Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources Wisconsin Legal News & Resources

“New Hampshire’s claim that the Piscataqua River boundary runs along the Maine shore is clearly inconsistent with its interpretation of the words ‘Middle of the River’ during the 1970’s litigation… [I]nterpretation of those words was ‘necessary’ to fixing the northern endpoint of the lateral marine boundary, Report 43. New Hampshire offered two interpretations in the earlier proceeding – first agreeing ...

We further hold that the statute, Wis. Stat. sec. 948.025, is constitutional, and defendant, who was convicted of the repeated sexual assault of a child, is not entitled to a new trial. In sum, even though the State introduced evidence of more than the minimum number of sexual assaults required to constitute the crime but the jury was not instructed ...

In this action, the guardians of Merald Whiteaker claim Thomas Thiede exerted undue influence over Whiteaker for the purpose of obtaining Whiteaker’s money, and that Timothy Thiede, Thomas’ son, received title to residential real estate clear of all mortgages and other benefits as a result of Thomas’s conduct. The trial court entered judgment against both Thomas and Timothy for $28,660 ...

“Under the ADA’s basic requirement that the need of a disabled person be evaluated on an individual basis, we have no doubt that allowing Martin to use a golf cart would not fundamentally alter the nature of petitioner’s tournaments. As we have discussed, the purpose of the walking rule is to subject players to fatigue, which in turn may influence ...

The circuit court erred in holding that sec. 961.45 required application of the “elements only” test of Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932) to determine whether the prior conviction was for the same act. Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court’s order denying defendant’s motion for post-conviction relief and the judgment of conviction. “In sum, we conclude that Wis. ...

Kenneth D. Spaulding appeals from judgments entered on jury verdicts convicting him of: two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child, and one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child, and from the trial court’s order denying his motion for postconviction relief. He asserts three claims of trial-court error: ...

“Even under a limited form of the ‘catalyst theory,’ a plaintiff could recover attorney’s fees if it established that the ‘complaint had sufficient merit to withstand a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction or failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted.’… This is not the type of legal merit that our prior decisions, based upon ...

We therefore affirm the court of appeals. “When Gonzalez told Kelsey to ‘stay put,’ she ran away. We, therefore, conclude that no seizure occurred in the present case, until the officers applied physical force to Kelsey, by catching her after the 30-40 second chase. “Even if we considered this initial exchange between the police and Kelsey to be a seizure, ...

Adam Hill appeals a judgment convicting him of making a bomb threat. He also appeals an order denying postconviction relief. Hill contends that he is entitled to a new trial because he was convicted on the basis of an in-court identification that was tainted by impermissibly suggestive pretrial identification procedures. He further argues that he was denied the effective assistance ...

“When Congress replaced the text of the statute as construed in [McCarthy v. Madigan] with the exhaustion requirement at issue today, it presumably understood that under McCarthy the term ‘effective’ in the former sec. 1997e(a) eliminated the possibility of requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies when an inmate sought only monetary relief and the administrative process offered none. It has to ...

This is so because the recipient of a durable power of attorney has no personal legal rights in the grant – the power to create, and once created to undo, rests in the principal while that principal is competent, and if the principal is no longer competent, the guardian of the principal’s estate may revoke the power of attorney. Nor ...

These appeals arise out of a combined refusal and suppression hearing in an Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated (OMVWI) prosecution. The trial court concluded that the police officer who stopped and then arrested Michael Flunker did not have a reasonable suspicion that Flunker was engaging in illegal activity. Accordingly, it granted Flunker’s motion to suppress evidence of his intoxicated ...

“Indian tribes are ‘unique aggregations possessing attributes of sovereignty over both their members and their territory,’ but their dependent status generally precludes extension of tribal civil authority beyond these limits… The Navajo Nation’s imposition of a tax upon nonmembers on non-Indian fee land within the reservation is, therefore, presumptively invalid. Because respondents have failed to establish that the hotel occupancy ...

Even though the parents may have known who the abuse reporters were, it was nevertheless an unlawful “disclosure” of the reporters’ identities within the meaning of the statute. “Given the statute’s goal of protecting reporters’ identities, it is appropriate to interpret the word ‘disclose’ in a way that will support, rather than undercut, the statute’s main thrust. We conclude that ...

