Court Error – Motion to Suppress

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Eric Durran Howard

Case No.: 2016AP959-CR

Officials: Brennan, P.J., Brash and Dugan, JJ

Focus: Court Error – Motion to Suppress

Eric Durran Howard appeals a judgment of conviction for one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Howard argues that the police illegally seized and subsequently frisked him. He also argues that his motion to suppress the gun evidence on which his conviction was based should have been granted. He argues that there was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to detain him, and there was no particularized suspicion to justify a patdown.

In order to resolve the question of whether police had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity that justified the seizure and search of Howard, we need to know what police saw on the stoop and inside the house, and what they did with Howard and why. Because the trial court did not make clear its factual findings about what happened on the stoop and whom to believe, this court cannot reach the legal question of the lawfulness of the seizure and search of Howard. We reverse the judgment and remand for further proceedings in which the trial court is to make the findings of fact and articulate how the facts support a legal conclusion on the validity of this seizure and search.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.