemoine’s statements at trial was not error because, under the totality of the circumstances, the statements were voluntary. The well-established test for voluntariness balances the […]

Question presented Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that any degree of judicial participation in plea negotiations, in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1), automatically requires vacatur of a defendant’s guilty plea, irrespective of whether the error prejudiced the defendant. Lower court opinion (United States v. Davila, 664 F.3d 1355 (11th Cir. 2011) (per […]

State v. Thomas G. Felski, 2012AP1115-CR, District 2, 1/3/13 Court of appeals decision (1 judge; ineligible for publication); case activity Felski was convicted of violating Wis. Admin. Code ATCP § 110.05 (criminalized by virtue of § 100.20(2)) for failing to have a written contract covering some remodeling projects. Evidence at trial focused on construction of […]

Moore v. Madigan, 7th Circuit Nos. 12-1269 & 12-1788, 12/11/12 7th Circuit court of appeals decision Illinois’s broad ban forbidding most persons to carry a gun that is loaded, immediately accessible, and uncased violates the Second Amendment: We are disinclined to engage in another round of historical analysis to determine whether eighteenth-century America understood the Second […]