State’s high court accepts six new cases, denies 48

Listen to this article

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Wednesday it accepted six new cases for review.

Two of the cases are criminal in nature. The other cases involve disputes about employment, insurance and family law.

Both criminal cases raise definitional questions. State v. Steffes stems from a prison phone-bill scam in Milwaukee County. The central issue is whether electricity to power a telephone line meets the definition of “tangible property” under Wisconsin’s theft statute, Wis. Stat. § 943.20.

The other criminal case, State v. Lonkoski, focuses on the meaning of interrogation and custody in the context of the Miranda rule. The case is from Oneida County.

Prent Corp. v. LIRC and Regina Leach is a review of a decision by the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission. The case, from Rock County, raises questions about whether an employer can deduct taxes and disability payments from a worker’s compensation award.

In Brown v. Acuity, from Waukesha County, the state Supreme Court will consider whether a volunteer firefighter responding to an emergency call is entitled to government immunity from a tort claim. While driving in his personal car to a fire station, the firefighter in the case ran a red light and collided with another vehicle, injuring the vehicle’s occupants.

And McLeod v. Mudlaff confronts whether a court can void a marriage after the death of a spouse. The case is a certification from the state Court of Appeals and a consolidation of two circuit court cases from Washington County.

The state Supreme Court also denied review of 48 cases, according to Wednesday’s announcement.