Review of an unpublished, per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity; State’s petition for review Issues (from the State’s petition): 1. Did the prosecutor’s sentencing argument breach the plea agreement by undermining the agreed-upon sentencing recommendation? 2. Was defense counsel ineffective for failing to object to the alleged breach of the plea agreement? 3. In State v… Read more
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Review of a published court of appeals decision; case activity Issue (composed by On Point) Wis. Stat. § 970.038 (2011-12) makes hearsay evidence admissible at a criminal defendant’s preliminary examination and permits the probable cause determination and bindover decision at a preliminary examination to be based “in whole or in part” on hearsay evidence. Do these provisions… Read more
How many misdemeanor cases is too many for one public defender to take in one year? Is it okay to advise a client to take a fantastic plea bargain without having a confidential conversation with him first? What about skipping the investigation of a client’s story? In Wilbur v. City of Mount Vernon, Case No. C11-1100RSL (12/4/13) the Western District of… Read more
Cuts in public defender programs cause Sixth Amendment violations, says federal judge. Sort of “no duh,” but it’s a big story. Read more here. Forty two states get an “F” in judicial ethics, according to a new report by The Center for Public Integrity. Guess which side of the line Wisconsin fall on? You guessed right, but we’re… Read more
State v. Adamis Figueroa, 2013AP47-CR, District 1, 12/3/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of a police department employee about the content of two recorded conversations in Spanish between Figueroa and J.R., who alleged Figueroa had sexually assaulted her… Read more
State v. Trenton James Dawson, 2013AP834-Cr, District 1, 12/3/13 (not recommended for publication); case activity This decision points up a problem in Wisconsin case law: How does an appellate court analyze “harmless error” in a situation where the trial court denies a motion to suppress a defendant’s confession, which then causes him to plead guilty… Read more
State v. Kaleb K., 2013AP839, District 4, 11/27/13; court of appeals decision (1-judge; ineligible for publication); case activity Kaleb posted a video on YouTube that depicted him “rapping” a song about his Spanish teacher. The song used “crude and vulgar sexual language” about the teacher. (¶2). (The trial court was harsher, characterizing the video as… Read more
Jessica G. and Joshua G. v. Alicia L., 2013AP1843, District 2, 11/27/13 (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity Issue: Whether Alicia’s L’s consent to the termination of her parental rights was voluntary. ¶6 The circuit court may accept a parent’s voluntary consent to TPR only after questioning the parent and determining that the consent is… Read more
