seventh circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Successive Petition – Rule 60(b) Motion A Rule 60 motion for relief from (habeas) judgment amounts to an impermissible successive petition – which the district court lacks jurisdiction to entertain – if it raises arguments forbidden by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) or (2), Gonzales v. Crosby, 545 U.S… Read more
C. Conflict of Interest
Susan Foley-Ciccantelli v. Bishop’s Grove Condominium Association, Inc., 2011 WI 36, on certification; case activity Standing – Generally Lead opinion (3-Justice): ¶5 There is no single longstanding or uniform test to determine standing in the case law. Courts have inconsistently used a variety of terminologies as tests for standing. Therefore, as a prerequisite to answering… Read more
Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Nikola P. Kostich, 2010 WI 136 Counsel publicly reprimanded for “a clear conflict of interest,” SCR 20:1.9(a): sexual assault victim had consulted counsel about suing his assailant, and counsel later represented assailant in criminal case involving number of victims including the one who had consulted him. The matters were “the… Read more
certification Issue: Can a circuit court disqualify retained counsel-of-record in a civil suit, thereby denying the client the right to representation by chosen counsel and restricting the attorney’s right to practice law in a civil action, where the attorney previously represented a nonparty witness for the opposing side? The Ciccantellis sued a condo association for… Read more
court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); Resp Br. (Berard); Reply (State) Counsel – Conflict of Interest – Prior Representation in Unrelated Case “Berard’s postconviction showing that Peter B. was Attorney Smith’s former client in an unrelated case and that he wanted to pin his charged crimes on Peter B. does not equate to a showing… Read more
State v. Todd E. Peterson, 2008 WI App 140 For Peterson: Ralph Sczygelski Issue/Holding: The trial court erroneously disqualified retained postconviction counsel from litigating an ineffective-assistance claim against his former law partner, the trial attorney: ¶21 Our review of the transcripts reveals little about what the circuit court feared would happen at the Machner hearing; specifically, what risk… Read more
State v. Christopher M. Medina, 2006 WI App 76 For Medina: Daniel P. Ryan Issue/Holding: A claim that the prosecutor represented the defendant in a prior case may be raised in a pretrial motion to disqualify the prosecutor, which requires a showing that “the subject matter of the two representations are ‘substantially related,’” ¶15, quoting State v. Tkacz, 2002… Read more
State v. Christopher M. Medina, 2006 WI App 76 For Medina: Daniel P. Ryan Issue: Whether a motion to disqualify a prosecutor because of representation of defendant in a prior case, brought immediately before jury selection, may be deemed waived on timeliness grounds. Holding: ¶24 We conclude the circuit court may, in the proper exercise of… Read more
