by admin
on September 12, 2017
Review of a summary order of the court of appeals; affirmed 5/4/18; case activity (including briefs)
Issues (from the petition for review):
Anthony Jones was committed under Wis. Stat. ch. 980 after a trial at which the state presented expert testimony relying in part on two actuarial instruments: the MnSOST-R and the RRASOR. Mr. Jones had moved pretrial to exclude these instruments as unreliable under Wisconsin’s new Daubert standard, because they are decades old and were constructed using questionable means. The circuit court permitted their introduction on the ground that they are still in use and that the state’s expert had testified that they are reliable. Did the court adequately scrutinize the instruments for reliability, as is its responsibility under Daubert?
[continue reading…]
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by admin
on September 6, 2017
Today’s edition of SCOWstats takes a look at how the voting records of Justices Kelly and Rebecca Bradley compare to the records of their predecessors, Justices Prosser and Crooks. Click here for all the details.
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by admin
on September 6, 2017
State v. C.L.H., 2017AP1278-1280, 9/6/17, District 1; (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
A circuit court terminated C.L.H.’s parental rights to her biological children, A.L.H., H.H. and M.J.H. The sole issue on appeal was whether the circuit court’s refusal to place the kids with C.H. (their maternal grandfather) and E.B. (his fiancée) amounted to an erroneous exercise of discretion. The court of appeals said “no.” [continue reading…]
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by admin
on September 6, 2017
State v. J.M.W., 2017AP158, District 1, 9/6/17 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
J.M.W. contends the steps in the proceedings terminating his parental rights occurred out of order and therefore the circuit court lost competency to conduct a disposition hearing. The court of appeals holds he waived a competency challenge by not raising it in the circuit court first. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on August 30, 2017
State v. Robert Torres, 2017 WI App 60; case activity (including briefs)
It’s unclear why this opinion is recommended for publication–it seems to be a pretty straightforward application of the law to a particular fact situation. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on August 29, 2017
State v. Michael L. Cox, 2016AP1745-CR, District 2, 8/29/17, certification granted 10/17/17, affirmed, 2018 WI 67; case activity (including briefs)
Issue certified
This case raises a single question: whether a sentencing court retains any discretion under Wis. Stat. § 973.046 (2015-16), to waive DNA surcharges for crimes committed after January 1, 2014. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on August 29, 2017
As the new U.S. Supreme Court term approaches there’s been a lot of commentary about Carpenter v. United States, which presents the momentous question of whether authorities need a warrant to seize and search historical cellphone records that reveal the location and movement of a cellphone user. Here are some links to that commentary: [continue reading…]
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by admin
on August 23, 2017
State v. Michel L. Wortman, 2017 WI App 61; case activity (including briefs)
A glitch in the OWI penalty statute appears to suggest that OWI 7th and greater offenses don’t allow for a fine, but only for the imposition of the forfeiture provided for first-offense OWI. The court of appeals concludes otherwise. The court also rejects Wortman’s claim that he was under arrest when a sheriff’s deputy transported him back to the scene of the accident he was in. [continue reading…]
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