State v. Michael Gene Wiskowski, 2021AP2105, review of a per curiam court of appeals decision granted 9/26/23; case activity (including briefs, PFR and response) Issues presented (from the PFR): When the report of a person sleeping in a car while waiting in line at a drive thru is contradicted by the officer’s observation of the… Read more
4. Community caretaker
State v. Randy J. Promer, 2020AP1715-CR, 12/21/21, District 3 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs). Last term, SCOTUS rejected the idea that “community caretaking” is a standalone doctrine that justifies warrantless searches and seizures in the home. See Caniglia v. Strom, 141 S. Ct. 1596 (2021). Concurring opinions raised the possibility that the… 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. Keith J. Dresser, 2020AP2017, 7/22/21, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) A sheriff’s deputy saw Dresser apparently unconscious in his vehicle in a Taco Bell parking lot at 5:00 a.m. The deputy pulled behind Dresser’s vehicle, turned on his emergency lights apparently based on departmental “procedures,” and knocked… Read more
Caniglia v. Strom, USSC No. 20-157, 2021 WL 1951784 , May 17, 2021; Scotusblog page (including links to briefs and commentary) In four quick pages, a unanimous Supreme Court rejects the notion that the police have a “caretaking” duty that “creates a standalone doctrine that justifies warrantless searches and seizures in the home.” This undoes… Read more
We’ll have a full analysis of this one in the coming days, but for anybody currently litigating a community caretaker case, be advised the doctrine doesn’t exist. Writing for a unanimous Court (there are two concurrences totaling four justices, so the 5-justice majority is law) Justice Thomas says that the reference in Cady v. Dombrowski… Read more
Caniglia v. Strom, USSC No. 20-157, cert granted 11/20/20 Question presented: Whether the “community caretaking” exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement extends to the home. Lower court decision: 953 F.3d 112 (1st Cir. 2020). Docket Scotusblog page (including links to filings and commentary) The Supreme Court announced the “community caretaking” exception to the warrant… Read more
State v. Heather Jan VanBeek, 2019AP447, certification granted 9/16/20; District 2; case activity (including briefs) We wrote about this case less than a month ago, when the court of appeals issued its certification to the supreme court. Now the certification is granted, so SCOW will have a chance to deal with the inconvenient fact that our… Read more
