Sentencing – Probation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Robert W. Huber, Jr., v. Gloria Anderson, et al.

Case No.: 17-1302

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and FLAUM and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing – Probation

In 1988, Robert W. Huber, Jr., pleaded guilty to making fraudulent credit card charges in the amount of $800. He spent the next 25 years either on probation or in prison for violating the terms of his probation. Yet Wisconsin had no lawful basis for extending his sentence beyond November 3, 1995. It took the state until 2014 to recognize this problem and to vacate his ongoing sentence.

After his release, Huber filed this action. He sued several state officials for his prolonged sentence                                    and related wrongs. The district court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ruling that Huber had failed to bring most claims within six years of their accrual, as was then required under Wisconsin’s statute of limitations. The court ruled that some of Huber’s claims were timely, but it granted the defendants summary judgment on the merits of those claims. We conclude that Huber’s claims were timely and that summary judgment was premature on those that the district court reached. We therefore reverse in part, vacate in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Reversed in part. Vacated and remanded in part.
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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.