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Week of September 8, 2008
Supreme Court Cases
No decisions were released.
Court of Appeals Cases
Criminal Law/ Evidence/ Judicial Authority-Discretion/ Sentencing State v. BernardDocket: 2007AP002700 09-09-08 PER CURIAM. Terence Erik Bernard appeals from the judgment of conviction entered against him, and the order denying his motion for postconviction relief. He argues that the circuit court erred when it denied his motion to suppress statements he made to the police, and that the circuit court did not properly exercise its sentencing discretion. Because we conclude that the circuit court properly denied the motion to suppress and exercised its sentencing discretion, we affirm the judgment and order of the circuit court.
Criminal Law/ Expectation of Privacy/ Constitutional Law/ Administrative Regulations State v. JohnsonDocket: 2007AP001485 09-11-08 PER CURIAM. David Johnson is charged with second-degree sexual assault in violation of WIS. STAT. § 940.225(2)(d) (2005-06) for allegedly having sexual intercourse with his wife, Leah, while she was unconscious and a patient at the Divine Savior Nursing Home. The State appeals from an order granting Johnson's motion to suppress evidence of the alleged sexual assaults. The circuit court ruled that Johnson had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his wife's room at the nursing home, and, therefore, Johnson's Fourth Amendment rights were violated by videotaping of Johnson's actions in the room. We agree and therefore affirm.
Criminal Law/ Ineffective Assistance of Counsel/ New Trial/ Jury Instructions/ Constitutional Law-Due Process/ Statutes State v. SchweinerDocket: 2007AP000438 09-10-08 PER CURIAM. In 2003, Robert A. Schweiner was convicted of the repeated sexual assault of the same child in violation of WIS. STAT. § 948.025(1) (1999-2000). He now appeals from an order denying his motion for postconviction relief under WIS. STAT. § 974.06. We affirm the order.
Criminal Law/ Plea Withdrawal/ Judicial Authority-Discretion/ Colloquy State v. JajaDocket: 2008AP000058E 09-11-08
Criminal Law/ Pleas/ Plea Withdrawal/ Evidence State v. SandersDocket: 2007AP001469 09-09-08 PER CURIAM. Rico Sanders appeals from a judgment of conviction for five sexual assaults and one armed robbery, and from a motion summarily denying his postconviction motion for plea withdrawal. The issue is whether Sanders is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his postconviction motion for plea withdrawal. We conclude that Sanders has failed to make a prima facie showing that the trial court failed to comply with WIS. STAT. § 971.08 (1995-96); consequently, he is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing to explore whether he understood the nature of the charges to which he was pleading. Therefore, we affirm.
Medical Malpractice/ Negligence/ Insurance/ Wrongful Birth/ Juror Bias Weiss v. MartensDocket: 2006AP002718 09-10-08 PER CURIAM. Marla and Robert Weiss have appealed from a judgment dismissing their complaint against the respondents, William E. Martens, M.D., Physicians Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Inc., and OB-GYN Associates, S.C. In their complaint, the Weisses alleged that Dr. Martens negligently performed a laparoscopic tubal sterilization on Marla, resulting in pregnancy. The Weisses also alleged that Dr. Martens negligently failed to provide them with all information necessary for informed consent. Judgment was entered after a jury trial. We affirm the judgment.
Ordinances/ Ordinance Construction-Interpretation/ Property/ Zoning/ Federal Statutes City of Milwaukee v. ZellmerDocket: 2008AP000144 09-09-08 FINE, J. Robert F. Zellmer appeals a circuit-court order in effect affirming a municipal-court judgment finding him guilty on the parties' stipulated facts of violating MILWAUKEE, WIS., ORDINANCE § 200-42-2-b. See WIS. STAT. § 800.14 (appeal from decision by municipal court). He contends that the ordinance violates both state and federal fair-housing laws, and, also, runs afoul of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We affirm.
OWI/ Charges/ Evidence/ Proof/ Statutes/ Statutory Construction-Interpretation State v. RossDocket: 2008AP000457 09-09-08 CURLEY, P.J. Richard Ross appeals the judgment, entered following a bench trial, convicting him of operating while under the influence of an intoxicant, second offense, contrary to WIS. STAT. §§ 346.63(1)(a) and 346.65(2) (2005-06). On appeal, Ross argues that the trial court erred in finding him guilty because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he operated the motor vehicle, which is an element of the charge. This court agrees and reverses the judgment.
OWI/ Evidence/ Evidence Ruling/ Reasonable Suspicion/ Traffic Stops/ Constitutional Law State v. HeugelDocket: 2008AP000821 09-09-08 BRUNNER, J. Silvia Heugel appeals a judgment of conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, second offense. Heugel contends the circuit court erroneously denied her motion to suppress. We disagree and affirm.
OWI/ Tests/ Evidence/ Constitutional Law/ Experts/ Statutes State v. FischerDocket: 2007AP001898 09-10-08 Recommended for PublicationBROWN, C.J. WISCONSIN STAT. § 343.303 bars admitting the results of a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) in drunk driving trials. Nonetheless, Richard M. Fischer sought to admit the testimony of his expert, who would tell the jury that he compared the blood test result with the PBT result and, by doing so, could extrapolate a probable blood alcohol concentration at the time Fischer was last seen operating his vehicle, about thirty minutes before the PBT was administered. Fischer claimed that he was constitutionally entitled to present this expert's analysis as an integral part of his defense. But the trial court, relying on the statute, refused to allow the expert to testify. The jury found Fischer guilty and he appeals, claiming that the trial court's reliance on the statute was arbitrary and disproportionate to the statute's purposes. We disagree. The legislature decided to prohibit admission of PBTs because they are not tested for accuracy at the time the PBT is administered. Prohibiting their use in this OWI trial is in accord with the legislative intent. We affirm.
Property/ Specific Performance/ Contracts Hugg v. KastnerDocket: 2007AP000932 09-09-08 FINE, J. Anton T. Kastner and 1609 E. North Ave., LLC, appeal the trial court's ordering specific performance of a contract for the sale of real estate to James B. Hugg. Kastner and 1609 E. North Ave. claim that the trial court erred because Kastner was entitled to treat Hugg's delay in closing as a breach of the contract. We affirm.
Refusal/ Administrative Regulations/ Evidence/ Probable Cause/ Statutes/ County of Adams v. JohnDocket: 2008AP000903 09-11-08 LUNDSTEN, J. Jason John appeals the judgment revoking his operating privileges after a hearing on his refusal to submit to an intoximeter test. We affirm the judgment.
Towns & Cities/ Taxation/ Police Power/ Statutes/ Summary Judgment Haase v. Town of Menasha Utility DistrictDocket: 2007AP002463 09-10-08 PER CURIAM. Allen and Patricia Haase, pro se, appeal from a judgment dismissing their challenge to a special assessment the Town of Menasha and its Utility District imposed for a sanitary sewer extension. The circuit court granted the Town's motion for summary judgment on grounds that the assessment levied pursuant to the Town's police power was for a local improvement providing a special benefit to the Haases' property and was reasonable. We affirm.
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