SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN

 

 

Case No.:           95-1067

 

 

Complete Title

of Case:          


State of Wisconsin,

     Petitioner-Appellant,

     v.

John J. Watson,

     Respondent-Respondent,

 

 

CERTIFICATION FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS

 

 

Opinion Filed:        May 2, 1997

Submitted on Briefs:    

Oral Argument:       April 10, 1997

 

 

Source of APPEAL

                COURT:      Circuit

                COUNTY:     Dane

                JUDGE:       Angela B. Bartell

 

 

JUSTICES:

                Concurred:    

                Dissented:    

                Not Participating:        Steinmetz, J., did not participate.

 

 

ATTORNEYS:        For the petitioner-appellant the cause was argued by Mary E. Burke, assistant attorney general, with whom on the briefs was Sally L. Wellman, assistant attorney general and James E. Doyle, attorney general.

 

                For the respondent-respondent there was a brief and oral argument by Richard D. Martin, state public defender.

 

 

NOTICE

This opinion is subject to further editing and modification.  The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports.

 

 

No. 95-1067

 

STATE OF WISCONSIN               :              

 

 

 

 

IN SUPREME COURT

 

 

State of Wisconsin,

 

     Petitioner-Appellant,

 

     v.

 

John J. Watson,

 

     Respondent-Respondent.

 

FILED

 

MAY 2, 1997

 

Marilyn L. Graves

Clerk of Supreme Court

Madison, WI

 

 

 

 

 

     APPEAL from an order of the Circuit Court for Dane County, Angela B. Bartell, Judge.  Order granting certification vacated and cause remanded to the Court of Appeals.

1     PER CURIAM.   The court is equally divided whether to affirm or reverse the order of the circuit court. Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Justice William A. Bablitch and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley would affirm. Justice Jon P. Wilcox, Justice Janine P. Geske and Justice N. Patrick Crooks would reverse. Justice Donald W. Steinmetz did not participate.

2     When a certification or bypass results in a tie vote by this court, the better course of action is to vacate our decision to accept certification or bypass and remand the cause to the court of appeals. State v. Richard Knutson, Inc., 191 Wis. 2d 395, 396-97, 528 N.W.2d 430 (1995) (remanding to court of appeals on a tie vote on certification); State v. Elam, 195 Wis. 2d 683, 684-85, 538 N.W.2d 249 (1995) (restating rule; declining to remand to court of appeals on a tie vote on bypass because court of appeals had previously decided issue).

3     Accordingly, we vacate our order granting certification and remand to the court of appeals.