State v. Peter Joseph Idell, 2024AP2230, District I, 6/17/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The COA holds that an odor of intoxicants and the driver’s 2009 conviction for OWI established reasonable suspicion to extend stop for expired license plates to investigate OWI. A West Allis police officer stopped Peter Idell for driving a… Read more
35. Search & Seizure
State v. Timothy J. Petrie, 2024AP2629-CR, 6/11/25, District 2, (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Petrie argued the officer lacked probable cause to perform a preliminary breath test (PBT), therefore all evidenced gathered afterward must be suppressed. On appeal, he contends that the circuit court improperly applied the independent source doctrine because… Read more
City of West Bend v. Logan Patrick Lang, 2024AP2559, District II, 6/4/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity COA affirms the circuit court’s order denying Lang’s suppression motion. Lang did not challenge the initial stop, but argued that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the stop for field sobriety tests. At the suppression… Read more
State v. Nicholas J. Nero, 2023AP543, District III, 6/10/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The COA found that law enforcement had probable cause that Nicholas Nero was driving under the influence, independent from his compelled statement to his probation officer and un-Mirandized statement to a deputy sheriff, and therefore affirmed the circuit court’s… Read more
City of Monona v. Erick J. Erickson, 2024AP312, District IV, 5/30/25 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The COA affirmed Erick J. Erickson’s conviction following a bench trial for operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration and revocation of his operating privileges because he unreasonably refused to submit to a preliminary breath test (PBT). COA… Read more
William T. Case v. Montana, USSC No. 24-624, certiorari granted 6/2/25 SCOTUS added to its docket when it accepted an increasingly rare grant from state criminal proceedings in this Fourth Amendment case: Question presented: Whether law enforcement may enter a home without a search warrant based on less than probable cause that an emergency is… Read more
State v. Peter J. Long, 2024AP1249-CR, 5/28/25, District II (not recommended for publication); case activity While Long’s appeal presents some superficially interesting legal issues, ultimately COA’s dereference to the circuit court’s underlying factual findings govern the outcome here. “Alice,” called police to report that her mother was being physically attacked by the defendant, Long. (¶2)… Read more
State v. Jonah Michael Hoffman, 2024AP1221-CR, 4/24/25, District IV (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity The sole issue on appeal is whether the deputy who arrested Hoffman had probable cause to search his truck for evidence of an open container. COA concludes that probable cause was lacking, and accordingly reverses and remands with directions… Read more
