by admin
on July 31, 2023
Haaland et al. v. Brackeen et al., USSC No. 21-376, 143 S.Ct. 1609 (June 15, 2023), affirming in part, reversing in part, and vacating and remanding 994 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2021); Scotusblog page (including links to briefs and commentary)
This is a guest post by Attorney Matthew Giesfeldt of the Madison Appellate office, who is also the SPD’s Family Defense Practice Coordinator.
The Indian Child Welfare Act, or “ICWA,” is a federal law enacted in response to concern that nontribal public and private agencies were removing Native American children from their homes to non-tribal placements at “an alarmingly high percentage[.]” Slip op. at 2. Wisconsin codified ICWA as state law in 2009. Wis. Stat. § 48.028. Under both the federal and state statutes, agencies that place children out of the home (such as local child-protection agencies) must adhere to stricter requirements to remove a tribal child than they must follow to remove a non-tribal child. For example, tribes may intervene in child placement cases, and agencies seeking to remove tribal children from tribal homes must engage in “active efforts” to help the parents and prevent the removal. Wis. Stat. § 48.028(4)(e)2.
In these consolidated cases, the biological parents and each foster parent couple seeking to adopt agreed that a tribal child should be adopted by nontribal parents, but a tribe intervened in opposition to the others’ plans. The parents filed a federal suit challenging ICWA, which three states joined. In one of the cases, the adoption was denied based upon the tribe’s intervening objection, though in the other two cases the tribe ultimately abandoned its objection, allowing the adoption to go through. Slip op. at 6-8.
The Court addressed four separate constitutional challenges to ICWA: [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 31, 2023
State v. Ned Guerra, 2022AP2098-CR, 7/19/23, District 2 (1-judge decision; not eligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Twenty-0ne months passed between the filing of the criminal complaint and Guerra’s trial. The delay was caused by a state’s witness’ temporary unavailability and the circuit court’s COVID-based backlog of higher-priority trials. While Guerra clearly asserted his right to a speedy trial, the court affirms the circuit court’s denial of Guerra’s motion to dismiss because “there is no evidence that Guerra was prejudiced by the delay.” Opinion, ¶23. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 31, 2023
Racine County v. P.J.L, 2023AP254, District 2, 7/19/23, 1-judge decision ineligible for publication; case activity (briefs not available)
In Outagamie County v. L.X.D.-O., 2023 WI App 17, ¶36, 407 Wis. 2d 518, 991 N.W.2d 518 (PFR denied), the court of appeals rejected a sufficiency challenge to an involuntary medication order and held that an examiner’s report need not be entered into evidence in order for the circuit court to consider the information contained therein. Now, the court extends L.X.D.-O. to an initial commitment order itself under the same rationale. Opinion, ¶20 n.6. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 31, 2023
State v. Danial Christopher Wheaton, 2022AP2082-CR, District 4, 7/27/23 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The officer who arrested Wheaton for OWI flubbed the first clause of the first sentence of the “Informing the Accused” script set out in § 343.305(4), but still substantially complied with the statute. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 29, 2023
Waukesha County v. C.M.M., 2022AP2081, District 2, 7/19/23 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity
C.M.M. (“Charles”) challenges a revised CHIPS dispositional order that eliminated visits between Charles and his son, A.M.M. Charles’ claim on appeal is that the circuit court erred by (1) substituting a “Criminal Division Judge” instead of a “Juvenile Division Judge” and (2) doing so without following the proper procedure. The court of appeals sees no errors and affirms. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 28, 2023
On July 26, 2023, the court of appeals ordered publication of two criminal law related decision:
State v. Cedric Tung, 2023 WI App 33 (rejecting McCoy v. Louisiana and United States v. Cronic based IAC claims)
State v. Conrad M. Mader, 2023 WI App 35 (testimony that 99% of sexual assault reports are true improperly vouched for complainant’s credibility at trial)
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by admin
on July 28, 2023
State v. Alvin James Jemison, Jr., 2021AP2207-CR, 7/18/23, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
After a jury trial, Jemison was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious person (Teresa) as a repeater – serious sex crime and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release to extended supervision. See Wis. Stat. § 939.618(2)(b). After the circuit court denied his postconviction motion without a Machner hearing, Jemison raised three claims on appeal: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the completed sexual intercourse charge, (2) the court erred in its admission of other acts evidence, and (3) the court erroneously denied his claims without an evidentiary hearing. The court of appeals rejects each of Jemison’s claims and affirms. [continue reading…]
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by admin
on July 28, 2023
Jones v. Hendrix, 143 S.Ct. 1857, 599 U.S. __ (June 22, 2023); Scotusblog page (containing links to briefs and commentary)
The Court, in a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Thomas, holds that the savings clause in 28 U.S.C. 2255(e) bars a prisoner from using an intervening change in the interpretation of a federal criminal statute to circumvent AEDPA’s restrictions on successive Section 2255 motions by filing a habeas petition under Section 2241. [continue reading…]
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