State v. Charles W. Richey, 2021AP142-CR, reversing an unpublished COA opinion; 12/9/22, case activity (including briefs) “Freedom for all,” including the driver of the Harley in this case. In a quirky 4-3 decision, the liberal justices plus RGB hold that a deputy’s warning to be on the lookout for a Harley-Davidson driving erratically and speeding… Read more
2. Traffic stops
Waupaca County v. Hunter Ja Dean Wheelock, 2022AP860, 11/3/2022 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) An sheriff’s deputy saw Wheelock and another man sitting in a car parked on the side of a dead-end road in Waupaca County. This particular road was apparently in a “highly problematic” are of that county where… Read more
State v. Jay G. Jacomet, 2021AP2186-CR, District 2, 10/12/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Under the totality of the circumstances, the police had a reasonable basis to suspect Jacomet was operating while intoxicated, so detaining him for field sobriety testing was lawful. ¶9 At the time he directed Jacomet to… Read more
State v. Annika S. Christensen, 2022AP500, 9/9/22, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Christensen was one of two occupants of a parked car after dark. A police truck approached, parked close behind her, and shined its takedown light into the car. At least one officer got out of the car… Read more
County of Jefferson v. Julianne Trista Wedl, 2022AP328, 9/9/22, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Wedl was driving her car when she came upon another vehicle engulfed in flames. An off-duty police officer also happened by and stopped. When the first on-duty officer arrived, he approached Wedl, who seemed to… Read more
City of West Bend v. Peter F. Parsons, 2022AP98, 8/17/22, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) This is an appeal of convictions for violating local ordinances in conformity with the state laws outlawing OWI. The court of appeals affirms. An officer stopped Parsons’s vehicle after midnight during a snowstorm, thinking… Read more
State v. Michael Justin Schwersinske, Jr., 2022AP162-CR, District 2, 8/10/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Schwersinske concedes the lawfulness of the initial stop of the car he was driving for crossing the centerline of Highway 151. But he argues, unsuccessfully, that the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion to extend the stop… Read more
County v. Buffalo v. Kevin J. Rich, 2020AP1526, 6/7/22, District 3 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals rejected all three of Rich’s challenges to his OWI 1st conviction. It held that the deputy did have reasonable suspicion to stop Rich’s jeep and to expand the stop to require… Read more
