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Warrantless Seizure

By: Derek Hawkins//July 12, 2017//

Warrantless Seizure

By: Derek Hawkins//July 12, 2017//

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Kenneth M. Asboth, Jr.

Case No.: 2017 WI 76

Focus: Warrantless Seizure

Wisconsin courts have long applied a community caretaker exception to the warrant requirement under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In this case, Kenneth M. Asboth, Jr., asks us to decide whether law enforcement officers’ warrantless seizure of his car was a reasonable exercise of a bona fide community caretaker function. He also asks us to determine whether Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987), requires officers to follow “standard criteria” when conducting a community caretaker impoundment. We hold that Bertine does not mandate adherence to standard criteria, and because we further conclude that officers reasonably effected a community caretaker impoundment of Asboth’s car, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Affirmed

Concur:

Dissent: A.W. Bradley. J., Abrahamson, J.

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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.

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