State v. Cesar O. Fernandez-Reyes, 2024AP1668-CR, 3/4/25, District III (not recommended for publication); case activity COA affirms circuit court’s order declaring a mistrial and denying the defendant’s motion to bar a retrial on double jeopardy grounds where prosecutor learned she had COVID after the first day of trial. Cesar Fernandez-Reyes’s trial on two counts of… Read more
K. Mistrial
COA affirms order declaring mistrial when prosecutor learned she had COVID after first day of trial.
State v. Marqus G. Phillips, 2023AP450, 10/4/23, District 2 (one-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) That the Constitution does not guarantee an “error-free trial” is an unnecessary response to a straw man when a defendant seeks a new trial after it is discovered that the second of two state’s witnesses was found to… Read more
State v. Mitchell D. Green, 2023 WI 57, 6/29/23, review of an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) In yet another reversal of a defense win, a divided Court upholds the circuit court’s exercise of discretion, despite serious criticisms of the circuit court’s reasoning made by the dissenters. (See our previous posts… Read more
State v. Eric J. Debrow, 2023 WI 54, 6/23/23, reversing an unpublished court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs) In yet another reversal of a defense win, SCOW defers to the circuit court’s decision denying a motion for mistrial but slightly muddies the waters as to the proper legal analysis when assessing mistrial claims… Read more
State v. Eric J. Debrow, 2021AP1732-CR, petition for review of an unpublished COA opinion granted 12/15/22, reversed, 2023 WI 54; case activity (including PFR, Response, and COA briefs) Issue presented (from the State’s petition): Did the court of appeals apply the proper legal standard to its review of the circuit court’s decision to deny Debrow’s motion… Read more
State v. James P. Killian, 2022 WI App 43; review granted 1/20/23; reversed, 2023 WI 52; case activity (including briefs) The state provoked a mistrial in a case charging Killian with child sexual assault offenses against two complainants. The circuit court later dismissed the case due to the prosecutor’s misconduct. When the state recharged Killian… Read more
State v. Eric J. Debrow, 2021AP1732, 7/21/22, District 4 (not recommended for publication); petition for review granted, 12/15/22, reversed, 2023 WI 54; case activity (including briefs) The court of appeals holds Debrow is entitled to a new trial because of the unfair prejudice caused by one witness’s testimony that would have led the jury to… Read more
Fond du Lac County v. John Anthony Hettwer, 2020AP 1422, 7/21/21, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The county charged Hettwer with OWI- and PAC-first. At the first attempted trial, the jury was sworn, but before opening statements could begin, the county told the court that the phlebotomist it intended… Read more
