Court Error – Motion to Suppress

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Travis Sedlak

Case No.: 2015AP905-CR; 2015AP906-CR

Officials: Kloppenburg, P.J., Lundsten and Blanchard, JJ

Focus: Court Error – Motion to Suppress

Travis Sedlak was tried before a jury and convicted of several drug charges related to the cultivation of marijuana in his residence, as well as possession of psilocybin and LSD. Sedlak appeals, arguing that the circuit court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence because the court erroneously rejected Sedlak’s argument that police illegally acquired information, necessary to obtain a subpoena for power company records, by effectively employing the services of a power company employee who made observations for the police. As a result, Sedlak contends, both the subpoena and subsequent search warrants were not supported by probable cause. We reject Sedlak’s narrow argument because he fails to show clear error in circuit court findings to the effect that a warrant was not necessary for the “private party search” that Sedlak challenges. Accordingly, we affirm

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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.