State v. Eric J. Debrow, 2021AP1732, 7/21/22, District 4 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals holds Debrow is entitled to a new trial because of the unfair prejudice caused by one witness’s testimony that would have led the jury to conclude Debrow had a prior criminal conviction that led… Read more
K. Standards of Review
State v. Kevin Lee Wilke, 2020AP1068-CR, District 3, 8/2/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals rejects Wilke’s arguments for a new trial and his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Wilke, who was pro se at trial and on appeal, first argues the state violated his right… Read more
State v. Donald P. Coughlin, 2019AP1876-CR, 2022 WI 43, reversing an unpublished court of appeals opinion; case activity (including briefs) How should an appellate court measure the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury verdict where the instructions and the special verdict define the crime differently? In a 5-1 opinion, the majority held, based… Read more
State v. Theophilous Ruffin, 2022 WI 34, reversing an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) This case doesn’t break new ground or develop existing law. Instead, it reverses the court of appeals for not applying the standard a circuit applies when deciding whether to hold an evidentiary hearing on a postconviction motion… Read more
State v. A.P., 2021AP1146-47, 12/7/21, District 1 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity A.P. appealed orders terminating his parental rights to his two children. The court of appeals rejected his claim that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion when it refused to make his mother the guardian of the children and his new… Read more
State v. Laverne Ware, Jr., 2021 WI App 83; case activity (including briefs) When the parties filed their initial briefs in this appeal, it was a community-caretaker case. But during briefing, the Supreme Court decided Caniglia v. Strom, which made clear that this doctrine doesn’t permit searches in the home (in the process invalidating some… Read more
State v. X.S., 2021AP419, review of an unpublished court of appeals opinion, granted 10/18/21, case activity Issues: 1. Whether the court of appeals erroneously exercised its discretion in denying “Xander’s” motion for reconsideration less than 24 hours after it was filed without any explanation? 2. Whether a juvenile who stipulates to the prosecutive merit of… Read more
State v. Donald P. Coughlin, 2019AP1876-CR, petition for review of an unpublished court of appeals decision granted 9/14/21; case activity (including briefs) Issues presented (from State’s petition for review) 1. How does a court consider the theory of guilt in an evidence sufficiency claim when an inconsistency exists between a jury instruction and verdict? 2… Read more