State v. Jobert L. Molde, 2021AP1346-CR, 5/21/24, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity Although this defense win is unpublished and therefore nonprecedential, COA’s analysis and synthesis of the law regarding this commonly litigated issue is an important read for litigators considering such claims. Molde was prosecuted for first-degree sexual assault of a child… Read more
14. Ineffective assistance of counsel
Kenosha County DC&FS v. M.A.C., 2023AP2068 & 2069, 5/14/24, District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity M.A.C. (“Molly”) challenges the circuit court’s decision to deny her postdisposition motion without a hearing. The court of appeals affirms because it says Molly can’t establish she was prejudiced by her trial attorney’s advice that she admit… Read more
Kenosha County DC&FS v. M.A.M., 2023AP1643-45, 4/24/24, District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity In a case demonstrating the difficult hurdles litigants must clear in order to prove deficient performance, COA affirms an underlying order terminating “Mary’s” parental rights. In this TPR action involving multiple children, the County alleged only one ground–continuing CHIPS… Read more
Columbia County DH&HS v. S.A.J., 2023AP1884, 2/15/24, District IV (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity In a lengthy opinion notable for its treatise-like treatment of the issues, COA rejects S.A.J.’s challenges to her TPR order. This case stems from a TPR petition filed in 2020. (¶4). Counsel was appointed to represent S.A.J. and a… Read more
State v. Matthew Robert Mayotte, 2022AP1695, 1/23/24, District 3 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Given the state of the postconviction record and COA’s narrow reading of precedent, Mayotte fails to establish he is entitled to plea withdrawal given his misunderstanding of the consequences of his Alford plea. This is probably one of the… Read more
State v. Michele M. Ford, 2022AP187 & 2022AP188, 10/31/23, District I (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The takeaway from this procedurally convoluted case is that Ford succeeds in her appeal from an order finding her incompetent to stand trial in two misdemeanor cases. Specifically, the court reverses and remands for a “nunc pro… Read more
Tyler A. Gonzales v. Cheryl Eplett, No. 22-2393, 8/9/23 (Available on Westlaw as 2023 WL 5086451) In a case demonstrating the full power of AEDPA’s stringent standard of review, the 7th Circuit is powerless to grant a new trial despite its palpable discomfort when evaluating the performance of defense counsel. In 2015, Gonzales got in… Read more
State v. Jovan T. Mull, 2023 WI 26, 4/4/23, reversing a per curiam decision of the court of appeals; case activity (including briefs) The supreme court rejects Mull’s claims that his trial lawyer was ineffective at his trial, though it reaffirms that trial counsel’s strategic decisions are not given automatic deference, but are judged for… Read more
