State v. Nicholas J. Bergner, 2024AP1875, District I, 6/3/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The COA affirmed the circuit court’s order denying Nicolas Bergner’s postconviction motion for a new trial. Although the circuit court did not follow the procedure required by SCOW in Tucker for using a numbers-only jury selection process, to which… Read more
b. Prejudice not found
State v. Johnny Ray Martin, 2023AP603, 5/28/25, District III (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity COA rejects Martin’s claims that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by denying his attempt to impeach the alleged victim with her prior recantation of a separate incident, and that defense counsel was ineffective by failing to adequately… Read more
William Thomas Hudson, III v. Sue DeHaan, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 23-2395, 2/11/25 Hudson was tried and convicted of conspiracy to commit first degree intentional homicide and of conspiracy to commit arson. After his convictions were affirmed on his direct appeal, Hudson filed a 974.06 postconviction motion alleging that his trial counsel was… Read more
Kenosha County DC&FS v. K.E.H., 2024AP1101, 2/26/25, District II (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity In a dense and fact-dependent appeal stemming from a TPR jury trial, COA applies strict legal standards in order to reject the appellant’s multiple claims of ineffectiveness. Trial Counsel’s Alleged Lack of Preparation “Kara’s” primary deficient performance argument is… Read more
State v. Percy Antione Robinson, 2020AP1728-CR, 8/6/24, District I (recommended for publication); case activity In a published decision that criminal practitioners have been waiting on for years, COA holds that a CR-215 probable cause procedure used to satisfy the requirements of Riverside triggers the attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The facts in this… Read more
Kenosha County DC&FS v. A.G.O., 2023AP1305, 1307 & 1308, 5/8/24, District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity In yet another TPR case involving allegations of ineffective assistance, COA affirms based on hard-to-overcome legal standards. “Adam” appeals TPR judgments involving three of his children. (¶1). He raises two issues: Summary Judgment In the run-up… Read more
State v. Matthew Robert Mayotte, 2022AP1695, 1/23/24, District 3 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Given the state of the postconviction record and COA’s narrow reading of precedent, Mayotte fails to establish he is entitled to plea withdrawal given his misunderstanding of the consequences of his Alford plea. This is probably one of the… Read more
State v. Wayne L. Timm, 2023AP351, 1/19/24, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The police thought Timm might be responsible for a string of burglaries in the area, and so were looking out for his vehicle. When an officer spotted it one night, he pulled it over for going 31… Read more
