2021

Wisconsin Supreme Court accepts two new cases

Madison, Wisconsin - June 4, 2021

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept two new cases, and the Court acted to deny review in a number of other cases. The case numbers, counties of origin and the issues presented in granted cases are listed below. More information about pending appellate cases can be found on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access website. Published Court of Appeals opinions can be found here, and the status of pending Supreme Court cases can be found here.

2019AP2090 Bauer v. Wisconsin Energy Corp.
Supreme Court case type:  Petition for Review
Court of Appeals:  District II
Circuit Court:  Walworth County, Judge Daniel Steven Johnson, affirmed
Long caption:  Claudia B. Bauer, individually and Claudia B. Bauer, as Trustee of the Claudia B. Bauer Revocable Trust 2010 Restatement, Plaintiffs-Appellants-Petitioners, v. Wisconsin Energy Corporation d/b/a WE Energies, Defendant-Respondent, Dean Gatziolis, individually, Susan W. Gatziolis, individually, Engerman Contracting, Inc., Dean Gatziolis , as Trustee of the Gatziolis Family Trust and Susan W. Gatziolis, as Trustee of the Gatziolis Family Trust, Defendants

Issues presented:      

  1. Has Wisconsin law on prescriptive easements eliminated entirely the longstanding common law requirement that a property owner have notice of a utility company's use of their land, in order for the utility company to lawfully acquire a prescriptive easement?
  2. Can the continuous use requirement of Wis. Stat. § 893.28(2) be satisfied as a matter of law when a public utility substantially modifies its initial use of another's property?
  3. Are the constitutional rights of a private landowner violated if a public utility company can exercise its prescriptive easement rights without providing any notice whatsoever to the property owner, and in doing so, avoid having to use its condemnation powers?

2019AP221-CR State v. Lee
Supreme Court case type:  Petition for Review
Court of Appeals:  District III
Circuit Court:  Marathon County, Judge Lamont K. Jacobson, reversed and remanded
Long caption:  State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Nhia Lee, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner

Issues presented:      

  1. Should circuit court courts be required to appoint attorneys when there are delays in securing SPD-appointed counsel for the defendant?
  2. Was Lee's right to counsel denied?
  3. Was Lee denied due process?
  4. Was Lee's right to a speedy trial denied?
  5. If the circuit court lost jurisdiction to determine probable cause at a preliminary hearing because the ten-day time limit under Wis. Stat. § 970.03(2) had expired by 104 days, what is the appropriate remedy?

Review denied: The Supreme Court denied review in the following 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:

2019AP1-CR State v. Burkhart
2019AP216-CR State v. Jackson
2019AP630 Jones v. Schwochert
2019AP739 Marathon Co. Child Support Agency v. Schultz
2019AP1406 State v. Ogren
2019AP1447 State v. Maday
2019AP1667 State v. Hudson
2019AP1892-CR
2019AP1893-CR
State v. Harris
2019AP1916-CR State v. Coleman (Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet did not participate)
2019AP2409 State v. Crawford
2020AP66-CR State v. Gaston
2020AP157-CR State v. Hardy
2020AP264-CRNM State v. Galvan
2020AP297 Buck v. Hayes
2020AP892-CR State v. Nelson
2019AP2067 Gartner Properties, LLC v. Hudson Business Park, LLC
2019AP2113-CR
2019AP2114-CR
State v. Grant
2020AP1042-CR State v. McDowell
2020AP1331-W Stewart v. Circuit Court for Dane Co.
2020AP1426 Adams County v. D.R.D.
2021AP34-OA Spangler v. Benzel
2021AP209-W Hayes v. Cromwell
2019AP390 Jensen v. Village of Somers
2019AP885-CR State v. Spaulding
2019AP886-CR State v. Ozodi
2019AP1597-CR State v. Ballentine
2019AP1642-CR State v. King
2019AP1975-CR State v. Etherly
2020AP1151 State v. J.T.
2019AP251 State v. Taylor
2019AP617-CR State v. Yang
2019AP756-CR State v. Montgomery
2019AP816-CR State v. Tuinstra (Justice Jill J. Karofsky did not participate)
2019AP839 Rusk County v. A.A. (Justice Ann Walsh Bradley and Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet dissent)
2019AP866 State v. Young
2019AP1125-CR State v. Smith
2019AP1369-CR State v. Green
2019AP1542-CR State v. Cadiz-Taylor
2019AP1573-CR State v. Keller
2019AP1742-CR State v. Tate
2019AP1884-CR State v. Dunay
2019AP2062-CRNM State v. Edwards
2020AP733 State v. Moore
2020AP858 Lakeland Area Property Owners Association v. Oneida County
2020AP1171-FT Outagamie County v. R.W.
2019AP1278-CR State v. Clark
2020AP126-CRNM State v. Nadig
2020AP788-W Priest v. Sankovitz

Contact:
Tom Sheehan
Court Information Officer
(608) 261-6640

Back to headlines archive 2021