State v. John L. Griffin, 220 Wis. 2d 371, 584 N.W.2d 127 (Ct. App. 1998)
For Griffin: Donald T. Lang, SPD, Madison Appellate
Issue/Holding:
Griffin was charged with drug possession. In State v. Pozo, 198 Wis.2d 705, 714, 544 N.W.2d 228, 232 (Ct. App. 1995), we stated that although a large amount of cash on an unemployed defendant may be relevant to whether the defendant is selling drugs, the evidence “would have no tendency to establish” that the defendant was guilty of simple possession. Accordingly, under Pozo, which we must follow, the evidence that Griffin possessed $3500 in money orders and $764 in cash, yet was unemployed, was irrelevant to whether he was guilty of simple possession. We conclude that the trial court erroneously exercised its discretion in admitting the evidence.
