State v. Alvin C. Harris, 2012AP518-CR, District 2, 9/12/12 court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity Plea-Withdrawal Harris failed to make a prima facie showing that his plea colloquy was defective, therefore his motion to withdraw plea was properly denied without an evidentiary hearing: ¶7 Here, Harris’s motion alleged that his plea was… Read more
H. Modification/Review
State v. Lavon J. Ash, Sr., 2012AP381-CR, District 2, 8/15/12 court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity Ash was sentenced to concurrent terms of one-year initial confinement, one-year extended supervision on two misdemeanor counts, a sentence structure he successfully challenges. Incompatible statutory mandates lie at the heart of the problem. In the first… Read more
State v. Mark M. Benson, 2012 WI App 101 (recommended for publication); case activity Equal Protection – Homicide of Unborn Child by Intoxicated Use of Motor Vehicle, §§ 939.75(2)(b)3, 940.09(1)(c) Section § 939.75(2)(b)3 exempts from criminal liability any “act by a woman who is pregnant with an unborn child that results in the death of or great bodily… Read more
State v. Michael L. Frey, 2012 WI 99, affirming unpublished decision; case activity Sentencing Discretion – Reliance on Dismissed Charge The sentencing court may consider charges “dismissed” or “dismissed outright” (as opposed to read-ins) ¶47 To discharge its obligation to discern a defendant’s character, “[a] sentencing court may consider uncharged and unproven offenses,” State v. Leitner, 2002 WI 77, ¶45, 253… Read more
Evan Miller v. Alabama, USSC No. 10-9646 / Kuntrell Jackson v. Hobbs, No. 10-9647, 6/25/12, reversing 63 So. 3d 676 (Ala. Crim. App. 2010) The two 14-year-old offenders in these cases were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In neither case did the sentencing authority have any discretion to… Read more
State v. James E. Emerson, 2011AP1028-CR, District 3, 6/26/12 court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Counsel – Substitute Given findings made by the lower court after an evidentiary hearing, the court of appeals upholds denial of counsel’s motion to withdraw: counsel was prepared for trial; “(t)his was a dilatory tactic by the defendant,”… Read more
State v. Michael D. Carroll, 2012 WI App 83 (recommended for publication); case activity Repeal of ability to earn “positive adjustment time” wasn’t highly relevant to Carroll’s sentence, therefore didn’t constitute a new factor that could support sentence modification. ¶9 Because 2011 Wis. Act 38 did not become effective until more than a year after Carroll’s… Read more
State v. Wayne P. Harris, 2012 wI App 79(recommended for publication); for Harris: Attorney Gary Grass; case activity We know that “[a] defendant has a due process right to be sentenced based on accurate information.” See State v. Tiepelman, 2006 WI 66, ¶9, 291 Wis. 2d 179, 717 N.W.2d 1 But what happens when the sentencing court relies… Read more
