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Week of January 26, 2009

 Supreme Court Cases
  • Attorney Discipline

    Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Mulligan
    Docket: 2008AP000971 01-29-09
    PER CURIAM. We review a report and recommendation filed by the referee, Reserve Judge James R. Erickson, recommending this court accept the stipulation filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) and Attorney Thomas O. Mulligan. Consistent with the terms of that stipulation, the referee recommends this court publicly reprimand Attorney Mulligan for his professional misconduct. No appeal has been filed.
  • Insurance/ Contracts/ "Occurrence"/ Statutes

    Plastics Engineering v. Liberty Mutual
    Docket: 2008AP000333 01-29-09
    ANNETTE KINGSLAND ZIEGLER, J. This is a certification of questions of law from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2005-06). The questions certified for determination are: "(1) what constitutes an 'occurrence' in an insurance contract when exposure injuries are sustained by numerous individuals, at varying geographical locations, over many years; (2) whether Wisconsin Statute § 631.43(1) applies to successive insurance policies; and (3) whether Wisconsin courts would adopt an 'all sums' or pro rata allocation approach to determining liability when an injury spans multiple, successive insurance policies."
  • Insurance/ Underinsured Motorist/ Contracts

    Lisowski v. Hastings Mutual
    Docket: 2006AP002662 01-28-09
    N. PATRICK CROOKS, J. This is a review of an unpublished court of appeals per curiam opinion that affirmed a circuit court decision dismissing a claim by Jonathan Lisowski against Hastings Mutual Insurance Company for underinsured motorists coverage under Lisowski's father's business auto policy.
  • OWI/ Evidence/ Evidence Ruling/ Probable Cause/ Reasonable Suspicion/ Constitutional Law/ Seizure/ Community Caretaker Function

    State v. Kramer
    Docket: 2007AP001834 01-29-09
    PATIENCE DRAKE ROGGENSACK, J. We review a decision of the court of appeals that affirmed the circuit court's judgment convicting Todd Lee Kramer (Kramer) of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. In upholding the judgment of conviction, the court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's denial of Kramer's motion to suppress evidence of his intoxicated state obtained subsequent to a police officer's stopping his squad car, with its emergency overhead lights on, behind Kramer's legally parked vehicle and approaching his driver-side window. This appeal focuses on whether the circuit court erred in its denial of Kramer's suppression motion.
  • School/ Immunity/ Personal Injury/ Negligence/ Sports/ Statutes/ Statutory Construction-Interpretation/ Liability

    Noffke v. Bakke
    Docket: 2006AP001886 01-27-09
    ANNETTE KINGSLAND ZIEGLER, J. This is a review of a published court of appeals' decision that affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the La Crosse County Circuit Court, Dale T. Pasell, Judge. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and thus granted immunity to both Kevin Bakke (hereinafter "Bakke") and the "school district," which includes Holmen High School, the Holmen Area School District, and Wausau Underwriters Insurance Company. When Brittany Noffke (hereinafter "Noffke") appealed, the court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the circuit court's decision to grant summary judgment. The court of appeals concluded that while the school district was immune from liability, Bakke was not entitled to such immunity. Both Bakke and Noffke petitioned this court for review, which we granted. We agree with the circuit court's decision and therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the court of appeals' decision.
 Court of Appeals Cases
  • Criminal Law/ Evidence/ Burden Of Proof/ Vindictive Prosecution

    State v. Jackson
    Docket: 2006AP003139 01-29-09
    PER CURIAM. Lavelle Jackson appeals a judgment of conviction. We affirm.
  • Criminal Law/ Evidence/ Constitutional Law-Due Process/ Elements Of Charge/ Multiplicitous

    State v. Reveles
    Docket: 2008AP000364 01-29-09
    State v. Reveles
    Docket: 2008AP000365 01-29-09
    State v. Reveles
    Docket: 2008AP000366 01-29-09
    VERGERONT, J. Michael Reveles appeals the judgments of conviction on six counts of second-degree sexual assault in violation of WIS. STAT. § 940.225(2)(g) (2007-08) and the order denying his postconviction motion. First, he argues the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions because the State failed to prove an essential element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Second, he argues that certain of the six counts are multiplicitous and therefore violate the double jeopardy provisions of the state and federal constitutions. We conclude the evidence was sufficient and no counts are multiplicitous. We therefore affirm the judgments of conviction and the order denying postconviction relief.
  • Criminal Law/ Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel/ Jury Instructions

