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Sentencing

By: Derek Hawkins//October 15, 2018//

Sentencing

By: Derek Hawkins//October 15, 2018//

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Emerson D. Lamb

Case No.: 2017AP1430-CR

Officials: HRUZ, J.

Focus: Sentencing

Emerson Lamb appeals a judgment of conviction based upon his no-contest plea to battery by a prisoner, as well as an order denying his postconviction motion. Lamb argues the sentencing court demonstrated objective bias by making comments prior to sentencing that indicated it was very unlikely he would receive probation. We agree with Lamb that the court’s comments— which occurred before it had heard any sentencing arguments from the parties and in a context where no presentence investigation report (PSI) was prepared— showed a serious risk that the court had prejudged Lamb’s sentence. Accordingly, we conclude that Lamb had demonstrated the judge was objectively biased, we reverse the judgment and order, and we remand for a new sentencing hearing before a different judge.

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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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