Wisconsin Supreme Court accepts three new cases

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Madison, Wisconsin (Oct. 27, 2023) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently voted to accept three new cases, and the Court acted to deny review in a number of other cases. The case numbers, counties of origin and the issues presented in granted cases are listed below. More information about pending appellate cases can be found on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access website. Published Court of Appeals opinions can be found here, and the status of pending Supreme Court cases can be found here.

2023AP1399 Clarke v. WEC

[Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler dissents, joined by Justices Rebecca Grassl Bradley and Brian Hagedorn; Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley dissents, joined by Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler; Justice Brian Hagedorn dissents, joined by Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler]

Supreme Court case type: Original Action

Court of Appeals: N/A

Circuit Court: N/A

Long caption: Rebecca Clarke, Ruben Anthony, Terry Dawson, Dana Glasstein, Ann Groves-Lloyd, Carl Hujet, Jerry Iverson, Tia Johnson, Angie Kirst, Selika Lawton, Fabian Maldonado, Annemarie McClellan, James McNett, Brittany Muriello, Ela Joosten (Pari) Schils, Nathaniel Slack, Mary Smith-Johnson, Denise Sweet and Gabrielle Young, Petitioners, Governor Tony Evers, in his official capacity; Nathan Atkinson, Stephen Joseph Wright, Gary Krenz, Sarah J. Hamilton, Jean-Luc Thiffeault, Somesh Jha, Joanne Kane and Leah Dudley, Intervenors-Petitioners v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, Don Millis, Robert F. Spindell, Jr., Mark L. Thomsen, Ann S. Jacobs, Marge Bostelmann, Joseph J. Czarnezki, in their official capacities as Members of the Wisconsin Election Commission; Meagan Wolfe, in her official capacity as the Administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission; Andre Jacque, Tim Carpenter, Rob Hutton, Chris Larson, Devin LeMahieu, Stephen L. Nass, John Jagler, Mark Spreitzer, Howard Marklein, Rachael Cabral-Guevara, Van H.Wanggaard, Jesse L. James, Romaine Robert Quinn, Dianne H. Hesselbein, Cory Tomczyk, Jeff Smith and Chris Kapenga, in their official capacities as Members of the Wisconsin Senate, Respondents, Wisconsin Legislature; Billie Johnson, Chris Goebel, Ed Perkins, Eric O’Keefe, Joe Sanfelippo, Terry Moulton, Robert Jensen, Ron Zahn, Ruth Elmer and Ruth Streck Intervenors-Respondents.

Issues granted:

1. Do the existing state legislative maps violate the contiguity requirements contained in Article IV, Sections 4 and 5 of the Wisconsin Constitution?

2. Did the adoption of the existing state legislative maps violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s separation of powers?

3. If the court rules that Wisconsin’s existing state legislative maps violate the Wisconsin Constitution for either or both of these reasons and the legislature and the governor then fail to adopt state legislative maps that comply with the Wisconsin Constitution, what standards should guide the court in imposing a remedy for the constitutional violation(s)?

4. What fact-finding, if any, will be required if the court determines there is a constitutional violation based on the contiguity clauses and/or the separation-of-powers doctrine and the court is required to craft a remedy for the violation? If fact-finding will be required, what process should be used to resolve questions of fact?

2021AP2105 State v. Wiskowski

Supreme Court case type: Petition for Review

Court of Appeals: District II

Circuit Court: Sheboygan County, Judge Kent R. Hoffmann, summarily affirmed.

Long caption: State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Michael Gene Wiskowski, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

Issues presented:
1. When the report of a person sleeping in a car while waiting in line at a drive thru is contradicted by the officer’s observation of the car driving on the road without any traffic violations, is there reasonable suspicion to stop the car or can police justify the stop based on the community caretaker doctrine?
2. After the stop, when the driver provides a reasonable explanation, can the officer use the community caretaker doctrine to extend the stop to perform field sobriety tests?

2023AP441 State v. R.A.M.

Supreme Court case type: Petition for Review

Court of Appeals: District I

Circuit Court: Milwaukee County, Judge Ellen R. Brostrom, reversed and cause remand with directions.

