State v. Myron C. Dillard, 2013 WI App 108, petition for review granted, 2/19/14, affirmed, 2014 WI 123; case activity Dillard accepted a plea bargain under which a persistent repeater allegation was dismissed, thus apparently reducing his maximum penalty exposure by avoiding a mandatory life sentence without prospect of release. But Dillard was not really… Read more
B. Published opinions
State v. Langston C. Austin, 2013 WI App 96; case activity In this important case the court of appeals holds that the pattern jury instruction for self-defense in cases involving reckless or negligent crimes does not properly apprise the jury that the state has the burden to prove the defendant did not act in self-defense… Read more
Walworth County DH&HS v. Roberta J.W., 2013 WI App 102; consolidated case activity: 2012AP2387; 2012AP2388 The County petitioned to terminate Roberta’s parental rights in 2007 on the grounds her children were in continuing need of protection and services. After a jury trial and dispositional hearing her rights were terminated, but on appeal the termination order was… Read more
State v. Zachary P. Stuckey, 2013 WI App 98; case activty The court of appeals concludes that the prohibition in § 948.10 against exposing genitals to a child is a “variable obscenity” statute, and to avoid unconstitutional application it must be read to require proof the defendant knew he was exposing himself to someone under the age… Read more
State v. Martin P. O’Brien, State v. Kathleen M. O’Brien, and State v. Charles E. Butts, 2013 WI App 97. As briefly noted in a previous post, the Court of Appeals has upheld Wis. Stat. § 970.038, which makes hearsay admissible at preliminary hearings and allows bindover based solely on hearsay. On Point is pleased to present… Read more
State v. Martin P. O’Brien, State v. Kathleen M. O’Brien, and State v. Charles E. Butts, 2013 WI App 97; consolidated court of appeals decision; case activity: Martin O’Brien; Kathleen O’Brien; Charles Butts. ¶1 The newly enacted Wis. Stat. § 970.038 (2011-12) makes hearsay evidence admissible at a criminal defendant’s preliminary examination and permits the probable cause determination… Read more
State v. Robert J. Betters, 2013 WI App 85; case activity When sentencing of Betters for child sexual assault, the judge stated that “every child is a gift from God,” and indicated Betters’s conduct toward the victims was “an abomination in the sight of God and in the sight of man, and … totally unacceptable.”… Read more
State v. Aaron L. Wood, 2013 WI App 88; case activity The state did not breach the plea agreement where the prosecutor, after making the agreed-upon recommendation, expressed alarm and concern at what he discovered in the PSI after the plea agreement was made and referred in his sentencing argument to the negative portions of the… Read more
