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E.D.Wis.: Consitutionality of WI court commissioners does not have to be resolved under Fourth Amendment

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A challenge to the Wisconsin court commissioner issuing a search warrant utilized in a federal prosecution fails. While no Wisconsin court has considered the constitutionality of court commissioners, they are longstanding in the state, even after the unification of the court system in 1977. Under the Fourth Amendment, the court finds no basis to suppress. United States v. Diaz, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12584 (E.D. Wis. January 15, 2010): So precisely what is the constitutional basis for court commissioners? Despite having existed for more than three decades since the 1977 amendment, it does not appear that this question has yet been answered by, nor even posed to, any Wisconsin court. The resolution of this novel question would require an analysis of Wisconsin constitutional law and could have significant impact upon the longstanding judicial practices in the state...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).