State v. Steven M. Nelson, 2021AP843-845, 4/4/23, District 3 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Nelson pleaded guilty to possessing meth as a repeater. He was eligible for the repeater enhancement because, on November 15, 2017, he’d been convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Barron County Case No… Read more
F. Notice of charge
State v. Terry L. Hibbard, 2022 WI App 53; case activity (including briefs) In a decision that allows for a sweeping expansion of aiding and abetting prosecutions in Len Bias cases, the court of appeals holds that a person assisting only a buyer a drug transaction could also be prosecuted for reckless homicide if the… Read more
Micah D. Stern v. Michael Meisner, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-2558, 2/9/16 Stern’s conviction for using a computer to facilitate a sex crime against a child under § 948.075 is constitutional because the Wisconsin appellate court’s conclusion that the statute allows conviction based on the defendant’s “reason to believe” the victim is a minor… Read more
State v. Jeffrey L. Elverman, 2015 WI App 91; case activity (including state’s brief) The court rejects all challenges to a conviction of theft of more than $10,000. The issues mostly spring from the state’s use of Wis. Stat. § 971.36(4), which permits, under certain circumstances, the aggregation of multiple thefts into a single count. Elverman was a lawyer… Read more
State v. Joel M. Hurley, 2015 WI 35, 3/31/15, reversing an unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; opinion by Justice Gableman; case activity (including briefs) This lengthy decision addresses three discrete issues: Whether Hurley was given sufficient notice of the child sexual assault charges he had to defend against; whether other acts evidence was… Read more
State v. Brian S. Kempainen, 2015 WI 32, 3/19/15, affirming a published court of appeals decision; opinion by Justice Gableman; case activity (including briefs) The supreme court unanimously holds that when determining whether the accusations in a criminal complaint are specific enough to give a defendant fair notice of the charges and an opportunity to defend against them… Read more
On review of a published court of appeals decision in Kempainen (case activity) and a per curiam decision in Hurley (case activity) Issues (adapted from the State’s PFR in Hurley): Did the amended complaint charging repeated sexual assault of a child, which alleged that Hurley assaulted his stepdaughter at least 26 times over a five or six-year charging… Read more
State v. Brian Kempainen, 2014 WI App 53, petition for review granted 9/18/14, affirmed, 2015 WI 32; case activity In this case, the circuit court dismissed 2 counts of sexual assault of a child against Kempainen because the charges failed to provide sufficient notice of when the assaults occurred thus violating due process. The court of… Read more