    State v. Knudson
    Docket: 2008AP001842 01-27-09
    PER CURIAM. Michael Knudson appeals a judgment of conviction for taking and driving a vehicle without consent and an order denying his postconviction motion. Knudson argues his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance because she failed to impeach the State's key witness with the number of the witness's prior convictions. We disagree and affirm the judgment and order.
  • Criminal Law/ New Trial/ Evidence/ Constitutional Law/ Right To Confront/ Prosecutorial Misconduct

    State v. Mendoza-Medina
    Docket: 2008AP001039 01-29-09
    PER CURIAM. Guillermo Mendoza-Medina appeals from the judgment of conviction entered against him. Mendoza-Medina argues that he is entitled to a new trial because he was prevented at trial from presenting a defense, and because the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. Because we conclude that the circuit court properly excluded the evidence Mendoza-Medina sought to introduce in his defense, and that Mendoza-Medina waived his right to challenge the prosecutor's statements, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
  • Criminal Law/ Pleas/ Evidence/ Evidence Ruling/ Motor Vehicle Law/ OWI

    State v. Daul
    Docket: 2007AP001536 01-29-09
    PER CURIAM. Kurt Daul appeals a judgment convicting him on two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, and one count of causing injury by intoxicated use. He entered a no contest plea after the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence. He contends that the trial court should have suppressed inculpatory statements he gave to a police officer, and a blood sample that revealed a prohibited blood alcohol level. We affirm.
  • Criminal Law/ Pleas/ Resentencing/ Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel/ Plea Agreement Breach

    State v. Moore
    Docket: 2008AP001014 01-28-09
    PER CURIAM. Curtis D. Moore appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty to one count of substantial battery and from the order denying his postconviction motion for resentencing. We affirm the judgment but reverse the order and remand for resentencing because the State's omission of a key component of the sentence recommendation constituted a substantial and material breach of the plea agreement.
  • Family Law/ Divorce/ Child Support/ Property Division

    Ogden v. Ogden
    Docket: 2008AP000426 01-28-09
    PER CURIAM. The trial court granted a judgment of divorce to Kamie and David Ogden, equally divided the marital estate and, in setting child support, imputed $41,000 income to Kamie, a voluntarily unemployed stay-at-home parent. Kamie appeals these aspects of the judgment. We affirm.
  • Landlord-Tenant/ Damages/ Contracts/ Tenant Surrender

    Puccetti v. Olsen
    Docket: 2008AP002198 01-28-09
    ANDERSON, P.J. A tenant, Wendy Olsen, appeals a small claims judgment that found her landlords, Dean and Wendee Puccetti, had accepted her surrender of a commercial premises lease and awarded them $5000, plus costs, for unpaid rent and consequential damages. Both hornbook law and the statutes provide that when a landlord accepts the tenant's surrender of the lease, he forfeits his right to future rents and damages; therefore, we reverse.
  • OWI/ Evidence/ Traffic Stops/ Reasonable Suspicion

    County of Bayfield v. Barnes
    Docket: 2008AP002394 01-27-09
    BRUNNER, J. George Barnes appeals a judgment of conviction for operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration, contrary to WIS. STAT. § 346.63(1)(b). He contends the court should have granted his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop because there was no reasonable suspicion to justify the stop. We disagree and affirm the judgment.
  • Property/ Statute/ Nuisance/ Injunction/ Public Trust

    Marino v. City of Madison
    Docket: 2008AP001141 01-29-09
    VERGERONT, J. This action arises out of a dispute over a twelve-foot-wide strip of land between the east side of West Shore Drive and Monona Bay in Madison, Wisconsin. The owners of two residential lots abutting the west side of West Shore Drive claim title to this land as does the City of Madison. The circuit court concluded that the City of Madison held title to this land, in trust for the public, and could therefore proceed with the construction of a storm sewer outfall. The plaintiffs appeal, contending that the court made a number of errors in arriving at its conclusion. For the reasons we explain below, we affirm.
Links
Also of Interest
Police 'caretaker function' cures Fourth Amendment violation, Wisconsin Supreme Court Says
Evidence obtained during a police officer’s checkup on a motorist may be admissible even if the encounter violates the Fourth Amendment. More

Scope of underinsured motorist insurance limited by Wisconsin Supreme Court
Court rejects arguments that policy holder’s son should recover for injuries sustained in vehicle driven by underinsured friend because the car was not specifically covered by the insurance policy. More

Immunity for school sports activities withstands challenge before supreme court
Injured cheerleader could not overcome statutory immunity from negligence lawsuits granted to a school district and a fellow student involved in scholastic sports, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held. More

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