Daniel Stormer was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, third offense. He received a sentence of 60 days in jail with Huber privileges, license revocation for thirty months, and a forfeiture of $1,346.50. The sole issue on appeal is whether the State proved at sentencing the prior convictions requisite to the imposition of a sentence under Wis. Stat. ...

“The burden of proving the applicability of the supervisory exception… should thus fall on the party asserting it. In addition, it is easier to prove an employee’s authority to exercise 1 of the 12 listed supervisory functions than to disprove an employee’s authority to exercise any of those functions, and practicality therefore favors placing the burden on the party asserting ...

“After reviewing the written arguments of both parties and the record itself, the sentencing court made the following findings of fact. At the time of sentencing, the contents of the criminal complaint and pre-sentence report could have justified a multi-count charge against Richardson. The court ‘gleaned this for itself.’ From its review of the record, the court knew the facts ...

Michael J. Farrell appeals his conviction of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVWI). He argues that the circuit court erred in refusing to suppress the results of his blood test. He concludes the circuit court was in error because a breath test was available, and therefore the blood test was an unreasonable search and seizure. We conclude that the ...

“The court’s decision on rehearing is flatly contrary to this Court’s controlling precedent, we grant the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari and reverse. As an initial matter, we note that the Arkansas Supreme Court never questioned Officer Taylor’s authority to arrest Sullivan for a fine-only traffic violation (speeding), and rightly so. See Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. ...

“With respect to Kimbrough’s limited intellectual capacity, we note that while expert testimony established he had below average intelligence, it did not establish that he is mentally retarded. In addition, while the State’s psychologist testified that Kimbrough’s general ability to anticipate consequences was underdeveloped compared to an average person, the testimony did not establish that Kimbrough was unable to appreciate ...

uis Hernandez appeals a judgment convicting him of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant (OMVWI). Hernandez contends that the trial court erred in denying a motion to suppress evidence gathered after an allegedly illegal traffic stop. We conclude, contrary to Hernandez’s assertion, that the arresting police officer had a reasonable suspicion that Hernandez was engaging ...

“Because the standard in the ordinance is compatibility with the ‘normal’ activity of the neighborhood and the City relies heavily on testimony by neighbors to determine what that activity is, the plaintiff asks us to consider the possibility that a straitlaced community might exclude all erotic cultural expression on the ground that any public recognition of sex was abnormal activity ...

David Egger and Marshfield Machine Inc. appeal the circuit court’s dismissal of their suit against Bernard Martin, Brian Schmoll and Innovative Machine Specialists Inc. (IMS) at the close of the plaintiffs’ evidence. They contend that they introduced sufficient evidence to establish the elements of the claim of breach of fiduciary duty against Martin and Schmoll. The defendants cross-appeal, arguing that ...

Curtis Dittberner appeals from an order revoking his operating privileges for refusing to submit to a test of his blood. He asserts that the trial court erred by revoking his operating privileges because the State failed to prove that an arresting officer had probable cause to arrest him for operating his motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVWI). He also argues that ...

“Tayborn argues that several inconsistencies in his testimony rendered his testimony perjurious and that the prosecution should have known it was perjurious. However, Tayborn only points to collateral inconsistencies in Murchinson’s testimony like: 1) whether he heard a noise before looking down from the porch to see the attackers; 2) whether he gave the police the names of Tayborn and ...

Wildeck Inc. appeals from a judgment dismissing its complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over Thomas J. Cousar and Cousar Painting Company Inc. (collectively, Cousar). The issue on appeal is whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction over Cousar would offend due process. We conclude that the exercise of personal jurisdiction would offend due process because of Cousar’s lack of contacts ...

Tyler J. Kingsfield appeals his convictions for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration. His argument on appeal is that first, there was insufficient evidence to convict him of the charged offenses, and second, that the element of operating a motor vehicle on a highway was not satisfied. We affirm ...

“Because the standard in the ordinance is compatibility with the ‘normal’ activity of the neighborhood and the City relies heavily on testimony by neighbors to determine what that activity is, the plaintiff asks us to consider the possibility that a straitlaced community might exclude all erotic cultural expression on the ground that any public recognition of sex was abnormal activity ...