The U.S. Commission on Civil rights just released a report called “The Civil Rights Implications of Cash Bail.” Among other things, it finds that Blacks and Latinx people have higher rates of pre-trial detention and more than 60% of detainees are unable to afford bail. This creates a host of problems for the detainees like… Read more
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Outagamie County v. D.D.G., 2021AP511, District 3, 1/20/22, (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity “Dana” has been under commitment since 2017. It is undisputed that she has taken her medication and has done nothing dangerous in the interim. Yet the court of appeals affirmed her 2021 recommitment because she questions her diagnosis and her… Read more
Shoop v. Twyford, USSC No. 21-511, cert granted 1/14/22; SCOTUSblog page (containing links to briefs and commentary) Questions presented: 1. 28 U.S.C. §2241(c) allows federal courts to issue a writ of habeas corpus ordering the transportation of a state prisoner only when necessary to bring the inmate into court to testify or for trial. May… Read more
Forest County v. Brian M. Steinert, 2020AP1465, District 3, 1/19/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Steinert challenged his refusal citation on the ground the police didn’t have probable cause to arrest him, see § 343.305(9)(a)5.a. The court of appeals rejects his challenge. Steinert was stopped for an equipment violation. The officers noted… Read more
State v. Rory David Revels, 2021AP1185-CR, District 4, 1/13/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The circuit court held the police violated Revels’s due process rights by failing to preserve the footage from the squad car camera and body camera of the officer who stopped Revels. The court of appeals reverses, holding… Read more
Dane County DHS v. J.F., 2021AP1868 & 2021AP1869, District 4, 1/13/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The circuit court properly denied J.F.’s request for a new lawyer on the morning of the first day of her TPR grounds trial. The court of appeals assumes without deciding that the case law governing a criminal… Read more
State v. Taras O. Haliw, 2021AP1095, District 4, 1/13/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Haliw argues his license shouldn’t be revoked for refusing a chemical test for alcohol because the police didn’t have probable cause to arrest him for OWI, see § 343.305(9)(a)5.a. The court of appeals rejects his argument. Haliw… Read more
State v. Oscar C. Thomas, 2020AP32, petition for review of a published decision granted 1/11/2022; affirmed 2/21/23; case activity (including briefs) Issues presented (from the petition): Whether the Court of Appeals applied the wrong standard in determining that admission of DNA evidence in violation of [Thomas’s] right of Confrontation was harmless? Whether the Court of… Read more