6th Amendment Violation Confrontation Clause.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Joseph B. Reinwand

Case No.: 2019 WI 25

Focus: 6th Amendment Violation Confrontation Clause

This appeal comes before us on certification from the court of appeals. On October 30, 2014, Joseph B. Reinwand was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide for shooting Dale Meister, the father of his granddaughter. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release to extended supervision.

We conclude the following: first, Meister's statements to family and friends about Reinwand were not testimonial; therefore, they do not implicate the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause. Accordingly, we do not reach the certified questions regarding the forfeiture by wrongdoing exception to the right of confrontation.

Second, the "other acts" evidence of Reinwand's prior burglary was properly admitted for the purpose of challenging his asserted memory problems. Third, Reinwand's...