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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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Expectation of Privacy – Mail – Fictitous Addressee
State v. Dwan J. Earl, 2009 WI App 99 For Earl: Mark D. Richards, Christy Marie Hall Issue/Holding: Earl did not satisfy the “initial minimal burden of establishing some reasonable expectation of privacy” in a package addressed to a fictitious recipient at a vacant residence; moreover, when Earl picked up the package from the driver he […]
Expectation of Privacy – Mail, Generally
State v. Dwan J. Earl, 2009 WI App 99 For Earl: Mark D. Richards, Christy Marie Hall Issue/Holding: ¶9 Sealed packages sent through the mail are entitled to full protection under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 114 (1984). In order to challenge a warrantless search or seizure, one must show a […]
Reasonable Suspicion Issues – Frisk – Routine Traffic Stop
State v. Melvin Bridges, 2009 WI 66, PFR filed 5/18/09 For Bridges: Michael S. Holzman Issue/Holding: Frisk of Bridges during routine traffic stop (defective brake lights) upheld, where the early-evening stop was in an area “where the police had received numerous complaints of gunshots fired at night,” and Bridges when pulled over had made “a questionable movement”; State v. […]
Reasonable Suspicion – Basis – Traffic Stops – Administrative Code Equipment Violation (Excessive Tint) – Stop Effectuated by Local Police
State v. Dennis E. Bailey, 2009 WI App 140 For Bailey: Jeffrey W. Jensen Issue/Holding1: The police have authority to stop a vehicle for an equipment violation of an administrative code provision incorporated under local ordinance: ¶17 Wisconsin Stat. § 349.02(2)(a) and (b) expressly allow a police officer to stop a vehicle for violation of a statute […]
Frisk of Automobile – Furtive Movement
State v. Dennis E. Bailey, 2009 WI App 140 For Bailey: Jeffrey W. Jensen Issue/Holding: Court upholds frisk of vehicle, following stop for minor equipment violation (excessive window tint) in high crime area, where driver made furtive gesture (kicking motions under front seat) and officer testified that he saw a bag, which he thought contained a […]
Frisk of Automobile – Driver Wearing Empty Gun Holster
State v. Paul Anthony Butler, 2009 WI App 52, PFR filed 4/20/09 For Butler: Trisha R. Stewart Martin Issue/Holding: “Frisk” of car supported by concern driver had gun, in that he was wearing an empty gun holster, ¶16.
Kidnapping, § 940.31(1)(b) – Elements – “Hold to Service Against Will”
State v. Jeremy Denton, 2009 WI App 78 / State v. Aubrey W. Dahl, 2009 WI App 78 For Denton: Paul G. Bonneson For Dahl: Patrick M. Donnelly Issue/Holding: Though merely incidental to robbery, kidnapping charge is supported on theory that ordering the victim to relinquish property holds that person to service against his or her will: […]
§ 940.19(5), Aggravated Battery – Intent Element not Refuted, Lesser Included Option of 2nd-Degree Reckless Injury not Supported on Facts
State v. James D. Miller, 2009 WI App 111, PFR filed 8/3/09 Pro se Issue/Holding: ¶52 We conclude as a matter of law that shooting a person in the thigh at a range of sixteen feet with a shotgun is practically certain to cause at least a protracted loss or impairment of the function of the […]
Battery to Peace Officer, § 940.20(2) – Elements: Officer Need Not Act “Lawfully”
State v. Dione Wendell Haywood, 2009 WI App 178 For Haywood: Robert E. Haney Issue/Holding: In a battery-to-officer prosecution, it is no defense that the officer refused to leave the premises when the resident withdrew consent to enter, because acting “lawfully” is not an element: ¶11 The flaw in Haywood’s contention, however, is that a law-enforcement […]
§ 940.225(2)(a), Second-Degree Sexual Assault – Sufficiency of Evidence – Force
State v. Michael Scott Long, 2009 WI 36, affirming in part and reversing in part unpublished opinion For Long: Joseph L. Sommers Issue: Whether use of force element of second-degree sexual assault was established where the defendant asked the complainant to rate his penis then hugged her so that she could feel his penis through […]
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