State v. Brittanie Jo Palaia, 2016AP467-CR, 12/30/17, District 3 (1-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case history (including briefs)
Here we have the latest twist on State v. Newer, 2007 WI App 236, 306 Wis. 2d 193, 742 N.W.2d 923, which held that an officer who knows only that a moving vehicle is registered to a person with a revoked license has reasonable suspicion for a stop. [continue reading…]
On December 22, 2016, SCOW issued Regency West Apartments LLC v. City of Racine, 2016 WI 99 concerning a tax appeal. Justice Abrahamson filed a dissent which, among other things, sought to inform litigants and lawyers about a procedure the justices us when deciding petitions for review by email. This is what she wrote: [continue reading…]
State v. J.F.K., 2016AP941, District 3, 12/28/16 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
Fifteen-year-old J.F.K. confessed to having sex twice with his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend. At the delinquency hearing, the State (1) played his video confession, (2) offered the testimony of a detective who said that police had referred the girlfriend to be charged for having sex with J.F.K., and (3) a JOC showing that the ex-girlfriend had pled guilty to 4th degree sexual assault but, of course, did not name the victim. [continue reading…]
State v. B.H., 2016AP892-893, District 1, 12/28/16 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication)
B.H.’s twins were taken from her due to a report of violence between her and their father. The trial court found that she had failed to meet the conditions for their return and to assume parental responsibility. B.H. argues that those findings rest upon inadmissible hearsay in the form of testimony from the foster mother and from a social worker and in the form of a letter from the Bureau. B.H. asserts that trial counsel’s failure to object to this evidence amount to ineffective assistance of counsel. [continue reading…]
City of Eau Claire v. David Eugene Phelps, 2016AP248, District 3, 12/28/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Contrary to the circuit court’s conclusion, a police officer’s observations about Phelps’s driving provided more than a “hunch” and justified the stop of his car. [continue reading…]
T.M.H. v. A.N.W., 2016AP1981, District 4, 12/29/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
The biological father of J.H. petitioned to terminate the parental rights of the biological mother, A.W. The circuit court granted the petition, but only after concluding it could order continued visitation between J.H. and his maternal great-grandmother, with whom J.H. had an important relationship. It turns out the circuit court did not have that authority. Because the circuit court said it “absolutely, positively” would not terminate A.W.’s rights unless it could order continued visitation by the great-grandmother, the termination order is reversed. [continue reading…]
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. [continue reading…]
State v. Michael L. Washington, 2017 WI App 6, petition for review granted 4/10/17, affirmed, 2018 WI 3; case activity (including briefs)
Michael Washington was set to go on trial for burglary and obstructing an officer. On the morning of the first day of trial, before voir dire, Washington began complaining about his attorney, engaged in a contentious dialogue with the judge, and then “semi was removed and semi left on his own.” Voir dire and trial went on without him; he was occasionally contacted in his jail cell and refused to come back to the courtroom. He was convicted, and on appeal argues that his statutory (as opposed to constitutional) right to presence was violated because the statutory conditions for waiving that right were not met. [continue reading…]
