Supreme Court accepts seven new cases

Madison, Wisconsin - June 21, 2006

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept seven new cases. The Court also acted to deny review in a number of cases. The case numbers, issues, and counties of origin are listed below. Court of Appeals opinions and certifications available online for the newly accepted cases are hyperlinked.

2004AP2588 C. Aslakson v. Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.
This case involves a carpenter who fell from a ladder while at work and was seriously injured. After the State Uninsured Employer’s Fund (UEF) denied his worker’s compensation claim, he sued. The circuit court and Court of Appeals reached opposite conclusions about the viability of the carpenter’s claim. The Supreme Court will decide whether an uninsured employee may bring a tort claim against the administrator of the UEF for bad faith denial of a worker’s compensation claim. From Dane County.

2004AP3285-CR State v. G. Kasmarek
The summary judgment of the Court of Appeals is not available on the Web site.

In this case, the Supreme Court will decide whether the sentence imposed by the circuit court was unduly harsh under the totality of the circumstances of this case, even though the sentence was within the permissible limits. From Waukesha County.

2005AP81-CR State v. S. Muckerheide
This is an appeal of a conviction for homicide by drunk driving. The driver maintains that the passenger/victim grabbed the wheel just prior to the crash and therefore caused the accident. At issue is whether ‘other acts’ evidence – in this case, evidence that allegedly showed the victim had a history of wheel grabbing – should have been admitted. The circuit court barred this evidence and the Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. The Supreme Court will decide if the Court of Appeals erred in applying the ‘other acts’ standards set forth in Wis. Stat. § 904.04 to the defendant’s proffered evidence. From Milwaukee County.

2005AP302-CR State v. B. Jenkins
This case involves a man who entered into a plea agreement on drug charges and then attempted to withdraw from the agreement. The trial court declined to permit this, but the Court of Appeals reversed. The question before the Supreme Court is whether the Court of Appeals failed to follow the proper standard for reviewing decisions on pre-sentence motions for plea withdrawal. From Milwaukee County.

2005AP534 H. Frisch v. R. Henrichs
This case involves a divorce battle that, as the Court of Appeals put it, has worn on longer than the marriage that spawned it. When the husband was found to have misstated his income, the trial court imposed sanctions that the Court of Appeals later reversed. The questions before the Supreme Court are:

1. What is the appropriate remedy for violations of Wis. Stat. § 767.27(2m)?

2. Is Wis. Stat. § 806.07 a more appropriate remedy than contempt for correcting child support orders premised on fraudulent or undisclosed income information?

3. If a child support order is vacated under Wis. Stat. § 806.07 because it was premised on fraudulent or undisclosed income, does Wis. Stat. § 767.32(1m) prevent the court from ordering retroactive child support? From Waukesha County.

2005AP2315 H. Lornson, et al v. N. Siddiqui, et al
This case involves a woman who died in 2002, allegedly as a result of medical malpractice. Her husband died in 2005 while pursuing a wrongful death claim. Now, the couple’s daughters are trying to pursue the husband’s claim – which raises the question of whether a surviving spouse’s wrongful death claim in a medical malpractice case survives his or her own death. The Supreme Court will decide this. From Winnebago County.

2005AP3141 City of Milwaukee v. R. Washington

This case involves a woman who was confined for treatment of tuberculosis. The Court of Appeals concluded that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in confining the woman to county jail facilities for tuberculosis treatment and in rejecting the alternative of guarded placement in a hospital because of the cost; the Supreme Court will review that determination and also decide if the circuit court had the authority to use remedial contempt as a sanction in order to incarcerate the woman for treatment until health authorities certified that she was cured. From Milwaukee County.

Review denied: The Supreme Court denied review in the following 65 cases. As the state’s law-developing court, the Supreme Court exercises its discretion to select for review only those cases that fit certain statutory criteria (see Wis. Stat. § 809.62). Except where indicated, these cases came to the Court via petition for review by the party who lost in the lower court:

Brown County:

• 2005AP873 Sevcik v. Secura Ins.

