6th Amendment Violation – Other Acts Evidence

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Marcus Lynn Taylor

Case No.: 2018AP899-CR

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

Focus: 6^th Amendment Violation – Other Acts Evidence

A jury found Marcus Lynn Taylor guilty of incest by a stepparent, repeated sexual assault of the same child, and exposing a child to harmful material. The jury was persuaded that Taylor sexually fondled his stepdaughter and made her perform fellatio on him and watch pornographic videos when she was between nine and eleven years old. Throughout the trial, the court denied Taylor’s several mistrial motions rooted in claims of evidentiary missteps. Postconviction, he moved for a new trial, claiming a violation of his statutory and Sixth Amendment right to present impeachment evidence, and that other-acts evidence, cumulative evidence, and certain expert testimony was improperly admitted. The court denied his motions without a hearing. This appeal followed.  We affirm the judgment of conviction and the order denying his postconviction motion seeking a new trial.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.