State v. Artic, 2010 WI 83

Summary

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin reviewed Robert Lee Artic, Sr.'s ineffective-assistance claim arising from the warrantless entry and search of his residence. The court held that Artic voluntarily consented to the search of his upstairs residence and that the search was sufficiently attenuated from the unconstitutional entry to purge its taint. The court therefore affirmed the court of appeals and concluded that Artic was not prejudiced by counsel's alleged deficiencies.

Holdings

1. Artic voluntarily consented to the search of his upstairs residence; his consent was a free and unconstrained choice rather than mere acquiescence to police authority.
2. The search of Artic's upstairs residence was sufficiently attenuated from the unconstitutional entry into the building to purge the taint of that entry.
3. Artic was not prejudiced by counsel's alleged failures because the suppression motion would properly have been denied even if counsel had challenged the police-created exigency and objected to the curtilage-observation testimony.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Artic voluntarily consented to the police search of his upstairs residence.
2. Whether the search was sufficiently attenuated from the officers' unconstitutional warrantless entry to purge the taint of that entry.
3. Whether Artic was prejudiced by trial counsel's failure to argue that police created their own exigent circumstances and failure to object to testimony concerning observations made from within the curtilage.

Disposition

affirmed