By: Derek Hawkins//March 13, 2019//
WI Court of Appeals – District IV
Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Caleb J. Rave
Case No.: 2017AP2281-CR
Officials: Sherman, Blanchard, and Kloppenburg JJ.
Focus: Abuse of Discretion and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Caleb Rave appeals a judgment of conviction for one count of first-degree child sexual assault and an order denying his postconviction motion to set aside the judgment. An initial, partial trial ended when the circuit court declared a mistrial. A second, completed trial resulted in the conviction. The court declared the mistrial after discovering, during the initial trial, that a significant set of evidentiary issues that the court was required to resolve before trial had not been resolved. After Rave was convicted at the second trial, he filed a post-conviction motion based on the Double Jeopardy Clause of the federal and state constitutions, which was denied by the circuit court. Rave makes two closely related arguments on appeal. He argues that (1) the court erroneously exercised its discretion in declaring a mistrial because there was not a manifest necessity calling for a mistrial, and (2) he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to move to dismiss the charges against him before the second trial on the ground of double jeopardy. We reject Rave’s arguments and affirm.