State v. Joseph Blankenship, 2024AP791-CR, 11/7/24, District IV (one judge decision; not eligible for publication); case activity The Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court’s order granting Joseph Blankenship’s motion to suppress because police did not have reasonable suspicion to direct him out of his vehicle to perform field sobriety tests. At 11:30 p.m., Muscoda… Read more
2. Traffic stops
State v. Reichert, 2023AP1224, 8/14/24, District II (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity Roxanne Reichert appealed from a judgment of conviction after she pled no contest to operating a vehicle under the influence. She argued that the circuit court erred when it denied her motion to suppress evidence seized after she was stopped in… Read more
State v. Michael Gene Wiskowski, 2024 WI 23, 6/18/24, reversing and remanding an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) Community caretaking does not allow police to continue seizure after officer resolves purpose for stop unless reasonable suspicion or probable cause developed. Three justices question continuing validity of Wisconsin’s community caretaking precedent in… Read more
Town of Dunn v. Brian S. LaFleur, 2023AP1529-1531, 5/23/24, District IV (1-judge opinion, not eligible for publication); case activity LaFleur was stopped after driving on a road that was marked “closed to through traffic” because his vehicle was registered to an address outside of the area. After the circuit court granted LaFleur’s motion to suppress… Read more
State v. Iain A. Johnson, 2022AP389-CR, 4/2/24, District III (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity Although COA concedes this is a “close case,” it nevertheless concludes that the evidence satisfies the relatively low burden for reasonable suspicion to extend a traffic stop. This police contact began when they received a “driving complaint” about Johnson’s… Read more
State v. Kevin A. Terry, 2023AP1053-CR, 1/31/24, District II (1-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) In yet another “broken taillight” OWI, COA holds that the officer had reasonable suspicion to seize Terry based on a relatively minor vehicle malfunction. Terry appeals the circuit court’s order denying his motion to suppress in this… Read more
State v. Joshua L. Thering, 2023AP1253, 1/23/24, District 4 (1-judge decision, not eligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) While the court of appeals agrees the facts in Thering’s case are “similar in significant respects” to the SCOW-approved police encounter in County of Grant v. Vogt, 2014 WI 76, 356 Wis. 2d 343, 850 N.W.2d… Read more
State v. Laquanda N. Strawder, 2022AP2112, 1/17/24, District 1 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The circuit court held that police lacked probable cause to arrest Strawder for OWI and suppressed the resulting evidence, including her breath test results. The state appealed, claiming the circuit court’s factual findings and analysis were so… Read more
