Attorney General Brad Schimel Files Brief in Dassey Case

Attorney General Brad Schimel, on behalf of Warden Michael Dittmann, filed the opening brief in Dassey v. Dittmann in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

On August 12, 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted Brendan Dassey’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. On September 9, 2016, the State of Wisconsin filed a notice of appeal in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

In the brief, the attorney general argues “this Court has upheld juvenile confessions in cases involving far more police pressure than Dassey encountered…Consistent with this uniform caselaw, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals found that Dassey’s confession was voluntary. This decision was correct, and, at the very least, easily survives under AEDPA’s deferential standards. The district court’s holding to the contrary is unprecedented and should be reversed.”