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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.
Miranda – Custody
State v. Jeffrey L. Torkelson, 2007 WI App 272, PFR filed 11/30/07
For Torkelson: Timothy A. Provis
Issue/Holding: Custody, for purposes of Miranda, requires that the suspect’s freedom be restricted to a degree associated with formal arrest, and is as gauged by a multi-factor test articulated in State v. Zan Morgan, 2002 WI App 124, ¶¶13-14. None of those factors are present in this instance,
Miranda – Waiver – Ambiguous Assertion
State v. Heather A. Markwardt, 2007 WI App 242, PFR filed 11/29/07
For Markwardt: Richard Hahn
Issue/Holding:
¶35 The circuit court relied on statements Markwardt made one hour and eleven minutes into the interview for its ruling that she had properly asserted her right to remain silent. Her exact words were: “Then put me in jail. Just get me out of here.
Statements – Voluntariness – Coercion – “Confrontational,” Loud Interrogation: Insufficient
State v. Heather A. Markwardt, 2007 WI App 242, PFR filed 11/29/07
For Markwardt: Richard Hahn
Issue/Holding: Markwardt’s in-custody statement was voluntary: any stress she was under was “unrelated to police conduct” (¶37); she didn’t unequivocally assert her rights (¶40); that the interrogator “was at times confrontational and raised his voice is not improper police procedure and does not, by itself, establish police coercion” (¶42,
Briefs – Appendix: Importance of, and Sanction for Falsely Certifying Compliance
State v. Philip R. Bons, 2007 WI App 124, PFR filed 4/24/07
Issue/Holding:
¶23 Applying the plain language of the rule, Gorokhovsky’s certification of compliance is false. His appendix contains only a copy of the judgment of conviction, the notice of motion and motion to suppress, and the notice of intent to pursue postconviction relief. How these documents in any way inform this court about the trial court’s determinations “essential to an understanding of the issues raised,” we do not know.
Briefs — Argument — Pinpoint Citations for Cited Caselaw
State v. Darren A. Kliss, 2007 WI App 13
For Kliss: Michael C. Witt
Issue/Holding: ¶6 n. 4:
We observe that Kliss, in his appellate brief, is inconsistent in his use of pinpoint citations for the case law he invokes to support his legal contentions. Wisconsin Stat. Rule 809.19(1)(e) requires the appellant to support its contentions with citations conforming to the Uniform System of Citation and Supreme Court Rule 80.02.
Briefs – Argument – Concession of Error by State
State v. Gary A. Johnson, 2007 WI 32, affirming 2006 WI App 15For Johnson: Eileen A. Hirsch, SPD, Madison Appellate
Issue/Holding:
¶14 … The State concedes before this court, as it did in the court of appeals, that Johnson did not freely consent to the search of his vehicle. [4] …
[4] The dissent faults the State for making this concession.
Briefs: Failure of Reply Brief to Respond to Argument
Dane Co. DHS v. Dyanne M., 2007 WI App 129, PFR filed 4/23
For Dyanne M.: Phillip J. Brehm
Issue/Holding: Reply brief failure to address argument raised in response brief may be deemed conceded for purposes of appeal, ¶23 n. 7, citing Hoffman v. Economy Preferred Ins. Co., 2000 WI App 22, ¶9, 232 Wis. 2d 53,
Briefs – Response Brief Failure to Address Argument, as Implicit Concession
State v. Dawn R. Dartez, 2007 WI App 126, PFR filed 4/23
For Dartez: Bill Ginsberg
Issue/Holding: Failure of a response brief to dispute a proposition in appellant’s brief may be taken as implicit concession of the proposition, ¶6 n. 3.
Notice of Appeal – Notice of Appeal – Contents – Inconsequential Errors
State v. Patrick Jackson, 2007 WI App 145, PFR filed 6/6/07
For Jackson: Marcella De Peters
Issue/Holding: Footnote 1:
Patrick Jackson’s notice of appeal says that he is appealing the trial-court order denying his motion for postconviction relief. The notice of appeal does not also indicate that he is also appealing from the judgment of conviction. This defect, however, is not fatal to our review of Jackson’s contention that the judgment was improperly entered against him.
John Doe Proceeding – Review of, by Supervisory Writ
State ex rel. Adrian T. Hipp v. Murray, 2007 WI App 202, (AG’s) PFR filed 8/16/07Pro se
Issue/Holding: Review of a judge’s actions in a John Doe proceeding aren’t subject to direct appeal, but may be reviewed by writ of mandamus:
¶9 The parties agree that we review Judge Murray’s actions in connection with Hipp’s John Doe petition via mandamus. See State of Wisconsin ex rel.
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