Burnett County:

• 2005AP1655 State v. McCormack

Dane County:

• 2004AP1083-CR State v. Mitchell
• 2004AP3244-CRNM/ State v. Stewart
• 2004AP3245-CRNM
• 2005AP1035 Baumgarten v. City View
• 2005AP1517 Samuels v. Continental
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson did not participate; Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissents.
• 2005AP2008-CRNM State v. Murphy
• 2005AP2208-CR State v. Griffin

Dodge County:

• 2005AP2707-CRNM State v. Gilbertson

Douglas County:

• 2005AP1184/ State v. Eastman
• 2005AP1607

Dunn County:

• 2005AP1091 Odness v. Dunn County Board of Adjustment

Eau Claire:

• 2005AP2079-CR State v. Neu

Fond du Lac:

• 2005AP1628 Converting/Biophile Labs v. Ludlow Composites
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, and Justice Patience Drake Roggensack dissent.

Grant County:

• 2004AP2271-CR State v. Demmer
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Justice Louis B. Butler Jr. dissent.
• 2004AP2649-CR State v. Tiggs
• 2005AP1684-CR State v. Turner

Green County:

• 2006AP201-CRNM State v. Bittner

Kenosha County:

• 2005AP1581 TPR to Quiana T.: Kenosha Co. v. Katrina R.
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson dissents.
• 2005AP629-CR State v. Gulan
• 2005AP697-CR State v. Dancer
• 2006AP757 State v. Jorgenson

La Crosse County:

• 2004AP2953-CR State v. Copus
• 2005AP133-CR State v. Richard A.M.
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissent.
• 2005AP1853-CR State v. LoPiccolo
• 2005AP2112/2005AP2113/2005AP2118/2005AP2119 TPR to Cameron and Alyisha P.: La Crosse Co. DHS v. Juan and Sharon P.

Manitowoc County:

• 2005AP1459-CR State v. Genrich

Marathon County:

• 2005AP1804 State v. Slater
• 2005AP3033-CRNM/2005AP3034-CRNM State v. Taylor

Milwaukee County:

• 2004AP1118-CRNM State v. Groth
• 2004AP1303-CR State v. Lawrence E. Green
• 2004AP1579 State v. Moore
• 2004AP2261-CR State v. Harmon
• 2004AP2539 Bilda v. Milw. County
• 2004AP2554 Reischel v. US Bank
• 2004AP2631-CR State v. Carrasquillo
• 2004AP2712-CR State v. Jones
• 2004AP3108-CR State v. Marion
• 2004AP3190-CR State v. Streff
• 2004AP3227-CR State v. Moore
• 2005AP432 Paternity of J.M.B.: Bounpraseuth v. Lewis
• 2005AP646 Wis. Gifts v. Oak Creek
• 2005AP703 Morters v. Aiken & Scoptur, S.C.
• 2005AP741 City of Oak Creek v. PSC
  Justice Patience Drake Roggensack dissents.
• 2005AP1022-CR State v. Edwards
• 2005AP1447 State v. L. Avery
• 2005AP1511-CR State v. Jaimes
• 2005AP1850-CR/ State v. Owens
• 2005AP1851-CR
• 2005AP1973-CRNM State v. Ruehl
• 2005AP2661-W State ex rel. Hart v. Deppisch
• 2005AP2834 TPR to Edward T.: State v. Edward T.

Oconto County:

• 2005AP48-CR State v. Daley

Outagamie County:

• 2005AP1999 Torbeck v. CE Land Development

Ozaukee County:

• 2002AP1672 Estate of Wrezic: Ring v. Estate of Wrezic

Polk County:

• 2004AP2961/2005AP775 Larson v. State Farm

Price County:

• 2005AP191 Hendricks v. Thieme

Racine County:

• 2004AP1497 State v. Dressler

Rock County:

• 2004AP580-CR State v. Andreola
• 2004AP3055-CR State v. Robinson
• 2006AP413-W State ex rel. Evans v. Pollard

Sheboygan County:

• 2005AP54-CR State v. Lammers

Vernon County:

• 2005AP2314-CR State v. Medina

Walworth County:

• 2005AP1888-CR State v. McGrath
  Justice N. Patrick Crooks did not participate.

Washington County:

• 2004AP2707 Buchholz v. Farmers Inc.

Waukesha County:

• 2005AP372-W State ex rel. Fields v. Grams

Wood County:

• 2006AP282 TPR to Isaiah M.: Wood Co. v. Larry M.

For more information contact:
Amanda Todd
Court Information Officer
(608) 264-6256

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