Warrantless Search & Seizure – Suppression of Evidence

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Michael Louis VonSchrader

Case No.: 2020AP001843-CR

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz and Gill, JJ.

Focus: Warrantless Search & Seizure – Suppression of Evidence

The State appeals an order granting VonSchrader’s motion to suppress evidence obtained after VonSchrader was ordered out of his home at gun point by law enforcement. The State concedes that VonSchrader was seized within his home, but it argues that the seizure was justified by exigent circumstances and probable cause. In the alternative, the State contends that the exclusionary rule does not apply to the evidence obtained after VonSchrader left his home because law enforcement had probable cause to arrest him. The appeals court concludes the deputies’ conduct was grossly negligent, if not reckless. The deputies did not have probable cause or a warrant to arrest VonSchrader, and they ordered him out of the sanctity of his home at gun point.

The State has forfeited its newly raised probable cause theories, and, therefore, the State’s arguments fail.

Affirmed.

Decided 01/05/23

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