6th Amendment Violation Confrontation Clause.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

WI Court of Appeals District II

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Oscar C. Thomas

Case No.: 2020AP32-CR

Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Davis, J.

Focus: 6th Amendment Violation Confrontation Clause

In 2007, Oscar C. Thomas was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault, and false imprisonment in the death of his wife, Joyce. The autopsy revealed that Joyce died from "[s]trangulation due to physical assault." Thomas was convicted of all three charges by a jury. He appealed, we affirmed, and our supreme court denied review. State v. Thomas, No. 2010AP1606-CR, unpublished slip op. 1 (WI App Nov. 9, 2011), review denied, 2012 WI 45, 340 Wis. 2d 542, 811 N.W.2d 818. Thomas pursued federal habeas corpus relief, Thomas v. Clements, 789 F.3d 760 (7th Cir. 2015),2 and was granted a new trial.

Thomas was retried in 2018, again convicted of all charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Thomas's postconviction motion was denied by the circuit court, and he appeals from his judgment of conviction and from the order denying his postconviction motion. Thomas makes three main arguments: (1) the "corroboration rule"...