State v. Marquis D. Walls, 2017AP1600-CR, District 1, 8/14/18 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals rejects Walls’s argument that the circuit court violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by pressuring him to admit guilt at sentencing and then used his failure to do so to impose a harsher sentence. Walls… Read more
B. Trial court discretion
State v. Timothy L. Landry, 2017AP1739-CR, 6/6/18, District 2 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Landry pled to 2 counts of 4th-degree sexual assault and was ordered to comply with §973.048(1m)(a), Wisconsin’s sex offender registry. On appeal, he argued that the trial court had not made the necessary findings or explained its… Read more
State v. Robert P. Vesper, 2018 WI App 31; case activity (including briefs) Vesper complains that when he was sentenced for his 7th OWI offense the judge didn’t give a separate explanation for why it was imposing a fine in addition to prison time. Over a dissent, the court of appeals concludes the judge said enough to… Read more
State v. Cheneye Leshia Edwards, 2017AP633-CR, 4/17/18, District 1 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication), case activity (including briefs). Edwards entered a plea to disorderly conduct and asked the sentencing court to order expungement in the event he successfully completed probation. The court denied the request without explaining why. So Edwards filed a postconviction motion arguing… Read more
State v. Marnie L. Coutino, 2016AP2386-CR, 7/19/2017, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for pubication); case activity (including briefs) Marnie Coutino seeks resentencing on the ground that the trial court erroneously exercised its discretion when it imposed a 30-day jail sentence without considering whether probation was appropriate. The court did not refer to probation during its… Read more
State v. Ron Joseph Allen, 2016AP885, 6/13/17, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) A jury convicted Ron Allen of first-degree intentional homicide as party to the crime. He raises various challenges to the conviction and sentence of life without extended supervision, but the court of appeals rejects them all. Allen and four… Read more
State v. Thomas G. St. Peter, 2016AP683-CR, District 1, 4/18/17 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) St. Peter is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the judge violated his due process rights when it relied on inaccurate information to jump the parties’ joint recommendation for time served and impose more jail time. State v… Read more
There is new research to support a racial bias challenge to COMPAS. You may recall that last spring Pro Publica studied COMPAS scores for some 10,000 people arrested for crimes in Broward County, Florida and published its results. It found that black defendants were twice as likely to be incorrectly labeled as higher risk to reoffend than white… Read more
