Byline: Rick Benedict
7th Circuit Digests
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: United States of America v. LaShawn L. Wilks
Case No.: 21-2559
Officials: SYKES, Chief Judge, and ROVNER and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Sentencing Revocation of Pretrial Release
This is an appeal from an order revoking pretrial release based on the defendant's violation of his release conditions. We have not yet had occasion to address the legal standards for revocation or the standard of review on appeal. We do so here.
In June 2020 Lashawn Wilks was indicted in the Southern District of Illinois for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. He was released on bond with strict conditions, including home confinement (with limited exceptions for employment and the like) and additional restrictions on his activities and associations. Several months later the grand jury issued a superseding indictment in an earlier-filed drug-trafficking case adding Wilks as a defendant and charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and related drug charges. The new indictment also included the original firearm charge; his bond and release conditions were carried over to the new case.
Wilks obtained the district court's permission to leave his home near Indianapolis to stay overnight in Centralia, Illinois, from July 26, 2021, for the purpose of attending two medical appointments, a family wedding, and religious services. But while there he did not confine himself to those activities. In the early morning hours of July 4, Wilks was at a bar in Mount Vernon, Illinois, where a fatal shooting occurred. Though he is not a suspect in the homicide, surveillance video shows that shortly before the shooting, he was talking with one of his codefendants who was also there. Wilks remained at the scene afterward, encountering law-enforcement officers when they arrived.
The government moved to revoke Wilks's release as a sanction for violating his release conditions, which prohibited any contact with codefendants and also required him to promptly report any contact with law enforcement to his pretrial-services officer. The district judge held a hearing, viewed the video, and revoked Wilks's release, though on grounds other than those argued by the government. Wilks appealed.
Revocation of pretrial release is governed by 18 U.S.C. 3148. As we will explain, the judge did not hew to the statutory framework in making the revocation decision. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded
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7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Ranita Railey v. Sunset Food Mart, Inc.,
Case No.: 21-2533
Officials: EASTERBROOK, KANNE, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Appellate Jurisdiction Class Action Fairness Act
Ranita Railey clocked in and out of work at the Sunset Food Mart in Lake Forest, Illinois, by placing her hand on a biometric scanner. She later brought a class action in state court alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Two years into litigation, Sunset removed the case to federal court. The district court found Sunset's removal untimely. Exercising the appellate jurisdiction Congress provided in the Class Action Fairness Act, we affirm the district court's order remanding to state court.
Affirmed
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WI Court of Appeals Digests
WI Court of Appeals District I
Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Miles J. Olson
Case No.: 2019AP729-CR
Officials: Brash, C.J., Donald, P.J., and White, J.
Focus: 4th Amendment Violation Warrantless Search Community Caretaker Doctrine
Miles J. Olson appeals a judgment convicting him of one count of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, as a fifth offense. Olson argues that the police violated the Fourth Amendment when they searched his car after his arrest. We conclude at conference that summary disposition is appropriate. See WIS. STAT. RULE 809.21 (2019-20). Upon review, we affirm.
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WI Court of Appeals District I
Case Name: Milwaukee County v. R.T.H.,
Case No.: 2019AP1763
Officials: WHITE, J.
Focus: Involuntary Medication and Treatment
Robert appeals the circuit court order for involuntary medication and treatment. Robert argues that Ozaukee County failed to fulfill the statutory requirements to explain the advantages and disadvantages of medication in a timely manner. We conclude that his appeal is moot and Robert has not...
