Criminal

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Outagamie Countyv. G.S., 2019AP1950, 1/20/21, District 3 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity
“George” called law enforcement claiming to be a federal authority who wanted to make a citizen’s arrest of some duck hunters. When a deputy arrived at the lake he saw George in a boat with 2 encased firearms about 100 yards from shore where a group of duck hunters were upset about George’s verbal encounter with them. George never pointed a gun at anyone. …
Continue Reading Evidence sufficient to support commitment under 51.20(1)(a)2.c

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State v. Todd N. Trieblod, 2019AP1209-CR, 1/20/21, District 3 (recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Triebold was convicted of child sexual assault in Wisconsin and subject to lifetime sex offender registration. He moved to Minnesota and notified the Wisconsin DOC of his address. But he moved again and failed to notify either Wisconsin or Minnesota of his change in address. He was separately convicted of violating the sex offender registration laws of Minnesota and Wisconsin. This appeal…
Continue Reading Wisconsin can convict nonresidents for violating sex offender registration law

State v. Nhia Lee, 2019AP221-CR, District 3, 1/20/21, (recommended for publication), case activity (including briefs)

This is an important decision for areas of Wisconsin where there is a shortage of defense lawyers. In 2018, when the private bar rate was $40, Lee was charged with felonies in Marathon County and then held for 101 days without counsel while the SPD contacted over 100 attorneys to take his case. Meanwhile, the circuit court repeatedly extended the 10-day deadline for…
Continue Reading Charges Dismissed Due to Delay in Appointing Counsel

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State v. Christopher W. Yakich, 2019AP1832-CR & 2019AP1833-CR, District 4, 1/14/21 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
A defendant who is found not guilty by reasons of mental disease or defect (NGI) of a crime may be committed under § 971.17 for the maximum term of confinement (for felonies under Truth-in-Sentencing II, § 971.17(1)(b)) or two-thirds the maximum term of imprisonment (for misdemeanors or pre-TIS II felonies, § 971.17(1)(a) and (d)). The court of appeals…
Continue Reading Maximum length of NGI commitment equals maximum terms of confinement for all cases, added together

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Jan. 21, 2021 – Although Wisconsin law requires a court to hold a preliminary hearing within 10 days of an initial appearance for those in custody on alleged felony charges, Nhia Lee – an indigent defendant – sat in jail for 113 days before his hearing.

He remained in custody with no lawyer to represent him because the State Public Defender (SPD) could not find private counsel to take his case. The statutory 10-day deadline for holding a preliminary

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Continue Reading Appeals Court Orders Dismissal after Indigent Defendant Jailed 3+ Months Without Counsel

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IRS Accuses Deutsche Bank of $190 Million Abusive Tax Shelter

Whistleblower Rewards for Information about Banks Peddling Phony Tax Shelters
[Post updated and rewritten January 2021] Back in 2014 we announced that the IRS and Justice Department had filed a civil suit against Deutsche Bank seeking to collect $190 million in taxes. The government accused the German bank of using shell companies in a complex abusive tax shelter scheme. The lawsuit comes on the heels of $554 million criminal…
Continue Reading Feds Accuse Deutsche Bank of Fraud (Bank Whistleblower Post)

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Were You Sold Unsuitable Investments by a Wedbush Securities Stockbroker?

We first began writing about Wedbush Securities in 2011. Back then, a headline indicating that Wedbush was ordered to pay $3.5 million to one of its own former employees. The amount alone was enough to warrant some investigation. It turns out that Wedbush has a long and sordid history with regulators. One that continues through today.
In the 2011 case, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel ordered…
Continue Reading Bad Day for Wedbush Securities – Stockbroker Fraud Post

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Click here to read Orrin Kerr’s analysis of a recent 4th Amendment case from the 5th Circuit. The government properly obtained a warrant to search for text, messages, call logs, and contacts on a cell phone, but not for evidence in the form of photos. Those were suppressed and the conviction overturned. Kerr argues that the 5th Circuit reached the right result for the wrong reason.
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Continue Reading New 5th Circuit case limits cell phone searches

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State v. General Grant Wilson, 2018AP183-CR, 1/12/21, District 1 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
This marks the 3rd time the court of appeals has addressed Wilson’s case. In this appeal, the sole question is whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel. The circuit court found deficient performance but not prejudice. Two judges, White and Blanchard affirm. Brash filed an 18-page dissent arguing that the cumulative effect of several deficiencies warrants a new trial.
SCOW…
Continue Reading COA splits on prejudice caused by counsel’s ineffective presentation of Denny defense

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United States v. Palomar-Santiago, No. 20-437, cert granted 1/8/21; SCOTUSblog page
Question presented:

Whether charges that a non-citizen illegally reentered the United States should be dismissed when the non-citizen’s removal was based on a misclassification of a prior conviction.

Under 8 U.S.C. §1326(d), a district court must dismiss an indictment for illegal reentry after deportation if the defendant proves that: (1) he exhausted his administrative remedies for seeking relief against the deportation order, (2) he was improperly deprived…
Continue Reading SCOTUS to review illegal reentry after deportation

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United States v. Gary, No. 20-444, cert granted 1/8/21; SCOTUSblog page
Question presented:

Whether a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a), is automatically entitled to plain error relief if the district court did not advise him that one element of that offense is knowledge of his status as a felon, regardless of whether he can show that the district court’s error affected the outcome of…
Continue Reading SCOTUS to address how plain error doctrine applies to defective plea colloquy

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Greer v. United States, No. 19-8709, cert. granted 1/11/21; SCOTUSblog page
Question presented: 

Whether, when applying plain-error review based on an intervening United States Supreme Court decision, Rehaif v. United States, a circuit court of appeals may review matters outside the trial record to determine whether the error affected a defendant’s substantial rights or impacted the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the trial.

Generally, when defense counsel fails to object to an error he or…
Continue Reading SCOTUS will clarify plain error doctrine’s prejudice requirement

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If the figures coming from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are correct, the number of fraud actions involving victims over the age of 50 is staggering.  We don’t have 2020 data yet and with COVID, we expect 2020 will be another record breaking year for fraudsters.

Sadly, regulatory agencies only have enough resources to investigate a small percentage of the reports that come in each year. And even fewer people report the crime. For each case prosecuted,…
Continue Reading Baby Boomers Wearing Bulls Eyes

Wells Fargo Advisors has repeatedly been caught pushing unsuitable investments on their clients. One would think that after all the scandals that have engulfed the beleaguered bank, senior management would start taking their customers more seriously.

Our first post on Wells Fargo selling unsuitable investments was in 2011. It’s now 2021 and we are still re-writing this post.

In 2011, we first wrote that Wells Fargo’s brokerage arm agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges that one of…
Continue Reading Wells Fargo Pays Millions To Settle Elder Fraud Allegations

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State v. Leevan Roundtree, 2012 WI 1, 1/7/21, affirming a per curiam court of appeals opinion, 2018AP594-CR; case activity (including briefs)

In 2003, Roundtree was convicted of multiple felony counts of failure to pay child support. Twelve years later, police executed a search warrant at his home and found a firearm and ammunition under his mattress. He pled guilty to one count of felon in possession. On appeal, he argued that §941.29(2)(2013-2014), which barred him from…
Continue Reading SCOW Rejects 2nd Amendment Challenge to Felon-in-Possession Statute