Last term, ASPD Andy Hinkel argued an important community caretaker issue that has divided state and federal courts to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. See State v. Asboth, 2015AP2051-CR. The State prevailed but perhaps only temporarily. Today the defense gained traction when SCOTUSblog featured Asboth’s petition for writ of certiorari as its Petition of the Day… Read more
4. Community caretaker
State v. Bryan J. Landwehr, 2016AP2536-CR, 11/7/17, District 3 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication) case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals holds that officers lacked a valid community caretaker basis to seize Landwehr from his garage based on speculation that he might engage in a domestic dispute in the future. An officer on patrol… Read more
State v. Sierra Ann Desing, 2017AP490-491, 10/11/17, District 2, (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) A citizen informant told 911 that he saw Desing pulled over on the side of the road hanging out her door. He asked if she was okay and was told “yes,” but he later saw her driving erratically… Read more
State v. Kenneth M. Asboth, Jr., 2017 WI 76, 7/6/2017, affirming an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) This case presented an issue that has divided federal and state appellate courts: does Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987), permit “community caretaker”-type vehicle impoundments only when the police act accord to “standard… Read more
Review of an unpublished court of appeals decision; affirmed 2017 WI 76, case activity (including briefs) Issues (from petition for review): Law enforcement officers arrested Kenneth Asboth at a private storage facility. The car he had been driving was parked in the lane between rows of storage units, in front Mr. Asboth’s leased unit. The officers… Read more
State v. John D. Myer, 2016AP490-CR, District 4, 12/22/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Assuming a police officer’s contact with Myer constituted a seizure, it was justified under the community caretaker doctrine. At 2:30 a.m. one October night the officer passed the parking lot of a closed business and saw a vehicle idling, its… Read more
State v. Kenneth M. Asboth, Jr., 2015AP2052-CR, 9/29/16, District 4 (not recommended for publication); petition for review granted 1/9/17; affirmed 2017 WI 76; case activity (including briefs) Police suspected Kenneth Asboth in a bank robbery. They received a tip that he would be at a storage facility, and converged there, where they arrested him. They also decided to… Read more
According to the dissent in State v. Matalonis, Wisconsin’s expansion of the community caretaker doctrine has pretty much swallowed the Fourth Amendment. See our prior post here. If you’re interested in this issue, take a look at the cert petition that Matalonis filed on June 30th. We’ll keep you posted on how it fares… Read more
