State v. Thomas R. McEssey, 2011AP2668-CR, District 4, 9/20/12 court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity The police inadvertently destroyed a recording of a phone conversation between McEssey and the alleged victim. (A separate, but partial recording – containing only the latter’s side of the conversation – was made, misplaced, and belatedly… Read more
B. Exculpatory evidence
State v. Michael Anthony Lock, 2012 WI App 99 (recommended for publication); case activity Other-Acts Evidence Lock was tried and convicted for homicide, kidnapping and possession with intent to deliver. The State elicited testimony from numerous witnesses to the effect that Lock headed a vast criminal enterprise, of which these crimes were a part in… Read more
State v. Christopher J. Anderson, 2009AP3053-CR, District 1, 3/27/12 court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); pro se; case activity; prior history: 2008AP504-CR Anderson’s prior appeal established that “the trial court erred when it denied his request for an in camera review of [police] personnel files because he had both a constitutional and statutory right to… Read more
Wetzel v. John Lambert, USSC No. 11-38, 2/21/12, vacating and remanding 633 F.3d 126 (3rd Cir. 2011) Lambert claimed that state prosecutors withheld exculpatory information: a “police activity sheet” that arguably suggested someone other than, or perhaps in addition to, himself committed the offense (robbery and murder); and that could have been used to impeach… Read more
Samuel Morgan v. Hardy, 7th Cir No. 10-3155, 11/7/11 seventh circuit decision Habeas – Recantation The Illinois state court didn’t mishandle either the facts or applicable law, and its rejection of State witness Prater’s post-trial recantation as incredible wasn’t unreasonable. The petitioner’s task is to “show[] that the state court determined an underlying factual issue against the clear and… Read more
seventh circuit court of appeals decision, denying habeas relief on review of Wis. COA No. 2008AP1533-CR; prior history: 2001AP713-CR, 1995AP1856-CR Habeas – Exculpatory Evidence – Available to Defendant Jardine argues that the State suppressed exculpatory evidence, namely that post-conviction testing of the gun he admittedly possessed but denied using to club the victim didn’t reveal the presence of… Read more
Docket Decision below: State ex rel. Smith v. Cain, 992 So. 2d 928, 2008 La. LEXIS 1772 (La., 2008), writ denied State v. Smith, 2010 La. LEXIS 2202 (La., Sept. 24, 2010) Questions Presented (from SCOTUS docket page): In this Louisiana criminal case, the state trial court, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the Louisiana Supreme… Read more
State v. William M. O’Donnell, 2009AP2962, District 2, 11/17/10 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for O’Donnell: Walter Arthur Piel, Jr.; O’Donnell BiC; State Resp.; Reply Because the evidence allegedly suppressed by the State wasn’t exculpatory, O’Donnell wasn’t entitled to an evidentiary on his postconviction motion asserting suppression of exculpatory material. ¶10 A circuit court, in… Read more
