Karl W. Nichols v. Lance Wiersma, No. 22-3059, 7/16/24 In a complicated case that contains many harsh lessons about the standards applicable to habeas petitions, the Seventh Circuit affirms an order denying habeas relief as the exculpatory value of unpreserved evidence was not “apparent.” (Note that our prior post about COA’s decision can be found… Read more
13. Due Process
Rodney Lass v. Jason Wells, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 23-2880, 6/26/24 Lass was charged with multiple felony counts after his first trial on misdemeanor domestic abuse charges ended in a mistrial. During state postconviction and appeal proceedings, he raised claims of vindictive prosecution, ineffective assistance, and violation of his 6th amendment rights. The… Read more
State v. Allan Nathan Carroll, Jr. A/K/A/ U’si Ch-ab, 2023AP870, 3/20/24, District 2 (one-judge appeal; ineligible for publication); case activity Carroll, Jr., a.k.a. Ch-ab, pro se, appeals a jury verdict convicting him of resisting or obstructing an officer. Ch-ab raises two claims on appeal: (1) that his constitutional rights were violated during a traffic stop… Read more
State v. Jacob Richard Beyer, 2022AP2051, 1/11/24, District 4 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Although Beyer labors mightily at conjuring up legal arguments for reversal, COA is uniformly unpersuaded and unimpressed by his arguments and affirms. As summarized by the COA, the underlying law enforcement investigation began when specialized investigative software downloaded… Read more
R.G. v. J.J., 2023AP630, 1/9/24, District 3 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The father here–whom the court calls “Jacob”–appeals the termination of his parental rights to his son, “Hank.” About a year and a half after Hank was born, Jacob went to prison for sexual assault of a different child. Around this time… Read more
State v. Dustin J. VanderGalien, 2023AP890-CR, 12/29/23, District 4 (recommended for publication); case activity VanderGalien pled no contest to three counts stemming from a fatal motor vehicle crash after a non-impairing cocaine metabolite (benzoylecgonine or “BE”) was detected in his blood hours after the incident. The court of appeals rejects his facial challenge to the… Read more
State v. James T. Kettner, 2023AP160, 161, 162, 11/28/23, District 4 (one-judge case, ineligible for publication); case activity Kettner, pro se, appealed from three traffic forfeiture judgments and claimed that an open records violation prevented him from presenting video evidence that would have proved [his] innocence. The court of appeals rejects his claim and affirms the… Read more
State v. Batterman, 2022AP181, 11/28/23, District III (ineligible for publication); case activity Given the discretionary standard of review used to assess a circuit court’s evidentiary rulings, COA wastes no time in upholding the court’s order excluding evidence the defendant did well on some field sobriety tests at a second offense PAC trial. Batterman was originally… Read more
