Supreme Court accepts three new cases

Madison, Wisconsin - November 21, 2006

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept three 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/certification memos that are available online for the newly accepted cases are hyperlinked.

2004AP3306 State ex rel. Castaneda v. Welch
Justice Patience Drake Roggensack did not participate.
The case began when several police officers executed a search warrant at a grocery store. A citizen complained about them, alleging police misconduct. This case centers on a question of the scope of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission’s rule making authority with respect to citizen complaint procedures. From Dane County.

2005AP1492-CR State v. Johnson
This case involves a teen who was adjudicated delinquent, sent to juvenile detention and, while there, beat up a fellow resident – a crime for which he was charged as an adult. When he was sentenced on the battery charge, he sought to apply some of the time spent in juvenile detention towards his sentence. This was denied. The Supreme Court is expected to resolve whether time spent confined under a juvenile commitment should be awarded as sentence credit against an adult sentence. From Dane County.

2004AP1550 Stoughton Trailers v. LIRC
This case involves a worker who was fired by Stoughton Trailers after he allegedly accrued too many unexcused absences due to migraine headaches. The Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) ordered Stoughton Trailers to reinstate the worker. The company sought review in the circuit court, which affirmed the LIRC finding, and then took its case to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the circuit court. The Supreme Court is expected to decide if (1) the employer discriminated against the worker on the basis of a disability, within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 111.34; (2) if the employer refused to reasonably accommodate a disability within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 111.34(1)(a); and (3) if the LIRC applied the correct remedy. From Dane County.

Review denied: The Supreme Court denied review in the following cases. Supreme Court review is a matter of judicial discretion, not of right, and will be granted only when special and important reasons are presented. As the state’s law-developing court, the Supreme Court exercises its discretion to consider for review only those cases that fit certain criteria, but these criteria neither control nor fully measure the court’s discretion (see Wis. Stat. (rule) § 809.62). Except where indicated, these cases came to the Court via petition for review by the party who lost in the lower court.

Petitions for writs:

Milwaukee County

• 2006AP2107-W State ex rel. Wingo v. Circuit Court for Milwaukee County
• 2006AP2134-W State ex rel. Dallas v. Bartow
• 2006AP2399-W State ex rel. Dowell v. Circuit Court for Milwaukee County

Sheboygan County

• 2006AP1760-OA Swinson v. Circuit Court for Sheboygan County

Petitions for review:

Brown County

• 2005AP247-CR & 2005AP1455 State v. Stevens
• 2006AP486 State v. Donley

Dane County

• 2004AP786-CR State v. Murray
• 2005AP723-CR & 2005AP724-CR State v. Ashmore
• 2005AP910 State ex rel. Watkins v. Berge
• 2005AP3140 Apartment Assn. of SouthCentral Wis. v. City of Madison
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissent.

Door County

• 2005AP2677 Jorns v. Town Board of Jacksonport

Fond du Lac County

• 2006AP204 State v. Dudek

Grant County

• 2006AP534 State v. Baxter

Green County

• 2005AP1409 State ex rel. Schultz v. Benik

Jefferson County

• 2004AP3081 Commitment of Kruse: State v. Kruse

Kenosha County

• 2003AP3418-W State ex rel. Walker v. McCaughtry
• 2005AP2769 State v. Donoe
• 2006AP173 Interest of Joshua B.: State v. Joshua B.

La Crosse County

• 2005AP2454-CR State v. Williams
• 2006AP1725-W State ex rel. Benitez v. La Crosse County Circuit Court

Milwaukee County

• 2004AP1121 & 2005AP1395 State v. Avery
• 2004AP3365-CR State v. Whitehead
• 2005AP863-CRNM State v. Sullivan
• 2005AP1344 State v. Washington
• 2005AP1350-CR State v. Hemphill
• 2005AP2590-CR State v. Turner
• 2006AP149-CR & 2006AP151-CR State v. John Doe
• 2006AP391 & 2006AP559 State v. Smith
• 2006AP525 Rodriguez v. LIRC
• 2006AP1546-1548 TPR to Filemon B., Teresa B. & Giovani B.: State v. Kerry R.
  Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissent.
• 2006AP1606 State v. Kendrick

Oconto County

• 2006AP388-CR State v. Dombrowski

Outagamie County

• 2005AP1968 Commitment of Alger: State v. Alger

Racine County

• 2005AP1833 State v. Taylor

Richland County

• 2002AP1828-W State ex rel. Ford v. Holm

St. Croix County

• 2005AP1286 Bettendorf v. St. Croix County

Sawyer County

• 2005AP2277 Sawyer Co. v. Luensman

Walworth County

• 2005AP2230 & 2231 Lake Beulah Lake Mang. v. DNR
  Justice Patience Drake Roggensack dissents.

Washington County

• 2005AP2466 Michaels v. Kettle Moraine Electric

Waukesha County

• 2005AP2001-CR State v. Russo
• 2006AP985 Mental Commitment of Laura J.M.: Waukesha Co. v. Laura J.M.
• 2006AP1661-LV Laughlin v. Prohealth Care

Petitions to bypass:

Milwaukee County

• 2005AP2680 & 2006AP1410 Onischuk v. Johnson Controls

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

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