State v. Zackery J. Olson, 2023AP369-CR, 5/22/24, District II (1-judge opinion, not eligible for publication); case activity Olson’s erroneous exercise of discretion claim regarding the court’s decision to impose a prison sentence instead of probation fares about as well as you would expect. The court of appeals reviews and details the record supporting the court’s… Read more
B. Trial court discretion
State v. Theodore J. Polczynski, 2023AP900, 1/3/24, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) COA upholds the circuit court’s order barring Polczynski from owning a business or operating as a general contractor as conditions of probation by finding they are reasonable and appropriate under the facts of this case. Polczynski was… Read more
State v. Jimmie L. Blount, 2021AP1943-CR, District 2, 6/8/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) At one sentencing hearing on two different cases, the circuit court imposed on one case a 4-year bifurcated prison sentence—2 years’ confinement and 2 years’ extended supervision—and on the other ordered 3 years of probation. The court… Read more
State v. Hajji Y. McReynolds, 2022 WI App 25; case activity (including briefs) This decision addresses: 1) the propriety of successive postconviction motions; 2) a claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to testimony vouching for the credibility of another witness and to improper character evidence; and 3) the novel issue of… Read more
State v. Randy L. Bolstad, 2021 WI App 81; case activity (including briefs) Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away, SCOW held that when circuit courts sentence a defendant, they must demonstrate their exercise of discretion on the record. State v. Gallion, 2004 WI 42, 270 Wis. 2d 535, 678 N.W.2d 197. Circuit courts… Read more
A new study by the Sentencing Project finds that nationally “one in 81 Black adults per 100,000 in the U.S. is serving time in state prison. Wisconsin leads the nation in Black imprisonment rates; one of every 36 Black Wisconsinites is in prison.” The study also examines incarceration rates for Latinx individuals. If you’re thinking… Read more
State v. Lisa Rena Lantz, 2020AP742-CR, District 3, 7/27/21 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) Lantz was convicted of conspiring to deliver methamphetamine between September 2015 and March 2016 and of soliciting the delivery of methamphetamine in February and March 2016. The court of appeals rejects Lantz’s argument that the charges are multiplicitous… Read more
State v. Larry A. Brown, 2021AP12-CR, District 1, 6/29/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Brown was charged with theft by embezzlement and accepted a deferred prosecution agreement for the charge. He subsequently picked up new charges of THC possession and carryng a concealed weapon, for which he was given probation. That… Read more
