2. Traffic stops

State v. Marie A. Martin, 2016AP913-CR, District 1, 12/20/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) A police officer’s contact with the driver of a car idling in a parking lot at 2:00 a.m. was lawful because the objective facts justified a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The officer had done a registration check… Read more

State v. Curtis D. Christianson, 2015AP24400-CR, District 3, 11/1/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) An officer observed Christianson deviate from his lane of traffic “numerous” times by going over the center line and fog line; some of the deviations occurred while he was driving through a construction zone that had orange… Read more

County of Fond Du Lac v. Blade N. Ramthun, 2016AP825, District 2, 10/26/16 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) A deputy stopped Ramthun for speeding and suspected that he had been drinking. Because it was 1:08 a.m. and raining hard on Highway 45, the deputy drove him 3 to 4 miles to… Read more

State v. Sabrina Marie Hebert, 2015AP2183-CR, District 3, 10/12/2016 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals rejects Hebert’s challenges to the circuit court’s factual findings and its conclusion that there was reasonable suspicion to stop the car she was driving. The evidence at the suppression hearing consisted of: the testimony… Read more

State v. Courtney L. Carney, 2016AP175-CR & 176, 9/21/2016, District 2 (1-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) At 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning, police pulled a car over for a broken light. The car driving in front of the targeted vehicle also stopped; this was Carney’s. The police ended up detaining him too, leading… Read more

Town of Grand Chute v. Shelley L. Kowalewski, 2015AP1788, District 3, 9/20/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The stop of Kowalewski’s car was supported by probable cause that she violated § 346.34(1)(b), which requires a drive to use a turn signal “[i]n the event any other traffic may be affected by… Read more

State v. Mary G. Zinda, 2016AP455-CR, District 2, 9/7/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Two police officers approached Zinda as she got out of her car on her own driveway, but this did not amount to a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. And even if it was a seizure, it was… Read more