On Point

John M. Stephenson v. Levenhagen, 7th Cir No. 09-2924, 08/26/2010 7th Cir decision; petition for rehearing denied 1/14/11, 3 dissents from denial of en banc review Habeas – Effective Assistance – Stun Belt Counsel’s failure to object to placement of stun belt on Stephenson during trial was held by the state court to be deficient: accepting […]

7th Cir. decision; Order denying rehearing and amending opinion, 10/10/15 Habeas – Voluntary Statement – Juvenile State court determination that juvenile’s custodial statement to police was voluntary wasn’t objectively unreasonable., notwithstanding his age (15), borderline intellectual functioning and lack of criminal background. “(I)t is the totality of the circumstances underlying a juvenile confession, rather than […]

State v. Nick J. W., 2009AP2030-CR, District 4, 8/26/10 court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Nick J.W.: Joseph L. Sommers; BiC; Resp.; Reply Incest – Sufficiency of Evidence The 16-year-old complainant’s testimony that her biological father had sex with her sufficed to prove the crime of incest, the court rejecting the […]

State v. Donovan L. Lewis, 2009AP2531-CR, District 4, 8/26/10 court of appeals decision (3-judge, not recommended for publication); for Lewis: Shelley Fite, SPD, Madison Appellate; BiC; Resp.; Reply Defense access to a complainant’s privileged counseling records requires first convincing the trial court to conduct an in camera inspection to see if the records contain information […]

State v. David E. Steinke, 2009AP3207-CR, District 4, 8/26/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Steinke: Cody Wagner; BiC; Resp.; Reply Driving with a prohibited alcohol content of .08 or more, second offense, is a crime and therefore subject to beyond-reasonable-doubt burden of proof. Sitting as trier of fact in a bench […]

Waukesha County DH&HS v. Michelle P., 2009AP1087, District 2, 8/25/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Michelle P.: Eileen A. Hirsch, SPD , Madison Appellate Authority of the local department to suspend visitation without judicial approval is an “interesting” issue, but one that need not be reached under these facts because the […]

court of appeals publication orders, 8/25/10 On Point posts from this list: 2010 WI App 103 State v. Walter Allison, Jr. 2010 WI App 104 State v. Esteban M. Gonzalez 2010 WI App 107 State v. Tarence A. Banks 2010 WI App 113 State v. Wendy A. Brown 2010 WI App 114 Titus Henderson v. […]

State v. Jesenia R., 2009AP2906, District 1, 8/24/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Jesenia R.: Mary D. Scholle, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate No prejudice resulted from counsel’s failure to object to violation of the change-of-placement notice requirement in § 48.357. ¶¶15-16. The background is a bit fact-intensive. Roughly: The child (Elizabeth) had […]

State v. Kurt D. Schmidt, 2010AP551-CR, District 3, 8/24/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Schmidt: Andrew John Laufers; BiC; Resp.; Reply Conviction for disorderly conduct was established by evidence that Schmidt, following a contentious divorce, left messages on his ex-wife’s answering machine cautioning her “to question (her) own personal assurance and […]

County of Milwaukee v. Katherine R. Harmon, 2010AP297, District 1, 8/24/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Harmon: Basil M. Loeb; BiC; Resp. Traffic stop supported by reasonable suspicion of impaired driving based on: driving on lane-divider lines, crossing lane-divider by half-foot, and “jerkiness in … front steer tires.” The court notes […]