Oral argument December 13, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

9:45 a.m. State v. Brian H. Duchow (05AP2175-CR)
Update: Summary when review granted

This case involves a boy with Down Syndrome. When his behavior appeared to change after he began riding a school bus driven by the defendant, Brian Duchow, the boy’s parents placed a tape recorder in the boy’s backpack. The recordings revealed that Duchow was threatening the boy and making reference to past incidents involving physical violence. Duchow was charged with intentionally causing bodily harm to a child. The circuit court denied Duchow’s motion to suppress the recordings from evidence, and Duchow pleaded guilty and was convicted.

A divided Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, concluding that the tape recordings should have been suppressed. The Supreme Court is expected to clarify whether recordings of this type – where neither party to the conversation is aware of the recording – are regulated by the Wisconsin Electronic Surveillance Control Law. From Milwaukee County

01:30 p.m. Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Gary R. George (05AP1978-D)
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Will hear oral arguments on Gary George's law license (press release at WisPolitics)

Live audio of arguments are available. WisconsinEye has live video and audio of arguments.