On Point

State v. Andrae D. Howell, 2007 WI 75, reversing 2006 WI App 182
For Howell: Ellen Henak, SPD, Milwaukee Appellate

Issue/Holding: The court must address the defendant personally and establish his or her understanding of the nature of the charge, and if ptac liability is alleged then that theory must be included in the plea colloquy, ¶¶36-37, citing State v. James E. Brown,

State v. Monika S. Lackershire, 2007 WI 74, reversing 2005 WI App 265
For Lackershire: Steven P. Weiss, SPD, Madison Appellate

Issue/Holding: ¶28 n. 8:

We do not adopt the court of appeals’ determinations that read-in charges are merely “collateral consequences” of a plea, and that therefore information about read-ins “is not a prerequisite to entering a knowing and intelligent plea.” Lackershire, 288 Wis. 2d 609,

State v. Monika S. Lackershire, 2007 WI 74, reversing 2005 WI App 265
For Lackershire: Steven P. Weiss, SPD, Madison Appellate

Issue/Holding1:

¶33      Wisconsin Stat. § 971.08(1)(b) provides that before a circuit court accepts a defendant’s guilty plea, it must “make such inquiry as satisfies it that the defendant in fact committed the crime charged.” This court has determined that establishing a sufficient factual basis requires a showing that “the conduct which the defendant admits constitutes the offense charged . 

State v. David C. Quarzenski, 2007 WI APP 212, PFR filed 9/21/07
For Quarzenski: Martin E. Kohler, Christopher M. Eippert

Issue: Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the State’s sentencing recommendation where: under the plea bargain the State agreed to and in fact “capped” its recommendation on several counts to a total of “7 years in prison” but “additionally asked for an extensive period of extended supervision and consecutive long-term probation.”

Holding: The State did not materially and substantially breach the agreement,

State v. William Troy Ford, 2007 WI 138, affirming unpublished decisionFor Ford: Ralph J. Sczygelski

Issue/Holding Belated discovery of the bailiff’s involvement in the charged offense as a possible witness did not, under the circumstances, cause sufficient prejudice to require mistrial:

¶57      In the present case, Wolfgram was unaware of his involvement in the case until the morning of trial. The jury was unaware of his involvement until the direct examination of the store clerk,

State v. Thomas C. Burton, 2007 WI App 237
For Burton: Timothy A. Provis

Issue/Holding: Testimony by a “gang expert” as to the gang-affiliation of certain witnesses, in an effort to explain their motive to testify as they did, was irrelevant in the absence of any evidence that the defendant was himself a gang member:

¶14   Burton’s central argument on appeal is that Warmington’s testimony was squarely barred by State v.

State v. Samuel Nelis, 2007 WI 58, affirming unpublished decision
For Nelis: Robert A. Ferg

Issue: Whether a trial-level objection that a dismissed witness was unavailable for cross-examination on a prior statement was specific enough to preserve an appellate argument that the witness wasn’t given an opportunity to explain or deny the statement.

Holding:

¶31 The State argues that Nelis did not object at trial to the admission of the statements on the ground of Wis.

State v. Caltone K. Cockrell, 2007 WI App 217, PFR filed
For Cockrell: Paul R. Nesson, Jr.

Issue/Holding:

¶14      Although Cockrell describes his challenge to the prosecutor’s use of his post- Miranda silence as a violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, the substance of his argument is the due process analysis employed in Doyle v. Ohio,

State v. Caltone K. Cockrell, 2007 WI App 217, PFR filed
For Cockrell: Paul R. Nesson, Jr.

Issue/Holding:

¶16      Building on footnote 11 in Doyle, courts have recognized situations in which it is not a violation of due process for the prosecutor to elicit on cross-examination the fact of the defendant’s post- Miranda silence for the purpose of impeaching the defendant’s testimony about his or her interactions with the police after the arrest.

State v. Caltone K. Cockrell, 2007 WI App 217, PFR filed
For Cockrell: Paul R. Nesson, Jr.

Issue/Holding:

¶31      … (A)s long as the prosecutor does not ask the jury to make a direct inference of guilt from the defendant’s post-arrest silence, asking the jury to draw inferences that impeach the defendant’s volunteered testimony on that subject does not violate due process, even though the inferences,