Justia Wisconsin Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff appealed a grant of summary judgment in favor of Allstate Indemnity Company ("Allstate") where plaintiff's claims for coverage stemmed from the death of plaintiff's eight-year-old daughter at her ex-husband's home. At issue was whether plaintiff's claim for wrongful death was covered under the terms of a homeowner's insurance policy Allstate issued to plaintiff's ex-husband. The court held that summary judgment in favor of Allstate was improper where Allstate failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the family exclusion unambiguously precluded coverage.

Defendant contended that his right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 7 of the Wisconsin Constitution was violated where he was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree sexual assault and false imprisonment. At issue was whether the United States Supreme Court's decision in Montejo v. Louisiana required the court to overrule Wisconsin precedent that established the parameters of a charged defendant's right to counsel in Wisconsin when a defendant, who had affirmatively invoked his constitutional right to counsel by retaining and receiving the services of counsel on pending charges, was subjected to questioning by law enforcement. The court held that Montejo did not sanction the interrogation that occurred where defendant's right to counsel under the federal or state constitution had attached and was invoked affirmatively by him before the investigator's questioning was initiated. The court also held that the circuit court's finding that the investigator knew defendant had secured legal counsel for the pending charges was not clearly erroneous and that defendant was not required to "re-invoke" his right to counsel when the investigator initiated interrogation. Therefore, the court held that defendant's statements must be suppressed.