State v. Brian Kempainen, 2014 WI App 53, petition for review granted 9/18/14, affirmed, 2015 WI 32; case activity In this case, the circuit court dismissed 2 counts of sexual assault of a child against Kempainen because the charges failed to provide sufficient notice of when the assaults occurred thus violating due process. The court of… Read more
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Question presented: Whether a police officer’s mistake of law can provide the individualized suspicion that the Fourth Amendment requires to justify a traffic stop. Lower court opinion: State v. Heien, 737 S.E.2d 351 (N.C. 2012) Docket Scotusblog page Heien was stopped because one of the two brake lights didn’t illuminate when his car slowed down. But… Read more
Question presented: Whether mere possession of a short-barreled shotgun should be treated as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act? Lower court opinion: United States v. Johnson, No. 12-3123, 2013 WL 3924343 (8th Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (unpublished) Docket Scotusblog page Of interest to federal practitioners, this case will resolve a split between… Read more
Navarette v. California, USSC No. 12-9490, 4/22/14, affirming People v. Navarette, No. A132343, 2012 WL 4842651 (Cal. Ct. App. Oct. 12, 2013) (unpublished); Scotusblog page (includes links to the briefs and commentary) Validating the rationale employed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in State v. Rutzinski, 2001 WI 22, 241 Wis. 2d 729, 623 N.W.2d 516, the… Read more
Randy White v. Robert Keith Woodall, USSC No. 12-794, 4/23/14, reversing and remanding Woodall v. Simpson, 685 F.3d 574 (6th Cir. 2012); case activity It’s getting harder and harder to win a habeas case. Woodall requested an instruction forbidding jurors from drawing adverse inferences from his decision to not testify during the penalty phase of… Read more
State v. Scott E. Oberst, 2014 WI App 58; case activity The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies to evidence obtained during a period when binding Wisconsin appellate precedent permitted the warrantless installation of a global positioning system (GPS) device. Thus, even though the installation of the GPS device on the defendant’s vehicle was unconstitutional under United… Read more
State v. Jack E. Hoppe, 2014 WI App 51; case activity A sentencing court may not prohibit a defendant convicted of OWI from driving a motor vehicle as a condition of extended supervision when the length of extended supervision exceeds the maximum period for revoking operating privileges set by § 343.30. Hoppe was convicted of OWI 7th and sentenced… Read more
State v. John Francis Ferguson, 2014 WI App 48; case activity The circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion in denying Ferguson’s plea withdrawal motion, which was based on recantations by two witnesses who had previously said Ferguson fatally shot a man. The circuit judge applied the proper standard under State v. McCallum, 208 Wis… Read more
