State v. Marie Williams, 2016 WI App 82; case activity (including briefs) Like other states, Wisconsin has an opioid addiction epidemic. To encourage people to summon emergency aid for someone who has overdosed, the legislature passed §961.443 which provides that that an “aider” is immune from prosecution for the possession of drug paraphernalia under §961.573 or a… Read more
10. Defenses
City of Madison v. Jacob Ong, 2015AP1176, 10/20/16, District 4 (1-judge decision; ineligible for publication) case activity (including briefs) The court rejects all challenges to this pro se appellant’s jury-trial conviction of an ordinance violation for stealing a letter from a mailbox. The court first addresses Ong’s claim that the evidence was insufficient, particularly as to mens… Read more
Review of a per curiam opinion; case activity (including briefs); petition for review Issues (from Stietz’s petition): 1. On the facts of this case, did the court of appeals deny Stietz’s federal and state constitutional rights to present a complete defense of self-defense, and contradict controlling precedent of this Court in State v. Mendoza, 80 Wis… Read more
State v. Ronald Marshall Jewett, 2015AP1014-CR, District 3, 8/30/16 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The question presented in this case is whether a certified driving record from the Wisconsin DOT is sufficient evidence to establish 2 prior OWI convictions in Minnesota–even though the original court records for those convictions no longer exist. The… Read more
So far, only one Wisconsin case has interpreted and applied our new Castle Doctrine law–State v. Chew, 2014 WI App 116. Attorneys researching the issue may find a new law review article about this history of this type of legislation helpful… Read more
State v. Zachary W. Swan, 2015AP1718-CR, 5/5/16, District 4 (one-judge opinion; ineligible for publication); case activity, including briefs Swan was convicted of OWI 2nd with a prohibited alcohol content. On appeal he argued that the circuit court should have suppressed the results of a preliminary breath test and other evidence due to the absence of… Read more
That’s what we suspect anyway. In 2011, Kansas passed the Offender Registration Act, which requires persons convicted of certain felonies to register with state authorities. That prompted the question of whether applying the Act to persons convicted before it went into effect would violate the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. Last week, the… Read more
Dismissal of felon-in-possession charge doesn’t bar new charge under different provision of § 941.29
State v. Joshua Java Berry, 2016 WI App 40; case activity (including briefs) Berry was found guilty at a bench trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm under § 941.29(2)(a) (2013-14). Before sentencing, Berry’s lawyer figured out that Berry’s prior conviction was for a misdemeanor, not a felony. The court vacated the felon-in-possession conviction and… Read more
