Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Dwayne T. Candler

Case No.: 2015AP2212-CR

Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Gundrum and Hagedorn, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

On March 26, 2013, police received a tip that Dwayne T. Candler and another person drove to Chicago in a third person’s vehicle to buy heroin and were on their way back to Plymouth, Wisconsin. The vehicle was soon located and stopped due to a suspended registration; Candler was in the passenger seat. After a drug-detection dog alerted to the presence of contraband, the officers searched the vehicle and later found heroin on the driver’s person. A probation hold was placed on Candler during the stop, and he was subsequently charged and convicted of possession of heroin with intent to deliver. On appeal, Candler claims that his counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the canine sniff was a search requiring probable cause and that his detention on a probation hold was unreasonable. We disagree and 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.