Birchfield v. North Dakota, USSC No. 14-1468, 2016 WL 3434398 (June 23, 2016), reversing State v. Birchfield, 858 N.W.2d 302 (N.D. 2015); vacating and remanding State v. Beylund, 861 N.W.2d 172 (N.D. 2015); and affirming State v. Bernard, 844 N.W.2d 41 (Minn. 2014); Scotusblog pages: Birchfield, Beylund, Bernard (include links to briefs and commentary) Three years ago, in Missouri v… Read more
6. Search incident to arrest
State v. Gary F. Lemberger, 2015AP1452-CR, 4/14/2016, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication), petition for review granted 10/11/2016, affirmed, 2017 WI 39; case activity (including briefs) A breathalyzer test is a Fourth Amendment search, and state case law holds that the state may not invite a jury to view a defendant’s refusal to consent to a search… Read more
The Court granted certiorari and consolidated three cases presenting identical questions in different factual permutations: Question presented (Birchfield v. North Dakota); (Beylund v. Levi); (Bernard v. Minnesota): Whether, in the absence of a warrant, a State may make it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical test to detect the presence of… Read more
County of Eau Claire v. Scott S. Mahler, 2014AP1696-FT, 3/31/15, District 3 (1-judge opinion; ineligible for publication) click here for docket and briefs Mahler, who was arrested for OWI, refused to consent to a chemical test of his blood. The court of appeals found his refusal unreasonable even though the arresting officer failed to have… Read more
State v. Antwan D. Hopson, 2014AP1430-CR, District 2, 3/25/15 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Even though Hopson was not formally under arrest at the time police searched him in a manner that exceeded the allowable scope of a frisk, the search was legal because the police had probable cause to arrest Hopson for… Read more
State v. Miranda K. Hinderman, 2014AP1787-CR, 2/12/15, District 4 (one-judge opinion; ineligible for publication); click here for briefs Just because police had grounds to arrest Hinderman for OWI didn’t mean that they also had reason to believe that evidence relating to the OWI might be found in a 3″x3″ pouch inside her purse, inside her… Read more
State v. Darrell G. Lewis, 2014AP2289-CR, 2/12/14; District 4 (one-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); click here for briefs After arresting Lewis for OWI, police searched his car and found marijuana. Lewis moved to suppress based on Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009), which permits a warrantless search of a car and containers within incident to… Read more
State v. Steven L. Kaulfuerst, 2014AP1428-CR, District 2, 12/10/14 (1-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity The pat-down search of Kaulfuerst was lawful because police had probable cause to arrest him for disorderly conduct, even though police had not arrested him for that offense. Police responded to a call about a disturbance and found an intoxicated… Read more
