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Bench Blog

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.

Feb 1, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Errors abound in child sexual assault case

An attorney’s recent representation of a defendant charged with child sexual assault was so ineffective that the defendant’s constitutional right to counsel was violated and his convictions reversed.

Jan 14, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Extending the reach of Daubert

The Court of Appeals has once again extended the application of Daubert standards in Wisconsin, this time to a social worker’s testimony in a case involving the sexual assault of a child.

Dec 30, 2015

BENCH BLOG: Divided appeals court affirms right of confrontation only at trials

The Court of Appeals has affirmed that it's not only the rules of evidence that do not apply in criminal pretrial proceedings; equally inapplicable is the right of confrontation.

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