State v. David Earl Harris, Jr., 2016AP548-CR, 5/31/17, District 1 (unpublished); case activity (including briefs) The state charged Harris with heinous conduct giving rise to false imprisonment, sexual assault, and strangulation charges. At trial, the DA introduced a copy of a TRO that pre-dated the criminal complaint but mirrored the facts that it alleged. Defense… Read more
a. Found
Former ASPD John Breffeilh just brought a real gem to On Point’s attention. It’s an indexed compilation of hundreds (maybe thousands) of successful ineffective assistance of counsel cases from around the nation. The database runs from 1984 when SCOTUS decided Strickland through the present. It includes Wisconsin cases and covers everything from criminal cases, to sexual predator cases, to… Read more
State v. Rafael D. Honig, 2016 WI App 10; case activity (including briefs) Honig, convicted at trial of two first-degree child sexual assaults, asserts that his trial counsel mishandled three issues bearing on the credibility of his accusers; the court of appeals agrees. Honig was accused of having intercourse and sexual contact with his two granddaughters, aged three… Read more
Oscar C. Thomas v. Marc Clements, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 14-2539, 6/16/15, petition for rehearing en banc denied, 8/7/15 Thomas is entitled to a new trial for the intentional homicide of Joyce Oliver-Thomas, his ex-wife, because his trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to ask a pathology expert to review the conclusions of the state’s forensic pathologist—conclusions… Read more
State v. James Richard Coleman, 2015 WI App 38; case activity (including briefs) Coleman’s trial lawyer was ineffective for telling the jury Coleman would testify when Coleman had never said he intended to testify; for telling the jury that Coleman had a prior criminal conviction; and for failing to impeach the victim’s allegations by eliciting… Read more
State v. Jason S. VanDyke, 2015 WI App 30; case activity (including briefs) In this prosecution for reckless homicide by delivery of heroin, VanDyke’s right to confrontation was violated where the medical examiner relied on the toxicology report of an out-of-state drug testing lab to conclude the victim had died of a heroin overdose, the… Read more
State v. Charles C.S., Jr., 2014AP1045, 2/11/15, District 2 (not recommended for publication); click here for docket Ouch! This is the rare case where the court of appeals found both the deficient performance and the prejudice required for an “ineffective assistance of trial counsel” claim. Such decisions can be hard on the defense attorney, but… Read more
Manitowoc County Human Services Dep’t v. Ralph B., 2014AP140, District 2, 7/30/14 (not recommended for publication); case activity The court of appeals affirmed the circuit court’s decision to terminate Ralph B.’s parental rights because Manitowoc County met its burden of proving a failure to assume parental responsibility and because trial counsel had sound strategic reasons… Read more