Long caption: State of Wisconsin, Petitioner-Respondent, v. R.A.M., Respondent-Appellant.
Issues presented by the Guardian ad Litem:
1. Does a circuit court striking a parent’s contest posture and entering default judgment after a finding of bad faith and egregious behavior by the respondent parent automatically trigger a waiver of counsel under Wis. Stat. § 48.23?
2. Does an automatic waiver of counsel under Wis. Stat. § 48.23 without an explicit finding of waiver and discharge of counsel by the circuit court lead to absurd results?
3. Does any limitation of appointed counsel’s participation in a TPR proceeding as a sanction after entering default judgment against a parent amount to “total deprivation” of counsel under Shirley E. [Torrance P., Jr. v. Shirley E., 2006 WI 129, ¶43, 298 Wis. 2d 1, 724 N.W.2d 623]?

Denied

Review denied: The Supreme Court denied review in the following cases. As the state’s law-developing court, the Supreme Court exercises its discretion to select for review only those cases that fit certain statutory criteria (see Wis. Stat. § 809.62). Except where indicated, these cases came to the Court via petition for review by the party who lost in the lower court:

2023AP1412
2023AP1663
Ashland County
Wright v. WEC [(Original Action) Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler concurs, joined by Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley]
Hanson-Hysell v. Assembly [(Original Action) Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz did not participate]
2020AP1008-CRNM
State v. Phillips
Brown County
2020AP2115-CR
State v. Walker
2021AP416-CR
2021AP1505
2022AP32-CR
2023AP694-CRLV
State v. Duval
Marine Credit Union v. Estate of Robert M. Pratsch
State v. Cayer
State v. Brown
2023AP1128-W
Brown v. Judge Zakowski
Calumet County
2022AP382-CR
State v. Mader
Columbia County
2022AP1835
Columbia County DH&HS v. K.D.K
Dane County
2022AP682-CR
2022AP683-CR
2022AP684-CR
2022AP685-CR
2022AP686-CR
2022AP687-CR
2022AP1160
2023AP607
Douglas County
2021AP1252-CR
Iron County
State v. Dugan
McKinney v. Cromwell
Dane County DHS v. S.M.
State v. Wright [Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet dissents]
2022AP432-CR
State v. Oungst
Juneau County
2020AP516-CRNM
2020AP517-CRNM
2020AP518-CRNM
State v. Jones
Kenosha County
2020AP795-CRNM
State v. Ward
2022AP1477
Cursey v. Cromwell
Manitowoc County
2021AP2216-CR
State v. Cortez
Marinette County
2023AP429
2023AP430
Marinette County H&HSD v. T.P.
Milwaukee County
2021AP39
2021AP671-CR
2021AP2000-CR
2021AP1084-CR
2021AP1339-CR
2021AP1429-CR
2021AP1430-CR
2021AP1483-CR
2021AP1663-CR
2021AP1894-CR
2021AP1982-CR
2022AP89
2022AP521
2022AP969-CR
2022AP1012
2022AP1179
2022AP1180
2022AP1945
2023AP692
2023AP732
State v. Young
State v. Vaughn
State v. Ireland
State v. Burton [Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz did not participate]
State v. Hailes [Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz did not participate]
State v. McAfee
State v. Rivera
State v. Webster [Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz did not participate]
State v. Chaney [Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz did not participate]
State v. Coleman
State v. M.B.
State v. Carter
State v. Tillmon
Przytarski v. Vallejos
State v. S.S.
State v. N.H.
State v. M.S.H
State v. M.H.
Oneida County
2021AP1015-CR
State v. Tran
Outagamie County
2022AP230
Outagamie County v. C.J.A. [Justice Brian Hagedorn dissents]
Racine County
2022AP1049-CR
State v. Smothers
2022AP1731
Huiras v. Huiras
Richland County
2022AP881
State v. Willison
Sawyer County
2021AP926-CR
State v. Johnson
St. Croix County
2021AP1102-CRNM
State v. Krizan
Trempealeau County
2021AP536
State v. S.C.M.
Waukesha County
2022AP871
2022AP1726-CR
2022AP1758-CR
LaFaive v. Records Custodian Waukesha Cty. District Attorney
State v. Swift
Winnebago County
2022AP1439-CR
State v. Colon
2022AP1589
Winnebago County DHS v. L.J.F.G. [Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Janet C. Protasiewicz dissents]