On February 15, 2017, Charles W. Giesen orally argued the case of State of Wisconsin v. Robert Stietz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Supreme Court briefs, co-authored by Charles and Jessica Giesen, presented the following three issues:
Did the Court of Appeals deny Stietz’s federal and state constitutional rights to present a complete defense of self-defense by weighing his credibility and requiring more than “some evidence,” even if inconsistent, to support a self-defense instruction?
Did the Court of Appeals deny Stietz’s federal and state constitutional rights to present a defense by forbidding arguments that Stietz was defending himself against two men he reasonably believed were armed trespassers?
Did the Court of Appeals contradict the Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Hobson, 218 Wis. 2d 350, 577 N.W.2d 825 (1998), by foreclosing a self-defense claim against wardens who Stietz did not know were law enforcement officers; were not claiming to make an arrest but were only trying to disarm a man without apparent right; and were not acting peaceably in any event but were trying to violently disarm a lawfully armed man?
A decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected in late spring.
Full video of oral arguments can be found here.