Jacob Alan Powers v. Jon Noble, No. 24-2134, 3/25/25 The Seventh Circuit found that Jacob Powers was competent to stand trial in a Wisconsin court in 2006 for sexual assault of a child and child enticement. Although Powers’ IQ was in the borderline/mild mental retardation range; his trial testimony, trial counsel’s decision not to challenge… Read more
4. Competency of defendant
State v. M.M.K., 2024AP591-CR, 2024AP592-CR, 2024AP593-CR, 2024AP594-CR, 10/31/24, District IV(1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity In a case which continues a new trend in appeals of involuntary medication appeals, COA holds that while the circuit court correctly found M.M.K. incompetent, it failed to correctly apply Sell in ordering involuntary medication. M.M.K. was charged in… Read more
State v. N.K.B., 2023AP722-CR, 10/1/24, District I (recommended for publication); petition for review granted, 2/12/25 case activity N.K.B. (referred to as Naomi) was found incompetent to proceed on her criminal charges. The circuit court authorized involuntarily administering medication to Naomi because she was dangerous. Naomi argued on appeal that the circuit court did not have authority… Read more
State v. Wilson P. Anderson, 2023 WI 44, 6/2/23, summarily reversing an unpublished court of appeals decision; 2020AP819; case activity (including briefs) As we’ve noted previously, the court of appeals (in the person of a single judge in District 1) decided this case shortly after the same court (by a three-judge panel of District 4)… Read more
State v. Donald L. White, 2020AP275-CR, 11/3/2022, District 4 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) We hope SCOW reviews this decision. An examiner opined that White was competent to proceed under §971.14 but refused to give her opinion to a reasonable degree of professional certainty. In fact, she thought White should be observed… Read more
State v. Joseph G. Green, 2022 WI 30, 5/13/22, limiting in part and affirming in part, a published court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) Section 971.14(5)(a)1 provides that a defendant’s commitment for treatment to competency cannot exceed 12 months or his maximum sentence, whichever is less. So the State argued that if a… Read more
State v. Joseph G. Green, 2020AP298-CR, petition for review granted 6/16/21, case activity (including briefs) Issue (from the State’s petition): Does a circuit court have authority to order tolling of the 12-month statutory time limit for bringing an incompetent criminal defendant to trial competency? When a circuit court declares a defendant incompetent to proceed with… Read more
State v. Wilson P. Anderson, 2020AP819-Cr, 3/16/21, District 1 (1-judge opinion; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) A few weeks ago, District 4 issued a to-be-published decision regarding the State’s burden of proof on a motion for involuntary medication to restore a defendant’s competence for trial. See State v. Green. It held that to… Read more
