Bench Blog

Aug 10, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Case answers the call re: text message authentication

The Court of Appeals recently tackled the timely issue of what constitutes evidentiary authentication of cell phone text messages.

Jul 18, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Shiffra case causes trouble for state Supreme Court … again

In a highly unusual “decision,” the Wisconsin Supreme Court again deadlocked in a Shiffra case but this time issued five different opinions, most of them containing personal sniping.

Jul 5, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Supreme Court has wrong say on pro se

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently rebuked the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a 2010 opinion upholding a Waukesha County judge’s cursory denial of a defendant’s right to self-representation.

Jun 14, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Court weighs in on difference between custody, detention

A sexual-assault case provided the context for the Court of Appeals to distinguish a formal arrest from detention in one’s home during the execution of a search warrant.

May 23, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Sheriff fights law, law wins

A sheriff did battle with the open records law and lost.

May 10, 2016

Should grandparents have visitation rights?

In a rare unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court construed the meaning of the statute on grandparents’ visitation rights after a divorce.

Apr 19, 2016

Case tests limits of exception for dying declarations

In Judge William Brash’s first published appellate opinion, he tackles the hearsay exception for dying declarations.

Apr 4, 2016

Court fumbles with abortion-case ruling

The Court of Appeals rejected Planned Parenthood’s bid for declaratory judgment on the construction of two abortion statutes, and in the process damaged the idea of justiciability.

Mar 22, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Community caretaker function case highlights decline of high court

A majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices expanded the contours of the community-caretaker exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement even while embarrassing themselves through the way they reached their decision.

Mar 7, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Court stretches in heroin blood draw case

In a case involving suspected heroin abuse, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided a warrantless blood draw was justified primarily because heroin tends to dissipate rapidly in a person's bloodstream.

Feb 29, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Does long arm of Wisconsin law extend down under?

The Court of Appeals has ruled that a Wisconsin resident cannot obtain long-arm jurisdiction over the Sydney Morning Herald without offending the Due Process Clause.

Feb 12, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Apartment parking garage is not curtilage

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a parking garage that lies beneath an apartment building and has locked entrances is not protected curtilage under the Fourth Amendment.