State v. Tommy K. Miller, 2015AP1211-CR, District 4, 12/23/15 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The seizure of Miller’s car was justified under the community caretaker doctrine because the officer’s observations led him to believe Miller’s passenger was in distress. Having lawfully seized the car, the officer’s subsequent discoveries gave him reason… Read more
C. Warrant unnecessary
State v. Charles Ray Stewart, 2014AP276-CR, District 1, 12/22/15 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The warrantless search for and seizure of evidence from Stewart’s apartment was lawful because, after Stewart allowed police to enter the apartment and was arrested, the community caretaker doctrine allowed police to remain in the apartment to assure Stewart’s dog was… 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
State v. Daniel S. Iverson, 2015 WI 101, 11/25/2015, reversing a 1-judge court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) Do cigarette butts decompose? Do they “result[]…from community activities”? Those are just two of the burning questions left unanswered (smoldering?) after this blaze of statutory construction. A state trooper pulled Iverson over after seeing a passenger in his car throw a… Read more
United States v. Bodie B. Witzlib, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-1115, 8/7/15 The search of the basement of the home Witzlib was living in with his grandmother was valid because the area was shared and not Witzlib’s private space. Nor was the consent affected by the fact that after Witzlib answered the officers’ knock… Read more
United States v. Larry Bentley, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 13-2995, 7/28/15 A drug dog’s alert on Bentley’s car during a traffic stop was sufficient to establish probable cause to search in light of the standard established by Florida v. Harris, 133 S. Ct. 1050 (2013). Police stopped Bentley’s vehicle after observing it cross into another lane… Read more
State v. James Michael Warren, 2014AP792-CR, District 3, 8/4/15 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Under State v. Bohling, 173 Wis. 2d 529, 494 N.W.2d 399 (1993), which was the law at the time of Warren’s arrest, a person must present their reasonable objection and the basis for the objection at the… Read more
State v. Patrick Hogan, 2015 WI 76, 7/10/2015, affirming a court of appeals per curiam decision, 2013AP430-CR, majority opinion by Prosser; concurrence by Ziegler, dissent by Bradley (joined by Abrahamson); case activity (including briefs) Sixteen seconds. It takes longer than that just to find your keys, get into your car, buckle up and start your… Read more
