1. Stops, in general

In May, On Point reported on U.S. v. Randy Johnson, a split decision by the 7th Circuit in which the dissent accused the majority of authorizing Milwaukee police to seize someone for “parking while black.” See our post here. Guess what? The 7th Circuit just granted rehearing en banc, so stay tuned for further developments this… Read more

State v. Michael L. Joy, 2015AP960-CR, District 3, 7/26/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) An officer’s multiple good-faith factual mistakes didn’t invalidate his stop of a truck to investigate a possible registration violation. On two separate occasions a short time apart, the officer entered the license plate number of a truck into his… Read more

State v. Chad T. Kippley, 2015AP1671-CR, 5/19/16, District 4 (unpublished opinion); case activity (including briefs) A warden observed Kippley’s boat travelling at a slow speed in bow-up position. Based on his training and experience, the warden suspected that the boat was equipped with a motor in excess of its maximum horsepower rating, so he stopped… Read more

State v. Arturo Luiz-Lorenzo, 2015AP1540-CR, 5/18/2016, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Police discovered cocaine on Luiz-Lorenzo as a result of his arrest; he challenges the grounds for the initial Terry stop. The Kenosha officer who stopped Luiz-Lorenzo was responding to a reported disturbance around 3 a.m. On arriving in the… Read more

United States v. Randy Johnson, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-1366, 5/17/16 Taking Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996), to its logical extreme, the Seventh Circuit holds that detaining the passengers in a car parked too close to a crosswalk was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Police in Milwaukee saw a car stopped within 15… Read more

State v. John D. Arthur Griffin, 2015AP1271-CR, 3/3/16, District 4 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals finds that the police had reasonable suspicion to stop the car Griffin was driving and, even though that suspicion dissipated during the encounter, that the continued detention of Griffin was reasonable. Shortly… Read more

United States v. Gregorio Paniagua-Garcia, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-2540, 2/18/16 The stop of Paniagua-Garcia for texting while driving was unlawful because the officer had no basis for concluding Paniagua-Garcia was using his cellphone to send a text or email as opposed to using it in some way that isn’t prohibited. An Indiana… Read more