Evidence

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Close up of a female psychologist taking notes and a students knees
Close up of a psychologist notes and a students knees during a mental health meeting in a stylish office

State v. Jeffrey L. Hineman, 202AP226-CR, petition for review of a per curiam opinion granted 4/13/22; case activity (including briefs)

Issues (from the State’s petition for review)
1. In cases involving credibility contests between a complaining witness (here, S.S.) and the defendant (Hineman), to what extent can a reviewing court reweigh the witnesses’ credibility in assessing whether, based on omitted evidence, there was a reasonable likelihood of a different result under the Brady materiality or Strickland prejudice…
Continue Reading State Supreme Court Will Review Brady’s “Material Evidence” Requirement

State v. Lamondo D. Turrubiates, 2020AP233, 11/23/21, District 3 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

Police arrested Turrubiates and the state charged him with several counts having to do with an alleged assault on his girlfriend. During the arrest police took his phone. The state came to believe the phone might contain evidence of crimes by Turrubiates, and it moved the circuit court to compel him to provide his passcode, despite the fact that it…
Continue Reading COA: Circuit Court Erred in Imposing Jail Contempt Sanction for Refusing to Give Phone Passcode

Trempealeau County DSS v. T.M.M., 2021AP100 & Trempealeau County DSS v. T.M.M., 2021AP139, District 3, 11/12/21 (one-judge opinions; both ineligible for publication); case activity: 2021AP100 & 2021AP139

The court of appeals agrees with T.M.M. (“Tiffany”) that the evidence presented at her recommitment hearing was insufficient to prove she was dangerous under one of the standards listed in § 51.20(1)(a)2. The court also rejects as moot her appeal of an order transferring her under § 51.35(1)(e) to a…
Continue Reading Evidence at Recommitment Hearing was Insufficient to Establish Dangerousness; Appeal of Transfer to Inpatient Treatment is Moot

State v. Jeffrey L. Moeser, 2019AP2184-CR, petition for review of an unpublished decision granted 11/18/21 ; case activity (including briefs)

Issue presented (from the petition):

Whether the ‘Oath’ requirement under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution require a police officer to swear an oath to the truthfulness of an affidavit used to obtain a search warrant to conduct an evidentiary blood draw in a criminal OWI matter?
As we…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Officer Must Orally Swear Truth of Warrant Affidavit

State v. Jeffrey L. Moeser, 2019AP2184-CR, District 4, 6/24/21 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)

Over a dissenting vote, the court of appeals holds that, under the facts of this case, the affidavit in support of the warrant to draw Moeser’s blood was sworn to under oath by the officer and therefore the warrant was not defective.

At the start of the affidavit, the officer, Brown, wrote his name in the blank preceding the phrase “being…
Continue Reading Affidavit in Support of Warrant for Blood Draw was Supported by Oath or Affirmation

State v. Greg Douglas Griswold, 2020AP1598, District 4, 3/4/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

Griswold was convicted of violating § 26.12(5)(b) by starting a fire in an “extensive forest protection area” without a permit. The statute excepts fires started for warmth, and Griswold claimed that’s what he was doing. When evidence supports more than one reasonable inference, the reviewing court accepts the inference drawn by the trier of fact, see, e.g., State v. Poellinger…
Continue Reading Evidence Supported Inference Defendant Didn’t Start Fire to Keep Himself Warm

Photographs can present powerful evidence, but beware of images that have been Photoshopped or otherwise manipulated.  How to Geek, Electrons, and FindLaw offer some tips on spotting an altered image:

  • Images that look a little too perfect may reveal use of airbrushing
  • Look beyond the subject of a photo for signs of warping, which is when someone uses a tool to grab an area of an image and move, shrink, or enlarge it
  • Scan the image for

…
Continue Reading Telltale Tips to Spot Altered Images