Abuse of Discretion – Expert Testimony

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: County of Milwaukee v. Ross J. Romenesko

Case No.: 2017AP1042; 2017AP1043; 2017AP1044

Officials: BRASH, J.

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Expert Testimony

The County of Milwaukee appeals an order of the circuit court granting several motions of the defendant, Ross J. Romenesko, relating to charges against him for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. Romenesko’s motions requested sanctions against the County for alleged violations of the scheduling order; specifically, he sought to (1) suppress evidence contained in a revised report relating to the test results of his blood sample; and (2) preclude the testimony of all but one of the County’s experts regarding those test results. Romenesko then filed a subsequent motion seeking further sanctions against the County: dismissal with prejudice of all the charges against him. This motion was based on the same alleged scheduling order violations.

The circuit court granted Romenesko’s motion to suppress the revised report, and further, it ordered that all of the County’s experts were precluded from testifying, without exception—going beyond Romenesko’s request to exclude all but one expert. The circuit court then subsequently granted Romenesko’s motion to dismiss all charges with prejudice, agreeing that the County had egregiously violated the scheduling order.

The County asserts that it did not violate the scheduling order. However, if a sanction is warranted, the County contends that dismissal with prejudice of all charges against Romenesko was not just, and therefore was an erroneous exercise of the circuit court’s discretion.

We affirm the circuit court’s decision relating to the motion to suppress evidence contained in the revised report, but reverse the court’s decision precluding testimony from all of the County’s experts, without exception. We also reverse the court’s dismissal with prejudice of all of the charges against Romenesko, and remand this matter to the circuit court to reinstate the charges.

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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.