State v. Stephen Toliver, 2014AP2939-CR, 12/15/15, District 1 (not recommended for publication);case activity Here, in Wisconsin’s very own Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, the court of appeals upholds the denial of Toliver’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea, the circuit court’s refusal to vacate his felony murder plea, and the circuit court’s denial of his ineffective assistance… Read more
A. Plea agreements
Review of an unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; affirmed 2016 WI 17; case activity (for 2014AP1248-CR, which links to the other consolidated cases) Issues (composed by On Point from the PFR) Where the State agreed to cap its sentence recommendation on four cases at the “high end” of the recommendation of the presentence investigation… Read more
State v. Warren E. Schabow, 2014AP1254-CR, District 3, 7/7/15 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Based on the entire sentencing proceeding, the state didn’t breach the plea agreement because the prosecutor’s remarks did not insinuate the state was distancing itself from, or casting doubt on, its own sentencing recommendation. The state agreed to cap… Read more
State v. Nelson Luis Fortes, 2015 WI App 25; case activity (including briefs) A “misunderstanding” about what sentence the state could recommend under the plea agreement did not entitle Fortes to plea withdrawal or resentencing because after the misunderstanding became evident at the sentencing hearing, Fortes elected to proceed rather than seek an adjournment with a possible eye toward… Read more
State v. Johnny E. Miller, 2014AP1392-CR, 2/18/05, District 2 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity Miller argued that the State breached its plea agreement with him when, at sentencing, it recommended that he be eligible for the Earned Release Program only after he served a specified period of prison time. The State, he claimed… Read more
State v. Lavonte M. Price, 2014AP1189-CR, District 1, 2/13/15 (not recommended for publication); click here for briefs This decision examines the line between a trial court’s active participation in the plea negotiation process, which Wisconsin law prohibits, and trial court’s comments, suggestions and lectures, which are permitted under Wisconsin law. What the trial court did here… Read more
State v. William F. Bokenyi, 2014 WI 61, 7/11/14, reversing an unpublished per curiam court of appeals decision; majority opinion by Justice Ziegler; case activity In a decision that plows no new legal ground, a divided supreme court holds that a prosecutor’s remarks at sentencing did not breach the plea agreement, but were instead within the… Read more
Review of an unpublished, per curiam court of appeals decision; case activity; State’s petition for review Issues (from the State’s petition): 1. Did the prosecutor’s sentencing argument breach the plea agreement by undermining the agreed-upon sentencing recommendation? 2. Was defense counsel ineffective for failing to object to the alleged breach of the plea agreement? 3. In State v… Read more
