Keith C. Henyard v. Cheryl Eplett, No. 22-3086, 4/26/24 Although Henyard argues that his conviction must be reversed because the lawyer who represented him was also the judicial official who bound him over for trial, the Seventh Circuit denies relief and holds that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals did not erroneously apply governing federal law… Read more
B. Federal
Robert J. Pope v. Je’Leslie Taylor, No. 23-2894, 5/6/24, affirming Pope v. Kemper, 21-CV-0346 (E.D. Wis. 9/1/23) In a refreshing defense win that cuts through the procedural weeds and directly attacks the unjust nature of Pope’s treatment by Wisconsin’s appellate courts, the Seventh Circuit wastes no time in affirming the district court’s grant of the… Read more
Tony P. Rogers v. Jason Wells, Warden, No. 17-2903, 3/22/24 Although Rogers claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for not seeking records to impeach the credibility of his accuser in this sexual assault case, the Seventh Circuit court is unpersuaded that the high bar for habeas relief has been met and affirms the district… Read more
State ex rel. Antonio S. Davis v. Circuit Court for Dane County, the Honorable Ellen K. Berz and State of Wisconsin, 2024 WI 14, 3/26/24; case activity A majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirms the court of appeals’ denial of Davis’ petition for a supervisory writ after concluding the the circuit court had no… Read more
State v. Matthew Curtis Stills, 2022AP1390-CR, 2/13/24, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity This 2016 case out of Milwaukee County has a bit of a backstory and an unfortunate ending for Sills. In 2020, the court of appeals reversed Sills’ conviction based on a Bangert violation related to the circuit court’s failure to advise Sills… Read more
Johnnie Mertice Wesley v. Randall Hepp, No. 22-2968, 1/5/24 Wesley’s challenges to law enforcement conduct which resulted in him giving inculpatory statements fail, as the Seventh Circuit concludes that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reasonably applied SCOTUS precedent. (See our post on the previous state court litigation here). Wesley was brought in for questioning related… Read more
Seventh Circuit holds that Wisconsin Court of Appeals did not unreasonably apply harmless error test
Deshawn Harold Jewell v. Gary Boughton, No. 22-3082, 1/22/24 Despite an obvious constitutional violation, Jewell is still precluded from obtaining a new trial given that Wisconsin courts did not unreasonably find the error harmless. (See our post on the previous state court litigation here). During Jewell’s trial, the jury sent a factual question to the… Read more
Graham L. Stowe v. Gregory Van Rybroek, 18-CV-400-wmc (W.D. Wis. 11/6/23). Having recently prevailed on a judicial bias claim in state court, Stowe makes a return appearance to the blog on his 2018 federal habeas petition. Unfortunately, the Western District of Wisconsin denied the petition, which had been pending for close 5 years. The petition… Read more
