State v. William Troy Ford, 2007 WI 138, affirming unpublished decision For Ford: Ralph J. Sczygelski Issue/Holding: Belated discovery of the bailiff’s involvement in the charged offense as a possible witness did not, under the circumstances, cause sufficient prejudice to require mistrial: ¶57 In the present case, Wolfgram was unaware of his involvement in the case until the… Read more
2007-08 Term
State v. William Troy Ford, 2007 WI 138, affirming unpublished decision For Ford: Ralph J. Sczygelski Issue/Holding ¶42 … (S)tructural error [is] a “defect affecting the framework within which the trial proceeds, rather than simply an error in the trial process itself.” Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 310 (1991); State v. Shirley E., 2006… Read more
State v. Thomas S. Mayo, 2007 WI 78, affirming unpublished opinion For Mayo: Keith A. Findley, UW Law School Issue/Holding: ¶47 In determining whether a constitutional error is harmless, the inquiry is as follows: “‘Is it clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found the defendant guilty absent the error?'” State… Read more
State v. Thomas S. Mayo, 2007 WI 78, affirming unpublished opinion For Mayo: Keith A. Findley, UW Law School Issue/Holding: Erroneous comments on pre-Miranda silence were harmless, given both infrequency of occurrence and also absence of impact on the defendant’s decision to testify (which then properly exposed him to such comment), ¶¶49-52… Read more
State v. William Troy Ford, 2007 WI 138, affirming unpublished decision For Ford: Ralph J. Sczygelski Issue/Holding: A surveillance tape that became unplayable was “destroyed” within the meaning of § 910.04(1), and its contents could be testified to by pre-destruction viewers: ¶68 We are satisfied that where a tape is damaged and unplayable, the proponent of the evidence… Read more
State v. Keith A. Davis, 2008 WI 71, on Certification For Davis: Chris A. Gramstrup Issue/Holding1: Admissibility of a statement made in connection with a voice stress analysis (or other form of “honesty test”) turns on whether the statement is “totally discrete” from the testing procedure as gauged by the following factors: ¶23 Under the totality of the… Read more
State v. Jose C. McGill, 2000 WI 38, 234 Wis. 2d 560, 609 N.W.2d 795, affirming unpublished decision For McGill: Steven P. Weiss, SPD, Madison Appellate Issue: Whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to believe McGill armed and dangerous, and therefore to frisk him, following a routine traffic stop. Holding: Judged by the requisite objective test, the… Read more
