Making a Murderer fans may be interested to see the Motion for Post-Conviction Scientific Testing that Steven Avery filed in the Manitowoc county Circuit Court on Friday. His lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, told reporters this comprehensive testing will “get to the bottom of who killed Teresa Halbach.” Click here to read Avery’s motion.
The Immigration Professors Blog says Arias v. Lynch, No. 14-2839 (7th Cir. 8/2/4/16) would be the “hand down winner” of the “immigration case of the week,” if such a category existed. It highlights the confusion in federal courts over how to define a crime involving moral turpitude a.k.a “CIMT.” Or you can just skip to Judge Richard Posner’s concurrence which argues that “[it] is preposterous that that stale, antiquated, and worse, meaningless phrase should continue to be part of American law.” He goes on. and if you’re tempted to use the “turpitudinous” in court, don’t–at least not in the 7th Circuit!
State v. T.L.T., 2016AP471, District 1, 8/26/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
Five months after the circuit court terminated T.L.T.’s parental rights to E.A.T., child welfare authorities moved E.A.T. from his foster placement with V.B. to a new adoptive foster home. T.L.T. argues the termination decision rested heavily on the prospect V.B. would adopt E.A.T., so the post-disposition change in placement materially affects that decision. (¶¶2-12). She asks the court of appeals to exercise its discretionary power to reverse under § 752.35 because the real controversy was not tried and justice miscarried. (¶¶15-16). The court of appeals declines. [continue reading…]
Roy L. Ward v. Ron Neal, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 16-1001, 8/26/16
Ward’s trial lawyers weren’t ineffective when they failed to adequately investigate and present readily available mitigating evidence and then, due to lack of preparation, instead presented evidence Ward was a dangerous psychopath. [continue reading…]
State v. Jeremy Wand, 2015AP2344-CR, District 4, 8/25/16 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The court of appeals holds that Wand’s postconviction motion for plea withdrawal failed to allege sufficient facts to merit an evidentiary hearing on his claims that his plea was coerced and that his trial lawyers were ineffective by failing to retain certain experts to assist in his defense. [continue reading…]
Darryl J. Sutton v. Randy Pfister, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-2888, 2016 WL 4446561, 8/24/16
Sutton filed a habeas petition challenging his sexual assault conviction on the ground the evidence connecting him with the crime was obtained by the state through a conceded violation of the Fourth Amendment in a different case. The district court ruled in his favor, but the court of appeals holds there’s no Fourth Amendment violation because the evidence would inevitably have been discovered. [continue reading…]
State v. Katherine J. Downer Jossi, 2016AP618-CR, 8/24/16, District 2 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
This court of appeals decision acknowledges what On Point predicted here when SCOTUS issued Rodriguez v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1609 (2015). That is, Rodriguez, which held that prolonging a traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff requires reasonable suspicion of criminal activity beyond the traffic infraction, effectively overruled State v. Arias, 2008 WI 84, ¶32, 311 Wis. 2d 358, 752 N.W.2d 748, which allowed for a reasonable delay based on the totality of the circumstances (a.k.a. the “incremental intrusion” test). [continue reading…]
State v. S.G./Waukesha County v. S.G., 2015AP2138 & 2015AP2139, District 2, 8/24/16 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
S.G. challenges the revocation of her driver’s license for refusal, arguing the arresting officer didn’t sufficiently convey the implied consent warnings to her. She also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for her OWI conviction. Neither challenge succeeds. [continue reading…]
